Art and Conservation

Increasing efforts are made to conserve valuable objects that have suffered through the ravages of time. To be able to restore objects adequately and without destroying their original substance, it is of utmost importance to determine the composition of materials used for their production. This ensures that compatible substances can be used in the restoration process. It is even more favorable if the analysis method used is non-destructive. For this purpose Bruker AXS offers the ARTAX series of micro X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) spectrometers. In addition, µXRF can also be used to obtain Information on age and origin of these valuable objects non-desctructively.

Non-destructive elemental analysis is an imperative for origin or age determination of unique and valuable art objects. The micro X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) spectrometer ARTAX delivers the most detailed information possible on materials composition and/or structure without any damage or alteration. The combination of a special lens and a nitrogen-free detector provides fast information on the element composition of small structures below a size of 100 µm. Mappings of user defined areas of interest show element distributions even in thin layers on paintings and manuscripts.