Measurements of Paper Components

2023–2025

RFA20

A Tsakali ritual card in a special sample holder during an experiment at the SAXSMAT beamline P62 at DESY.

Paper as a writing support is a very complex and unique material. It is difficult to understand at the molecular level, especially since many of its components are influenced by various environmental factors and subject to deterioration processes occurring at different stages and times. There are almost endless possible combinations of elements, compounds, original raw materials, products of deterioration, and environmental substances. In short, we deal with a very heterogenous, constantly changing material. Thus, in the study of written artefacts, paper analysis poses a challenge for both the natural sciences and the humanities.

At present, paper is most often studied with historical and codicological methods (a comparative study of watermarks, papermaking sieve print, or other technological features) or microscopy (fibre analysis). The character of heritage objects and the requirements of non-destructive testing enhance the challenge. As a result, the history of paper is based almost exclusively on written sources and rarely on material evidence. A few existing studies based on archaeological evidence or material analyses of old manuscripts are rather exceptional. To help conservators in their daily work, conservation science has developed a wide range of analytical methods for preservation measures and to better understand deterioration processes. There is still, however, a need to develop both methods and reference data to obtain the ‘fingerprints’ of specific types of paper.

Collection of different papers for comparative research and the data base of X-ray measurements.

Synchrotron X-ray analytical methods are increasingly being used to study historical papers. However, so far, the purpose of such research has been mostly to anticipate the impact of X-ray photons on paper and cellulose-based artefacts, or to better understand deterioration processes. This project, which is part of the UWA-DESY collaboration (with Sylvio Haas on the DESY side), aims to apply small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering to investigate the structure of papers and papermaking additives at the nano- and atomic scale, exploring its potential use for authentication and provenance studies. Based on X-ray scattering signals, information about the local paper structure can be obtained. The focus of this project is to develop a protocol for fingerprinting specific types of paper, so that we can detect the same or very similar types in different heritage objects.

To further understand the possible applications and limitations of the X-ray scattering techniques, we employ a host of complementary analytical methods of paper characterisation and identification in written artefacts, including microscopic, spectroscopic, and image processing techniques. To correlate structural parameters of the paper samples with changes in the manufacturing process, we established a cooperation with a papermaking studio specialising in historical hand-made papers, which enables us to prepare samples in a controlled manner. We also do measurements on artificially aged samples and determine the potential damage this method causes to heritage objects. The database of X-ray scattering measurements for the paper samples collected in this project will hopefully constitute a solid foundation to develop this technique further, and simultaneously contribute to the research on papermaking traditions in understudied areas, such as Southwest China and mainland Southeast Asia.

People

Project lead: Agnieszka Helman-Ważny, Sylvio Haas

Research Associate: Małgorzata Grzelec