Study on the Conservation-restoration of Textile Materials from Romanian Medieval Art CollectionsII. SEM-EDX studies for the identification and characterization of the historic metal threads

摘要

Metal threads in medieval and post-medieval ecclesiastical textiles, also Greek Orthodox dating to the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods, have been studied in a considerable extent by means of scientific investigations. The chemical composition of these metal decorations is very important for future conservation works and helps, alongside with morphological studies, for dating and provenience studies. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis System (SEM-EDX) is a widely, routinely used technique. No comparable information exists for Romanian ecclesiastical textile. Majority of them are preserved by the monasteries in the storages and some are exhibited in small but wellknown museums like those from Putna, Sucevifa - Suceava County or Golia - Ia§i County. The paper presents the obtained results for the identification and characterisation of the metal threads that have been sampled from the above mentionated ecclesiastical textile collections. Decoration of silver, gilded silver and copper were found to be the most common. Many surfaces present a thin layer if corrosion and some are much degraded. The majority of metal threads (silver and gilded silver) have a textile core made from undyed silk while some have a yellow cellulosic core.