Evaluation of the Conditions of a Calligraphy Manuscript and an Old Historical and Archaeological Legitimate Argument from the 18th Century

Abstract

Evaluation of 18th century calligraphy manuscript and legitimate argument was carried out by different analytical methods in order to identify the composition of the manuscripts and to explain their deterioration state. Visual inspection, identification of the microorganism, pH measurements and chemical tests were carried out. The surface morphology of the manuscripts and the type of animal skin of the book binding, covering the manuscript, was characterized by scanning electron microcopy (SEM) technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technique and chemical analysis was used to identify the ash content, type of pigment, binder of the pigment used. The microbiological test results, revealed the presence of Aspergillus sp., fungi on leather book binding and Pencillium sp., on both the calligraphy manuscript and legitimate argument. The SEM-EDAX results confirmed that the ink used in the argument is a mixture of carbon and iron gall, while the ink used in the manuscript is carbon only. The results also showed that the pigment used on the paper gliding were gold shell. The spot test by using phoroglucinol die indicated that both cotton and linen fibers were used in the manufacture of paper. The pH of both the papers and leather book binding were acidic indicating the deterioration of the leather and papers.