Cultural property radiography

The Syndics of the Drapers' Guild by Rembrandt is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

An X-ray of the Ghent Altarpiece, painted by Jan van Eyck, in Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium revealed the structure and details of the large altarpiece's painting scheme. The complete radiography of the altarpiece was conducted between 2010 and 2011 as part of a project largely funded by the Getty Institute. The X-rays and other technical information that was gathered were used to prepare conservation treatments.[13]

The Sampling Officials of the Amsterdam Drapers' Guild, also known as the Syndics of the Drapers' Guild or more simply as the Syndics, was painted by Rembrandt in 1662. An X-ray of the painting revealed that Rembrandt fine-tuned the composition several times, alternating the glances between the figures and slightly changing their positions before he settled on that is known today.[14]

X-ray analysis revealed alterations to the paint of a sixteenth century portrait that had been identified as a Bronzino portrait of Eleanor of Toledo at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After a conservation treatment, which removed the added paint, the subject of the portrait was found to be Isabella de' Medici. The painting was also attributed to Alessandro Allori.[15][16]

An X-ray of the Syndics reveals Rembrandt's earlier compositions for the group portrait.

Jean-François Millet's The Wood Sawyers at Victoria & Albert Museum was X-rayed, revealing that Millet had reused a canvas to complete this oil painting. The artist not only painted over a previous work, but he had also added strips of canvas to enlarge the painting area.[7]

According to X-rays taken of Twilight by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, also at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the artist painted over a previous picture that had not even dried yet. Pigments from the lower painting appear through cracks in the surface layer.[7]

The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso at the Art Institute of Chicago had been previously examined with visible and ultraviolet light, which had hinted at the possibility of an earlier composition. X-rays of the painting revealed that Picasso had originally painted two female figures behind the guitarist. The X-rays also penetrated far enough to reveal how Picasso had prepared the wooden panel for painting.[8]

Radiograph of the African Songye Power Figure at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

The plaster cast of Michelangelo's David at the Victoria & Albert Museum was X-rayed revealing that the supports in David's legs were positioned similarly to that of bones in a human leg. The size of this particular piece required a portable machine to complete the X-rays.[17]

The Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, the Research Centre Seibersdorf, and the New York Historical Society have used X-rays to learn more about the manufacture of art nouveau style glass. In particular, they are investigating differences between Tiffany glass of New York and Austria's Loetz glass to learn more about differences in the manufacturing process.[18]

In the X-rays of a wooden power figure at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, conservators discovered that there were hollowed out sections through the center of the sculpture that connected three filled cavities. Information about the network inside of these sculptures has aided curators as they research the function of these pieces. The findings have led to the use of radiography to compare power figures in other collections.[19]

X-rays of the King George III Golden Jubilee Quilt from 1810 revealed concealed stitching patterns and fabric dyes.[20]

Conservators learned more about the complex stitching of the Sundial Coverlet, which dates to 1797, through X-rays.[20]

X-rays were used to understand some of the stains and stitching patterns on an Egyptian tunic, dating to AD 600–799, in the Victoria & Albert collection.[21]

Hidden design and structure details were visible on X-rays of pairs of shoes in the V&A's collection.[22]

Radiography has been used with human dry bones to diagnose pathologies, demonstrate trauma and assist age estimation through dentition eruption status.[28]

X-rays have been employed to analyze what is under the wrappings of mummies.[26] In addition to providing images of the bones within, X-rays have revealed the location of jewelry and other objects that were buried with the body without disturbing the wrappings.

The Herculaneum papyri that survived the Vesuvius disaster were excavated and researchers have used X-rays to read their contents. Previous methods involved slowly unrolling the papyrus, which damaged much of the scrolls, some beyond repair.[29]

X-ray technology was used to quickly identify individual coins uncovered in a single container. Researchers did not have to wait for slower, traditional conservation methods to separate and decipher the coins.[30]

X-rays were among the imaging techniques used to uncover lost text on the Archimedes Palimpsest, which is in the collection of the Walters Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The museum spearheaded an extensive research project on the palimpsest that employed various imaging techniques including ultraviolet, infrared, and X-radiography.[31]

The heavily corroded Antikythera mechanism, which was uncovered from a shipwreck at the beginning of the 20th century, has been X-rayed several times in an effort to understand how it works.