Multiphoton characterization of cultural heritage artefacts
Staff
Gaël Latour / Paris-Saclay Univ
Marie-Claire Schanne-Klein / DR CNRS
Giulia Galante / PhD student
Internship project / Proposition de stage : Analyse de couches de vernis par tomographie par cohérence optique. Application aux cuirs dorés et aux instruments de musique.
Topic
Multiphoton microscopy is a valuable tool to characterize heritage artefacts that are heterogeneous scattering media like biological tissues. We have characterized the multilayer structure of varnishes, and we have probed the degradation of parchments, which are obtained from dried skin. We recently applied this new methodology to the Mappa Mundi d’Albi, which is classified as “World memory” by Unesco.
Figure: Mapping of a 17th century parchment using multiphoton microscopy. Well preserved regions (center) show SHG signals from collagen and slight fluorescence signals from fat or proteic residus, while altered regions only exhibit un-structured fluorescence signals because of collagen denaturation (so-called gelatinisation).
Highlights / review articles
[French] Le diagnostic des parchemins passe au sans contact, Communiqué de presse de l’Université Paris-Saclay, le CNRS et l'Ecole Polytechnique, 2021
[French] Cartographier la dégradation des parchemins à l’échelle microscopique sans contact ni prélèvement, Actualités scientifiques de l’Université Paris-Sud et du CNRS
Main ongoing collaborations
- L. Robinet, S. Heu-Thao, S. Cersoy, A. Michelin, CRC (CNRS, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris)
- A. Dazzi, A. Deniset-Besseau, J. Mathurin ICP (CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay)
Publications
Noninvasive quantitative assessment of collagen degradation in parchments by polarization-resolved SHG microscopy , M. Schmeltz, L. Robinet, S. Heu-Thao, J.-M. Sintès, C. Teulon, G. Ducourthial, P. Mahou, M.-C. Schanne-Klein, G. Latour, Sci. Adv. 7, eabg1090 (2021). pdf
Correlative nonlinear optical microscopy and infrared nanoscopy reveals collagen degradation in altered parchments, G. Latour, L. Robinet, A. Dazzi, F. Portier, A. Deniset-Besseau, and M.-C. Schanne-Klein, Sci. Rep. 6, 26344 (2016). pdf
In situ 3D characterization of historical coatings and wood using multimodal nonlinear optical microscopy, G. Latour, J.-P. Echard, M. Didier, M.-C. Schanne-Klein, Opt. Express 20, 24623 (2012) pdf