Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10174/18074

Title: Challenging wax-cast figurine serial production unravelled by multi-analytical techniques
Authors: Le Gac, Agnès
Madeira, Teresa Isabel
Pereira, Marco Stanojev
Santos, Joana
Piorro, Luís
Dias, Luís
Manso, Marta
Bleton, Jean
Longelin, Stéphane
Prazeres, Cátia Marques
Mirão, José
Candeias, António
Marques, José Gonçalves
Carvalho, Maria Luísa de
Issue Date: 2015
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
Abstract: Eight complementary techniques were successfully applied to study a pair of very alike eighteenth-century colored wax figurines belonging to the Museu Nacional Machado de Castro, Coimbra (Portugal): examination under visible and ultraviolet light, X-ray radiography (XRR), neutron radiography and tomography (NR and NT), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), micro-X-ray diffraction (μ-XRD), gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and micro-confocal Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman). A careful examination of the two objects provided an insight into their manufacturing and revealed that they were cast from the same molds, although details differ. The main cast material employed was a mixture of beeswax, Venice turpentine, other diterpenoid resins and a very low amount of lipids. The wax used was certainly reclaimed from a metallurgic activity involving lost-wax casting. Each figurine consists of sixteen parts, most of which consist of solid wax. The presence of fillings within the body was unexpected. The elements which remained hollowed played a fundamental role at the assembling stage. A loose wooden tenon helped to keep the head in place and metal rods were used to fasten the base to the main body. Polychromy was carried out in wax, with different pigments and opacifiers. The fabrication of the colored wax from different inorganic/organic wastes is also discussed. Textures were achieved by adding materials. The results gathered offered the unique opportunity to verify aspects inherent to the production of multiple copies in wax casting.
URI: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/ja/c4ja00415a#!divAbstract
http://hdl.handle.net/10174/18074
Type: article
Appears in Collections:HERCULES - Publicações - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais Com Arbitragem Científica

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