Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF technique

In this work, two modern Egyptian papyrus belonging to a private collection were analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence technique (XRF). The papyri are genuine, made from the papyrus plant, and hand-painted. The papyri were bought in the city of Cairo, Egypt, in the ‘80s and brought to Brazil in the same...

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Main Author: Raysa Costa Nardes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2021-04-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
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Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1459
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author Raysa Costa Nardes
author_facet Raysa Costa Nardes
author_sort Raysa Costa Nardes
collection DOAJ
description In this work, two modern Egyptian papyrus belonging to a private collection were analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence technique (XRF). The papyri are genuine, made from the papyrus plant, and hand-painted. The papyri were bought in the city of Cairo, Egypt, in the ‘80s and brought to Brazil in the same period. XRF analyses were performed using a portable spectrometer ARTTAX (X-ray tube with Mo anode and a Silicon Drift Detector XFlash®, Bruker AXS Inc.). XRF measurements were carried out under the following experimental conditions: 35 kV, 600 μA, unfiltered x-ray beam, air atmosphere, acquisition time of 600 s. The elements detected in the two papyri were: Si, Al, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ba and Pb. Through the XRF analysis it was possible to evaluate the pigments found in the two papyri are different from each other. In the analysis of the blue color, present in the papyrus, it was observed that the composition of this color can be a mixture of two pigments: Egyptian blue (CaCuSi₄O₁₀) and Lithopone (ZnSBaSO4). Most of the pigments on the papyri were thus recognized to be modern, their syntheses, or refinement processes not being known to ancient Egyptians.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2319-0612
language English
publishDate 2021-04-01
publisher Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)
record_format Article
series Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
spelling doaj-art-37675b7bf408400b97808b5f9901daa32025-08-20T03:50:49ZengBrazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences2319-06122021-04-0191A10.15392/bjrs.v9i1A.14591130Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF techniqueRaysa Costa Nardes0Rio de Janeiro State UniversityIn this work, two modern Egyptian papyrus belonging to a private collection were analyzed using X-Ray Fluorescence technique (XRF). The papyri are genuine, made from the papyrus plant, and hand-painted. The papyri were bought in the city of Cairo, Egypt, in the ‘80s and brought to Brazil in the same period. XRF analyses were performed using a portable spectrometer ARTTAX (X-ray tube with Mo anode and a Silicon Drift Detector XFlash®, Bruker AXS Inc.). XRF measurements were carried out under the following experimental conditions: 35 kV, 600 μA, unfiltered x-ray beam, air atmosphere, acquisition time of 600 s. The elements detected in the two papyri were: Si, Al, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ba and Pb. Through the XRF analysis it was possible to evaluate the pigments found in the two papyri are different from each other. In the analysis of the blue color, present in the papyrus, it was observed that the composition of this color can be a mixture of two pigments: Egyptian blue (CaCuSi₄O₁₀) and Lithopone (ZnSBaSO4). Most of the pigments on the papyri were thus recognized to be modern, their syntheses, or refinement processes not being known to ancient Egyptians.https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1459xrf techniquemodern papyruspigments
spellingShingle Raysa Costa Nardes
Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF technique
Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
xrf technique
modern papyrus
pigments
title Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF technique
title_full Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF technique
title_fullStr Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF technique
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF technique
title_short Analysis of the pigments in two modern Egyptian papyri using XRF technique
title_sort analysis of the pigments in two modern egyptian papyri using xrf technique
topic xrf technique
modern papyrus
pigments
url https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1459
work_keys_str_mv AT raysacostanardes analysisofthepigmentsintwomodernegyptianpapyriusingxrftechnique