Historical Note: Characterization of Pigments and Binders in Mural Painting Fragments from Bezeklik, China

Abstract

This paper reports the result of identification of pigments and binders used in wall painting fragments in Bezeklik Grottoes (5th-14th CE), now housed in the Central Asian collection of National Museum, New Delhi. The tiny pigment samples (100-200 mu m in size) extracted from some of the artworks have been analyzed to gain information on the art materials and painting techniques. Analysis by Micro-Raman spectroscopy, complemented with Scanning Electron Microscopy -Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and Wavelength Dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) allowed identification of lamp black, azurite, atacamite, gypsum, red lead and haematite as pigments and gypsum as a ground layer. The unsaturated and saturated fatty acids and terpineol extracted from the micro sample were identified as organic binders by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometer (GC-MS) analysis. The multi-analytical studies have allowed material characterization in terms of the elemental composition of pigments.