Analyzing the Book of the Dead

Analyzing Pigments in the Book of the Dead Using XRF Spectroscopy
Brooklyn Museum blog (Caitlin Jenkins)

With excellent photos and diagrams.

One of the many scientific analytical techniques used in art conservation is called X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy, or XRF. The Paper Conservation Lab here at the Brooklyn Museum is using this technique to study the Brooklyn Museum’s Book of the Dead of the Goldworker of Amun, Sobekmose papyrus scroll.

XRF is used to identify most elements with an atomic number on the periodic table equal to or greater than Aluminum. Most importantly, the technique can be used without any harm to, or even contact with the art object. For these reasons, art conservators use the technique to help them identify what elements are present in a targeted area of an object.

Looking for Adhesives and Identifying Binders in the Book of the Dead Using FTIR
Brooklyn Museum Blog (Caitlin Jenkins)

Another scientific analytical technique commonly used in art conservation is called Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy, or FTIR. The Brooklyn Museum’s Paper Conservation Lab employed this technique to continue analysis of the Brooklyn Museum’s Book of the Dead of the Goldworker of Amun, Sobekmose papyrus scroll.

As with the XRF analysis, we were able to perform FTIR using portable equipment belonging to Pratt Institute. Eleonora del Federico, Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Math and Sciences Department at Pratt Institute brought her portable FTIR device to our paper conservation lab.