Non-invasive analytical methods applied in the study of cultural heritage artefacts

Abstract

Ethnographic heritage textiles may be subject to risks generated in particular by various factors in close connection with the microclimate of the storage and exposure areas. In accordance with the current European trends of pest prevention and reduction and response to the infestation/contamination of the cultural heritage, the research direction of this study aimed at investigating the degradation of some women’s clothing items, around 80–100 year-old, made of natural fibres, namely cotton. Throughout this paper, an essential aspect was taken into account for establishing a preventive or curative conservation strategy, namely the characterization of the fabric from which the three shirts are made. Thus, some physical and structural characteristics were determined by making use of different types of analyses: FTIR spectroscopy, the spectra specific for cotton; the microbiological analyses showed the presence of Bacillus subtilis and Rhizobium radiobacter, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes, which are not considered pathogenic or toxigenic to humans with the normal function of the immune system.