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Gold leaf analysis of three baroque altarpieces from Porto

2009; Volume: 33; Linguagem: Inglês

10.4000/archeosciences.2552

2104-3728

Ana Bidarra, João Coroado, Fernando Rocha,

Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition

During the second half of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century, Portugal experienced a rising altarpiece production and an increased taste for gold application in church decoration. Some examples of this tendency can be found in the northwest of Portugal, particularly in the baroque altarpiece productions of Porto, Braga, Vila Real and Viana do Castelo. Porto was the first area studied and three gilded wood-carved altarpieces from different churches were selected: São Bento da Vitória (SB), Santa Clara (SC) and São Francisco (SF). Qualitative and semi-quantitative analyses of the samples were performed by optical microscopy (OM) of the cross-section using reflected and polarised light, and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in combination with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The main advantages and disadvantages of the use of SEM-EDS were discussed and the results regarding the presence of major and trace elements compared.