Old Goa Revelations: A collaborative project on the shared heritage between India and Portugal

In this collaborative project, a working group was formed for the integrated study of an Indo-Portuguese shared heritage collection: the Viceroys’ Gallery. A Portuguese team with expertise in heritage science, art history, biotechnology, conservation and museology travelled to Goa (India) in January 2019. Using a mobile unit, the team performed in situ analyses (combining physical imaging tools and micro-analytical techniques) of eight paintings with multi-repainted layers. The paintings had been previously selected according to their potential to illustrate issues of interpretation. Participating in the fieldwork were senior and junior researchers from the Archaeological Survey of India, who received training and capacity building in art historical assessments, scientific methodology and the interpretation of paintings analysis data. The collaboration resulted in the first appreciation of the intrinsic values of this heritage from the perspective of Portuguese and Indian researchers as well as new insights into this collection. As such, it demonstrated the benefits of this approach in the interpretation and preservation of a shared heritage.Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian; FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia; Fundação Orient

INSIGHTS ON THE INTEGRATED STUDY PERFORMED IN A SHARED HERITAGE COLLECTION: THE VICEROYS GALLERY

Poster de disseminação do projeto Old Goa Revelations no INART 202

Insights on the second phase of the multidisciplinary study of the Viceroys portrait gallery at Goa, India

"Old Goa Revelations" is an international collaborative project dedicated to the research of a shared heritage collection associated to the Portuguese Presence in India (1505 – 1961). The upper halls of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Museum in Old Goa, display the portrait gallery of these Viceroys and Governors who administrated these territories and used to commission their depictions before leaving their post. During the 400 years span of this gallery several interventions took place, leaving up to 4 full overpaints over the original compositions of the 16th and 17th centuries. Unfortunately, these can only be appreciated by comparing them with contemporaneous illustrations, which is hampered due to poor-quality restorations dating from the 19th c.: these completely altered the original paintings. The restoration process of 6 paintings in Lisbon during the 1950’s highlighted the complexity of undertaking irreversible procedures, such as the removal of repaints, in objects with such high documental value. Considering that these repaints also act as a protection of the original layers from the subtropical climate of Goa, what should be the best approach? Since 2019, The creation of a collaborative project[1] between the custodian and Portuguese research units enabled a comprehensive and multidisciplinary scientific study of the collection, supported by a mobile campaign, encompassing imaging techniques such as photography (visible and raking light), Infrared Reflectography and X-ray Radiography, complemented with non-destructive analytical approaches such as XRF spectrometry (point analysis), a Mobile macro-XRF mapping and mobile Raman spectrometry. The aims of this multidisciplinary research are the identification, characterization and contextualization of the existing layers, to assist to the interpretation of the collection, as well as it supports decision making towards long term preservation. Moreover, another important goal is the organization of a new exhibition narrative, where the public will have visual access to the information in each of these layers, allowing a different experience of the collection.FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia. Projeto Exploratório 2022.10305.PTDC; Fundação Orient

Multianalytical approach for the authenticity of an eighteenth-century Pascal Taskin harpsichord

This paper surveys a detailed characterization of a prestigious harpsichord brought into fashion in 1782 by Pascal Taskin. The implemented analytical methodology required the use of in situ Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) for elemental analysis of the color palette, optical and SEM imaging (SE and BSE modes) for the layered structure identification, Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) for elemental composition of the inorganic compounds, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for some binders and THM-GC/MS as well for resinous layers identification. By cross-checking these data with those obtained by digital radiography, it was concluded that a true ravalement of the harpsichord was in fact undertaken and that, among more than five interventions applied to the instrument until the present day, the third one may correspond to the one performed at Pascal Taskin’s time

Challenging wax-cast figurine serial production unravelled by multi-analytical techniques

Eight complementary techniques were successfully applied to study a pair of very alike eighteenth-century colored wax figurines belonging to the Museu Nacional Machado de Castro, Coimbra (Portugal): examination under visible and ultraviolet light, X-ray radiography (XRR), neutron radiography and tomography (NR and NT), energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), micro-X-ray diffraction (μ-XRD), gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and micro-confocal Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman). A careful examination of the two objects provided an insight into their manufacturing and revealed that they were cast from the same molds, although details differ. The main cast material employed was a mixture of beeswax, Venice turpentine, other diterpenoid resins and a very low amount of lipids. The wax used was certainly reclaimed from a metallurgic activity involving lost-wax casting. Each figurine consists of sixteen parts, most of which consist of solid wax. The presence of fillings within the body was unexpected. The elements which remained hollowed played a fundamental role at the assembling stage. A loose wooden tenon helped to keep the head in place and metal rods were used to fasten the base to the main body. Polychromy was carried out in wax, with different pigments and opacifiers. The fabrication of the colored wax from different inorganic/organic wastes is also discussed. Textures were achieved by adding materials. The results gathered offered the unique opportunity to verify aspects inherent to the production of multiple copies in wax casting