A Micro-Tomographic Insight into the Coating Systems of Historical Bowed String Instruments
Source abstract
Abstract
Musical instruments are tools for playing music, but for some of them—made by the most important historical violin makers—the myths hide the physical artwork. Ancient violin-making Masters developed peculiar construction methods and defined aesthetic canons that are still recognizable in their musical instruments. Recently, the focus of scientific investigations has been set on the characterization of materials and methods used by the ancient violin makers by means of several scientific approaches. In this work, the merits of synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the investigation of complex coatings systems on historical bowed string musical instruments are discussed. Five large fragments removed during past restorations from instruments produced by Jacobus Stainer, Gasparo da Salò, Giovanni Paolo Maggini, and Lorenzo Guadagnini have been considered for a non-invasive insight by tomographic techniques and the results are discussed considering previous micro-invasive investigations. The tomographic approach allows to highlight the micro-morphology of the coating systems and offers preliminary information on the methods that were employed by the ancient Masters to treat the wood and finish the musical instrument.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Advanced X-ray Imaging Techniques · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · Advanced X-ray and CT Imaging
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Laboratorio Arvedi di Diagnostica Non-Invasiva, CISRiC, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Via Bell’Aspa 3, 26100 Cremona, Italy
Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 5, 10125 Torino, Italy
Dipartimento di Scienze Matematiche, Fisiche e Informatiche, Università degli Studi di Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 7/A, 43124 Parma, Italy
Dipartimento di Musicologia e Beni Culturali, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Corso Garibaldi 178, 26100 Cremona, Italy
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Torino and INFN, Sezione di Torino, Via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., S.S. 14 km 163.5, Basovizza, 34194 Trieste, Italy
Institute of Art Conservation Science, Department of Fine Arts, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Sienkiewicza 30/32, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Institute of Physics, Department of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Grudziądzka 5, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
References (45)
Show source-provided references
1. Feature-based analysis of the impact of ground coat and varnish on violin tone qualities10.3813/AAA.919035 ↗
2. Jalovec, K. (1963). Beautiful Italian Violins, P. Hamlyn.
3. Innovative monitoring plan for the preventive conservation of historical musical instruments10.1080/00393630.2018.1499853 ↗
4. A non-invasive stratigraphic study by reflection FT-IR spectroscopy and UV-induced fluorescence technique: The case of historical violins10.1016/j.microc.2018.01.021 ↗
5. Invernizzi, C., Rovetta, T., Licchelli, M., and Malagodi, M. (2018). Mid and Near-Infrared Reflection Spectral Database of Natural Organic Materials in the Cultural Heritage Field. Int. J. Anal. Chem.10.1155/2018/7823248 ↗
6. The elemental composition of Stradivari’s musical instruments: New results through non-invasive EDXRF analysis10.1002/xrs.2825 ↗
7. Automatic analysis of UV induced fluorescence imagery of historical violins10.1145/3051472 ↗
8. Non-invasive identification of organic materials in historical stringed musical instruments by reflection infrared spectroscopy: A methodological approach10.1007/s00216-017-0296-8 ↗
9. Combined approach of FT-Raman, SERS and IR micro-ATR spectroscopies to enlighten ancient technologies of painted and varnished works of art10.1002/jrs.4565 ↗
10. The case of Antonio Stradivari 1718 ex-San Lorenzo violin: History, restorations and conservation perspectives
11. Elemental analysis as statistical preliminary study of historical musical instruments10.1016/j.microc.2017.11.004 ↗
12. Spectroscopic analysis to characterize finishing treatments of ancient bowed string instruments10.1177/0003702817715622 ↗
13. Review on the Characterisation of ancient stringed musical instruments varnishes and implementation of an analytical strategy10.1016/j.culher.2008.03.005 ↗
14. Of old wood and varnish: Peering into the can of worms
15. Nagyvary, J., Guillemette, R.N., and Spiegelman, C.H. (2009). Mineral preservatives in the wood of Stradivari and Guarneri. PLoS ONE, 4.10.1371/journal.pone.0004245 ↗
16. The nature of the extraordinary finish of Stradivari’s instruments10.1002/anie.200905131 ↗
17. Stradivari’s Varnish: A review of scientific findings—Part I
18. Fiocco, G., Rovetta, T., Gulmini, M., Piccirillo, A., Canevari, C., Licchelli, M., and Malagodi, M. (2018). Approaches for detecting madder lake in multi-layered coating systems of historical bowed string instruments. Coatings, 8.10.3390/coatings8050171 ↗
19. Micro-analytical identification of the components of varnishes from South Italian historical musical instruments by PLM, ESEM-EDX, microFTIR, GC–MS, and Py–GC–MS10.1016/j.microc.2014.04.002 ↗
20. Stradivari’s Varnish: A review of scientific findings—Part II
21. In situ multi-element analyses by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence on varnishes of historical violins10.1016/j.sab.2004.05.026 ↗
22. Michelman, J. (1946). Violin Varnish: A Plausible Re-Creation of the Varnish Used by the Italian Violin Makers Between the Years 1550 and 1750, A.D., Joseph Michelman. [1st ed.].
23. Application of X-ray Computed Tomography to Cultural Heritage diagnostics10.1007/s00339-010-5648-6 ↗
24. Review of the Uses of Computed Tomography for Analyzing Instruments of the Violin Family with a Focus on the Future
25. Structural and optical properties of wood and wood finishes studied using optical coherence tomography: Application to an 18th century Italian violin10.1364/AO.48.006485 ↗
26. Relationship of vibro-mechanical properties and microstructure of wood and varnish interface in string instruments10.1007/s00339-016-9670-1 ↗
27. Barthorpe, R., Platz, R., Lopez, I., Moaveni, B., and Papadimitriou, C. (2017). Combined Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Vibro-Mechanical Properties of Varnished Wood for Stringed Instruments. Model Validation and Uncertainty Quantification, Volume 3, Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-54858-6 ↗
28. The importance of tomography studying wooden artefacts: A comparison with radiography in the case of a coffin lid from Ancient Egypt
29. X-ray tomography of a soil block: A useful tool for the restoration of archaeological finds10.1186/s40494-015-0033-6 ↗
30. X-ray tomography of large wooden artworks: The case study of “Doppio corpo” by Pietro Piffetti10.1186/s40494-014-0019-9 ↗
31. Non-invasive microstructural analysis of bowed stringed instruments with synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography10.1016/j.culher.2012.04.008 ↗
32. Comparison of different experimental approaches in the tomographic analysis of ancient violins10.1016/j.culher.2017.02.013 ↗
33. Synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography for the investigation of finishing treatments in historical bowed string instruments: Issues and perspectives10.1140/epjp/i2018-12366-5 ↗
34. En-face optical coherence tomography—A novel application of non-invasive imaging to art conservation10.1364/OPEX.13.006133 ↗
35. Application of optical coherence tomography to non-destructive examination of museum objects10.1179/sic.2004.49.2.107 ↗
36. Drexler, W., and Fujimoto, J. (2015). OCT for Examination of Artwork. Optical Coherence Tomography: Technology and Applications, Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-06419-2 ↗
37. Optical Coherence Tomography: Its role in the non-invasive structural examination and conservation of cultural heritage objects—A review10.1007/s00339-011-6687-3 ↗
38. Spotti, G. (1991). Gaetano e Pietro Sgarabotto. Liutai-Violin Makers, (1878–1990), Turris.
39. Observation of microstructure and damage in materials by phase sensitive radiography and tomography10.1063/1.364374 ↗
40. SYRMEP Tomo Project: A graphical user interface for customizing CT reconstruction workflows10.1186/s40679-016-0036-8 ↗
41. Effective implementation of ring artifacts removal filters for synchrotron radiation microtomographic images
42. Simultaneous phase and amplitude extraction from a single defocused image of a homogeneous object10.1046/j.1365-2818.2002.01010.x ↗
43. Herman, G.T. (1980). Image Reconstruction from Projections: The Fundamentals of Computerized Tomography, Academic Press. [1st ed.].
44. On the application of optical coherence tomography as a complimentary tool in an analysis of the 13th century Byzantine Bessarion reliquary10.1016/j.microc.2015.11.014 ↗
45. (2018, December 20). Oct4art—Optical Choerence Tomography for Examination of Work of Art. Available online: http://www.oct4art.eu/.