Abstract
In recent years, a growing attention has been addressed to the study of the varnish from early musical instruments. The surfaces of nine historical Low Countries stringed musical instruments from the collection of the “Musical Instruments Museum” in Brussels were non-destructively analysed by in situ micro-X-Ray Fluorescence spectroscopy in dispersive mode. It was found that the main pigments dispersed in the varnish were iron- and manganese-based earths. The presence of a chromium-based pigment in one of the analysed instruments makes it appreciably different from the others. Other findings were discussed and compared with previously published results. The collection of such information plays a relevant role in the recovery of the applied formulations that is an interesting issue for conservators, luthiers and art historians.
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Notes
In fact, the most abundant component since some substances often remain in suspension.
Pearson correlation coefficient is a rescaled covariance:
$$r_{XY} = \frac{s_{XY}}{s_Xs_Y}$$where s XY is the sample covariance and s X and s Y are sample standard deviations [16].
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Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Paolo Oliveri for his helpful comments to improve the manuscript and Fulvio Caruso for his help in editing Fig. 4. Francesco Caruso acknowledges an Erasmus LLP Placement grant allowing him to spend a three months and a half internship at the KIK-IRPA.
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Caruso, F., Saverwyns, S., Van Bos, M. et al. Micro-X-Ray Fluorescence and the Old Masters . Appl. Phys. A 107, 197–202 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-011-6729-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-011-6729-x