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Review
. 2019 Jan 12:17:31-42.
doi: 10.1016/j.jare.2019.01.003. eCollection 2019 May.

Analytical and mathematical methods for revealing hidden details in ancient manuscripts and paintings: A review

Anna Tonazzini  1 , Emanuele Salerno  1 , Zienab A Abdel-Salam  2 , Mohamed Abdel Harith  2 , Luciano Marras  3 , Asia Botto  4 , Beatrice Campanella  4 , Stefano Legnaioli  4 , Stefano Pagnotta  4 , Francesco Poggialini  4 , Vincenzo Palleschi  4
Affiliations
Review

Analytical and mathematical methods for revealing hidden details in ancient manuscripts and paintings: A review

Anna Tonazzini et al. J Adv Res. .

Abstract

In this work, a critical review of the current nondestructive probing and image analysis approaches is presented, to revealing otherwise invisible or hardly discernible details in manuscripts and paintings relevant to cultural heritage and archaeology. Multispectral imaging, X-ray fluorescence, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Thermography are considered, as techniques for acquiring images and spectral image sets; statistical methods for the analysis of these images are then discussed, including blind separation and false colour techniques. Several case studies are presented, with particular attention dedicated to the approaches that appear most promising for future applications. Some of the techniques described herein are likely to replace, in the near future, classical digital photography in the study of ancient manuscripts and paintings.

Keywords: Ancient manuscripts; Archaeology; Blind separation techniques; Cultural heritage; Image analysis; Multispectral imaging.

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Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
3D multispectral reconstruction of the surface of a painting. (a) RGB; (b) UV–Vis fluorescence; (c) infrared .
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Folio 16v-17r of the Archimedes palimpsest. (a) RGB image under strobe lamp illumination. (b) Second component output (contrast-enhanced) from the 2 × 2 PCA of the red and blue colour channels, revealing the underwritten text and drawings (© The owner of the Archimedes Palimpsest, licensed for use under creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Access Rights. Image processing: The Institute of Information Science and Technologies, National Research Council of Italy).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Detail of the hunting scene (a wild boar, running from right to left) recovered using BSS in the Tomb of Blue Demons in Tarquinia, using MSI and BSS. On the right, the visible image of the wall. Note the improvement in readability of the wild boar (muzzle with ear and fang is evidenced in the yellow circle) and of the head of one of the hunters (red circle) and vegetation at his right.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
SOM segmentation of a set of elemental images obtained on a Roman mortar sample using μ-LIBS . The yellow square in the figure indicates the zone analysed.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Schematic representation of the procedure used for building IrRG and IrGB false colour images from a multispectral set of images.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Schematic representation of the procedure used to build a ChromaDI image.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Detail of the Pietà of Agnolo Bronzino. (a) RGB image, (b) infrared Image and (c) merged “true colour infrared image” .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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