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Examination of Gilded Bronze Artifacts Using Nondestructive Eddy Current Techniques

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

Johanna R. Bernstein  and
Blythe McCarthy
Johanna R. Bernstein
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering TheJohns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
Blythe McCarthy
Affiliation:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler GallerySmithsonian Institution, Washington, DC20560
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Abstract

In the examination of gilded bronze objects, the analysis of the thickness of the gilding layer, the condition of the substrate and the gilding method is often difficult to manage without taking samples. Yet, the resulting information is vital to research on ancient metalworking and can answer questions of authenticity. The use of nondestructive eddy current techniques can overcome these sampling limitations. Eddy current methods are typically used in the automotive, power and aerospace industries for flaw inspection and alloy selection. In this method, the interaction of an electromagnetic field induced by a coil probe with the metal surface shifts the probe impedance which is measured and correlated to properties of the metal. Results are presented which show that eddy current testing can be used to characterize a gilding layer on a bronze substrate by variations in thickness or composition.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 712: Symposium II – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VI , 2002 , II5.3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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References

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