Problems and Prospects of Application of Multispectral Imaging in the Manuscript Studies

Abstract

By the beginning of the 21st century, digital multispectral and hyperspectral visualization has become one of the key components of the systematic study of historical manuscripts. Over the past twenty years, a significant amount of research with the application if this method has been carried out; therefore, the authors of this article have considered it necessary to reflect on the current situation in the field of application of multispectral visualization methods and to provide an overview of the most representative projects. It has been established that among the permanently operating foreign scientific institutions which use multispectral imaging methods, the most productive are the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures of the University of Hamburg, Centre of Image and Material Analysis in Cultural Heritage (Austria), and the Research Department of the Bodleian Library (Oxford). Among the temporary projects, studies related to the complex examination of palimpsests as well as to the evaluation of the state of the text carrier have been singled out since they had a significant impact on the development of multispectral visualization at the methodological and technical levels. The review provides characteristics of the equipment used for multispectral imaging; discusses the relationship between methods and specific research tasks. It is stated that nowadays multispectral visualization has become a routine technique in solving utilitarian tasks. The following directions have been distinguished as the most promising for the development of the research potential of this method: 1) analysis of the spectral behavior of the substance in determining the composition of the dye; 2) analysis of the spectral behavior of the text made with different inks, including the research related to the study of writing skills; 3) control of the state and dynamics of processes of the carrier.