A group at the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro e la Conservazione del Patrimonio Archivistico e Librario (Rome, Italy) has done a spectroscopic analysis of the pigments and other materials used in the Purple Codex Rossanensis, a sixth-century illuminated manuscript of the Bible's New Testament (an "illuminated" manuscript includes decorative designs along with the text). The group examined the original material as well as materials used in a restoration attempt done early in the 20th century by a miniaturist painter. One of the discoveries was the first experimental evidence of the use of a pigment called "elderberry lake" in the manuscript. Both optical and x-ray spectroscopy were used in the investigation.
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