‘A lost chapter of ancient art’: archaeometric examinations of panel paintings from Roman Egypt
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
INSTRUMENT(S): Q Exactive
ORGANISM(S): Bos Taurus (bovine)
TISSUE(S): Skin, Bone
SUBMITTER: 
Fabiana Di Gianvincenzo
LAB HEAD: Luise Ørsted Brandt
PROVIDER: PXD037269 | Pride | 2023-11-27
REPOSITORIES: Pride
Dataset's files
| Action | DRS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEIN685_2077.raw | Raw | |||
| AEIN685_2077_PaintDB.zip | Other | |||
| AEIN685_2077_SwissProt.zip | Other | |||
| AEIN686-687_2078.raw | Raw | |||
| AEIN686-687_2078_PaintDB.zip | Other |
Items per page: 5 1 - 5 of 14 |
Similar Datasets
Project description:Two samples from the Beauty of Palmyra (IN 2795 – Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark) were collected from the surface coating, and partially the paint layer, in locations corresponding to paint residues from respectively the yellow paint (containing lead-based yellow pigment) and the red paint (containing haematite as pigment) of the headdress of the figure. The two samples were analysed using a palaeoproteomic protocol to investigate the use of a proteinaceous paint binder and/or the presence of other proteinaceous materials. The analysis led to the confident identification of collagen, probably indicating the use of animal glue as paint binder of the sample removed from red paint residues. Various animal keratins were also confidently identified in both samples. The presence of these proteins might be related to the manufacture of organic pigments, but also possibly to the use of a keratin-based glue as paint binder or surface coating, or even to the use of a paintbrush made with animal bristles.
2022-06-28 | PXD031280 | Pride
Project description:Undertaking the conservation of artworks informed by the results of molecular analyses has gained growing importance over the last decades, and today it can take advantage of state-of-the-art analytical techniques, such as mass spectrometry-based proteomics. Protein-based binders are among the most common organic materials used in artworks, having been used in their production for centuries. However, the applications of proteomics to these materials are still limited. In this work, a palaeoproteomic workflow was successfully tested on paint reconstructions, and subsequently applied to micro-samples from a 15th-century panel painting, attributed to the workshop of Sandro Botticelli. This method allowed the confident identification of the protein-based binders and their biological origin, as well as the discrimination of the binder used in the ground and paint layers of the painting. These results show that the approach is accurate, highly sensitive, and broadly applicable in the cultural heritage field, due to the limited amount of starting material required. Accordingly, a set of guidelines are suggested, covering the main steps of the data analysis and interpretation of protein sequencing results, optimised for artworks.
2022-07-05 | PXD024397 | Pride
Project description:The distinctive and visually striking wooden masks associated with the Bwa culture in Burkina Faso, West Africa, are carved from a soft wood into different shapes and display various geometrical patterns and symbols according to the purpose. One of their characteristic features is the use of the colors black, red and white, which evoke the three major rivers crossing the country: the Black, Red and White Voltas. According to published accounts of scholars who have worked directly with the artists, the materials used to obtain these colors include reptile excrement for the white, iron-rich stones powdered and mixed with egg or plant gums for the red, and boiled Acacia seed pods for the black, as well as modern materials such as enamel paint in some cases. A group of four Bwa masks in the Arts of Africa collection of the Art Institute of Chicago was investigated using a complement of analytical techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry, and mass spectrometry based proteomics to characterize their painting materials. The results obtained corroborate the published accounts, while also providing new insights into the nature of the coloring materials and the selection and substitution of pigments and binders. These findings highlight the complementary value of scientific research, in combination with field work and artists’ accounts, to generate a fuller understanding and appreciation of this traditional artistic practice.
2023-11-22 | PXD045999 | Pride
Project description:Multiple analytical techniques were used to characterize materials from the surfaces of two African sculptures in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago: a Bamana power object (boli), and a Yoruba wooden sculpture of a female figure. Surface accretions on objects such as these have received relatively little scientific attention to elucidate their composition and function, in part because they are made with complex mixtures of natural materials, which are often unfamiliar and poorly represented in the scientific literature on artists’ materials. Mass spectrometry-based proteomics provided new insights on proteinaceous components, allowing us to identify the presence of sacrificial blood, and more specifically, blood from chicken, goat, sheep and dog. This new scientific evidence supports and supplements knowledge derived from curatorial and field work studies, and opens new doors to understanding the objects’ significance and history of use.
2021-04-21 | PXD024988 | Pride
Project description:The application of mass spectrometry-based proteomics to artworks provides accurate and detailed characterisation of the protein-based materials used to produce them, which is highly valuable to plan conservation strategies and reconstruct the artwork’s history. In this work, the palaeoproteomic analysis of canvas paintings from the Danish Golden Age led to the confident identification of cereal and yeast proteins in the ground layer. This proteomic profile points to a (by-)product of beer brewing, in agreement with local artists’ manuals. The chronology of the artworks featuring this unconventional recipe allows us to conclude that it was used by the workshops within the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. The mass-spectrometric dataset generated from palaeoproteomics was also processed with a metabolomics workflow. The spectral matches observed further supported the palaeoproteomic conclusions, and, in at least one sample, suggested the use of drying oils. These results highlight the value of untargeted proteomics in heritage science, correlating unconventional artistic materials with local culture and practices.
2023-05-26 | PXD035899 | Pride
Project description:Natural history museum specimens of historical honeybees have been successfully used to explore the genomic past of the honeybee, indicating fast and rapid changes between historical and modern specimens, possibly as a response to current challenges. In our study we explore a potential untapped archive from natural history collections - specimens of beeswax. We examine an Apis mellifera mellifera queen cell specimen from the 19th century. The intact and closed cell was analysed by X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) to reveal a perfectly preserved queen bee inside her cell. Subsequently, a micro-destructive approach was used to evaluate the possibility of protein extraction from the cell. Our results show that studies on specimens such as these provide valuable information about the past rearing of queens, their diet and development, which is relevant for understanding current honeybee behaviour. In addition we evaluate the feasibility of using historical beeswax as a biomolecular archive for ancient proteins to study honeybees.
2024-09-05 | PXD034106 | Pride
Project description:Fur is known from contemporary written sources to have been a key commodity in the Viking Age. Nevertheless, the fur trade has been notoriously difficult to study archaeologically as fur rarely survives in the archaeological record. In Denmark, fur finds are rare and fur in clothing has been limited to a few reports and not recorded systematically. We were therefore given access to fur from six Danish high status graves dated to the Viking Age. The fur was analysed by aDNA and palaeoproteomics methods to identify the species of origin in order to explore the Viking Age fur trade. Endogenous aDNA was not recovered, but fur proteins (keratins) were analysed by MALDI-TOF and LC-MS/MS. We show that Viking Age skin clothing were often composites of several species, showing highly developed manufacturing and material knowledge. For example, fur was produced from wild animals while leather was made of domesticates. Several examples of beaver fur were identified, a species which is not native to Denmark, and therefore indicative of trade. We argue that beaver fur was a luxury commodity, limited to the elite and worn as an easily recognisable indicator of social status.
2022-06-07 | PXD030529 | Pride
Project description:Two distemper paint samples taken from decorative boards in Uvdal church, Norway, were analysed using palaeoproteomics, with an aim of identifying their binder and possible contaminants. The results point at the use of calfskin to produce hide glue as the original binder. These results are consistent with the instructions of binder production and resource allocation in the historical records of Norway. Additionally, there was no evidence of contamination with sturgeon glue from 1990’s restoration treatments. However, we found other ‘contaminants’ including a large quantity of human saliva proteins along with a few proteins corresponding to oats and barley, likely transferred with the saliva and likely occurring from the boards’ discovery in the 1970s. This work illustrates the need to fully consider contamination sources in palaeoproteomics and to inform those working with such objects about the potential for their contamination.
2024-06-05 | PXD043606 | Pride
Project description:The molecular characterization of samples from works of art can provide valuable insights into the composition of ancient restoration materials and their conservation state. Here, we present a novel experimental protocol for the molecular characterization of a specific adhesive used in historical painting restoration, known as "glue lining pastes." Due to the high molecular complexity of these adhesives, we propose a multi-step extraction protocol to simultaneously recover and fractionate from a single microsample the three main classes of biomolecules contained in glue pastes (lipids, polysaccharides, and proteins). High-performance separation coupled with high-resolution MS techniques were applied to the isolated fractions to identify specific components. The proposed method was optimized using test specimens of various traditional glue pastes applied to canvases and successfully applied to a historical glue paste sample from the 17th-century painting "La fuga in Egitto," part of the Pagliara collection at the University Suor Orsola Benincasa (Naples, Italy). The data collected in this work provide insights into the specific recipe used for adhesive preparation, supporting artistic and historical interpretations, and contributing to a broader understanding of old restoration practices.
2024-10-17 | PXD051480 | Pride
Project description:Recent improvements in the analysis ancient biomolecules from human remains and associated dental calculus have provided new insights into the prehistoric diet and past genetic diversity of our species. Here we present a “multi-omics” study, integrating genomic and proteomic analyses of two post-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) individuals from San Teodoro cave (Italy), to reconstruct their lifestyle and the post-LGM resettlement of Europe. Our analyses show genetic homogeneity in Sicily during the Palaeolithic, representing a hitherto unknown Italian genetic lineage within the previously identified “Villabruna cluster”. We argue that this lineage took refuge in Italy during the LGM, followed by a subsequent spread to central-western Europe. Analyses of dental calculus using genomics and proteomics showed a similar oral microbiome composition as Neandertals, but distinct from later foragers and farmers, revealing also a diet based on mammals, fish and plants. Our results demonstrate the power of using a multi-omics approach in the study of prehistoric human populations.
2022-10-27 | PXD024346 | Pride