Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks XI. Proceedings of the International Conference LACONA XI, Kraków, Poland, 20–23 September 2016

The eleventh conference on Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks has been the latest of the LACONA conference series, initiated more than 20 years ago – in 1995 – by Costas Fotakis and held in FORTH in Heraklion, Greece. The present edition was held in Kraków, Poland, hosted by the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts. It was co-organized by Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, The Interacademic Institute of Conservation and Restoration of Art in Warszawa and Kraków, and, last but not least, by the National Museum in Kraków.

The early editions of LACONA were devoted mostly to the application of lasers to cleaning of artworks, which, at the time, was an emerging topic. Today, we prefer to talk about “removal of unwanted layers and coatings” to emphasize that this application now goes far beyond simple “cleaning” and has become – for many classes of objects – a mature procedure, widely accepted within the conservation/restoration community. Nevertheless, its effective and safe application to specific objects remains a subject of extensive study. Also, continual progress in the development of lasers, especially by utilizing the ultra-short pulses provided by compact and less expensive sources, opens new areas of application by placing a broader set of tools in the hands of the conservator/restorer. Another significant feature of recent LACONA conferences is the much broader range of subjects presented, since the application of lasers in the conservation of artworks covers much more than simply “laser cleaning”. Appropriate restoration procedures are always preceded by examination and laser techniques – or, more broadly speaking, techniques utilizing coherent light – such as LIBS, Raman spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography and nonlinear or two-photon laser microscopy, feature regularly as significant subjects at LACONA.

A specific aim for the LACONA series has always been to bring together conservation scientists active in the field of developing methods and instruments with practising restorers and conservators who are the most important recipients of these new developments. Without the professional knowledge and experience of the latter it would not be possible to implement any of the results obtained in laboratory research in conservation practice. Therefore, LACONA has always been a unique forum for the exchange of ideas between scientists and practitioners.

This volume comprises 20 peer-review research articles submitted by participants after the conference. They are organised in three chapters covering laser ablation, coherent light-related analytical techniques and case studies. Additionally, the first chapter contains two key-note articles, describing lesser-known aspects of the history of use of light and lasers in the context of preservation of cultural heritage.

Editors:
Piotr Targowski, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland
Małgorzata Walczak, Th e Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków, Poland
Paraskevi Pouli, Institute of Electronic Structure & Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

Organisers:
The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków
Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
The Interacademic Institute of Conservation and Restoration of Art, Warszawa/Kraków
The National Museum in Kraków

Foreword / 9
Permanent Scientific Committee / 13
Local Organising Committee / 14
Final Endeavors of “Monument Man” [John F. Asmus, Vadim A. Parfenov, Jessica P. Elford] / 15

DEVELOPMENTS IN LASER REMOVAL OF UNWANTED SUBSTANCES ON CULTURALLY-IMPORTANT OBJECTS AND MONUMENTS

Wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering effects on laser cleaning of a corroded iron alloy European scale armor [Marlene April Yandrisevits, Pablo Londero, Federico Caro, Adriana Rizzo, Caterina Cappuccini] / 27

From Earth to Outer Space: Laser cleaning semiprecious quartz and a novel application for meteoritic metal [Rebecca A. Kaczkowski, Bartosz A. Dajnowski, Edward P. Vicenzi] / 47

Laser yellowing effect: study of the nanophases created by laser irradiation of synthetic black crusts using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy [Marie Godet, Veronique Verges-Belmin, Christine Andraud, Mandana Saheb, Judith Monnier, Eric Leroy, Julie Bourgon, Laurent Binet] / 63

Laser Cleaning of a First Phase Navajo Wool Chief’s Blanket by Nd:YAG [Pablo Londero, Ludovica Corda, Daniele Ciofini, Christine Giuntini, Marco Leona] / 77

Towards the understanding of the two wavelength laser cleaning in avoiding yellowing on stonework: a micro-Raman and LIBS study [Athanasia Papanikolaou, Panayiotis Siozos, Aggelos Philippidis, Kristalia Melessanaki, Paraskevi Pouli] / 95

The potential of OCT for assessing laser assisted removal of deposits from ceramic tiles [Magdalena Iwanicka, Jędrzej Musiela, Jadwiga W. Łukaszewicz, Henryk Stoksik, Marcin Sylwestrzak] / 105

The Hanford Nuclear Plant: Radiation Ablation Meets History, Cultural Heritage, and Nuclear Decontamination [John F. Asmus, Vadim A. Parfenov, Jessica P. Elford] / 115

COHERENT LIGHT-BASED METHODS FOR IMAGING, DOCUMENTATION, EXAMINATION AND ANALYSIS OF OBJECTS AND STRUCTURES

Surface micro-profilometry for the assessment of the effects of traditional and innovative cleaning treatments of silver [Claudia Daffara, Nicola Gaburro, Giacomo Marchioro, Alessandro Romeo, Giulia Basilissi, Andrea Cagnini, Monica Galeotti] / 127

Nonlinear optical imaging techniques (NLO) for painting investigation [Alice Dal Fovo, Raffaella Fontana, Jana Striova, Enrico Pampaloni, Marco Barucci, Marco Raffaelli, Raffaella Mercatelli, Luca Pezzati, Riccardo Cicchi] / 141

A moderate microsampling in Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry analysis of cultural heritage objects: a review [Barbara Wagner, Olga Syta, Marek Sawicki] / 155

A preliminary study of contemporary binders by Time Resolved Laser Induced Fluorescence (TR-LIF) spectroscopy: characterization of the painting Nascita Della Forma by Nato Frasca [Martina Romani, Marco Marinelli, Alessandra Pasqualucci, Gianluca Verona-Rinati] / 179

LIBS, optical and multivariate analyses of selected 17th-century oil paintings from the Museum of King Jan III’s palace at Wilanow [Agnieszka Pawlak, Wojciech Skrzeczanowski, Krzysztof Czyż] / 191

Elemental analysis of Chinese red seal inks on xuan paper by ArF laserinduced plume fluorescence [Bruno Yue Cai, Vincent Motto-Ros, Vincent Detalle, Judy T.S. Lum, Kelvin S. Y. Leung, Nai-Ho Cheung] / 205

CASE STUDIES

Using the new G.C. Laser Cleaning System for cleaning and surface preparation for re-gilding of a large outdoor bronze monument of Alexander Hamilton [Andrzej Dajnowski, Bartosz A. Dajnowski] / 217

Experiences at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, Italy: the application of laser-technology on three case studies of the historical heritage [Elisa Isella, Donatella Bonelli, Silvia Cerea, Francesca Mancini, Veronica Ruppen, Alessandra Botteon, Antonio Sansonetti] / 229

Decontamination of biocidal loaded wooden artworks by means of laser and plasma processing [Birgit Angelika Schmidt, Simone Pentzien, Andrea Conradi, Jorg Kruger, Constanze Roth, Oliver Beier, Annett Hartmann, Bernd Grunler] / 241

Laser-based techniques for a multidisciplinary action aimed at the restitutive restoration of S. Costanzo church in Ronciglione (Italy) [Valeria Spizzichino, Luisa Caneve, Massimiliano Ciaffi, Roberta Fantoni, Massimo Francucci, Massimiliano Guarneri, Antonio Palucci, Gaetano Terranova, Franca Persia, Angelo Tati, Maria Fernanda Falcon Martinez, Chiara Giuffrida, Francesca Scirpa, Laura Bartoli, Alessandro Zanini] / 253

Archaeometric investigations of medieval stained glass panels from Grodziec in Poland [Dariusz Wilk, Marta Kamińska, Małgorzata Walczak, Ewa Bulska] / 263

Easel paintings on canvas and panel: application of Nd:YAG laser at 355 nm, 1064 nm and UV, IR and visible light for the development of new methodologies in conservation [Joakim Striber, Vanja Jovanović, Maja Jovanović] / 279

White, yellow and green pigments on Polish artists’ palettes in the period 1838 – 1938 [Mirosław Wachowiak, Grzegorz Trykowski, Iwona Żmuda-Trzebiatowska] / 293

Spectral imaging of Dutch gilt leather for improved conservation strategies [Roger M. Groves, Vassilis M. Papadakis, Martine Posthuma de Boer, Tigran Mkhoyan, Bianca van Velzen, Kate Seymour] /307

Author index / 321