N.º 27 2018 pp. 49-61

Article
Characterisation of 17th-18th centuries damask and gilt leathers by ATR-FTIR

Lina Falcão^1,2,* , Fernando António Baptista Pereira¹ , Maria Eduarda Araújo² 

¹ Centro de Investigação e de Estudos em Belas-Artes, Secção de Investigação e de Estudos em Ciências da Arte e do Património - Francisco de Holanda, Faculdade de Belas-Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, Largo da Academia Nacional de Belas-Artes, 1249-058 Lisboa, Portugal

² Centro de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Edifício C8, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal

* linafalcao@gmail.com

Abstract

In this paper it is presented the characterisation of tannins used in the vegetable tanning of two types of European historic and decorative leathers from Portuguese collections, damask leathers and gilt leathers, dated from the 17th and 18th centuries. Extracts prepared from collected leather fibres were analysed by attenuated total reflectance - Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. Results were compared with data collected from different reference vegetable tanning materials which, according to historic and technical literature, were used in Europe during the Modern Age. This study allowed, in most cases, the characterisation of the tannins used to produce the studied decorative vegetable tanned leathers and, at the same time, the detection of chemical deterioration of leathers, particularly collagen hydrolysis, which was not visually perceived.

Keywords

Decorative leathers
Vegetable tanning
Tannins
Deterioration

Language

Portuguese

Original title

Caracterização de cabedais adamascados e guadamecis dos séculos XVII e XVIII por ATR-FTIR

DOI

10.14568/cp2017003

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Citation

History

Received: 2017-1-11
Revised: 2017-4-3
Accepted: 2017-4-25
Online: 2017-5-7
Publication: 2018-1-4

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Stable url: https://doi.org/10.14568/cp2017003