Non-Invasive Investigation of a 16th-Century Illuminated Scroll: Mineral Pigments, Fillers, and Metal-Based Details

The study and preservation of illuminated manuscripts, particularly miniatures on parchment, are crucial for understanding the artistic, cultural, and technological history of the past. This research investigates the materials used in a 16th-century illuminated scroll, analyzing both the miniatures and the written text through non-invasive techniques. A multi-analytical approach was applied, including optical microscopy, Hypercolorimetric Multispectral Imaging (HMI), Infrared Reflectography in the 950-1700 nm range, Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectra (FORS), macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and External Reflection-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ER-FTIR). These methods provided a comprehensive characterization of the chemical composition and artistic techniques employed, revealing new information on Renaissance materials and practices. The mineral-based pigments identified include smalt, vermillion, lead white, rouaite or gerhardtite. Aluminosilicate and calcite were used as fillers or substrates for organic dyes used for pink hues. Moreover, gold and silver were employed in decorations both as foils and shell pigments. Finally, the capital letters were created with smalt and vermillion, while the black text ink is composed by iron gall ink, commonly used on parchments.