FTIR INVESTIGATION OF PIGMENTS AND BINDER OF PAINTED WALLS IN HERITAGE MONUMENTS

Abstract

Studies of materials used for works of art and cultural monuments throughout the history contribute to the comprehensive understanding of particular cultures, their technological achievements and customs over time. Investigations of the authenticity of objects and the interventions they may have endured over time keep an important role for their successful restoration and preservation. A three-layer sample of the colored wall decoration from Ottoman Ćejvan Ćehaja mosque from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy. The plaster was identified as gypsum-lime binder. Inorganic pigments were found in two layers, reddish-brown mixture of Fe2O3 and MnO2 and green pigment recognized as viridian, Cr2O3 ∙ 2H2O. The upper layer of "golden color" is found to be a physically compact piece of gold foil or leaf whose fixation method meets both the Ottoman and "west" mode of binding. The mode of adhesion by animal glue could be the result of decoration immanent to Islamic culture, but also to reconstruction from the late 19th century during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia.