Pastiglia relief and sgraffito: a study of the polychromy on a late Medieval English alabaster altarpiece

Christina Spaarschuh; Elena Platania

doi:10.14568/cp36147

Authors

Christina Spaarschuh Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), Postbox 736 Sentrum, 0105 Oslo, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2268-1498
Elena Platania Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), Postbox 736 Sentrum, 0105 Oslo, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1022-4799

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14568/cp36147

Keywords:

Late medieval, England, Altarpieces, Alabaster, Polychromy, Material analysis

Abstract

English late medieval alabaster altarpieces and fragments of such, are preserved in many countries in Europe. Scientific examination of the polychromy on alabaster carvings has provided new information about materials and painting techniques employed. The elaborately polychromed wooden frameworks of this type of altarpieces remain unstudied so far. Only a few original frameworks are preserved intact, amongst these one belonging to the Passion altarpiece from the convent of Reynistaður, now kept at the National Museum of Iceland. The article presents the results of the examination and analysis executed on selected features of the polychromy on this altarpiece. A sgraffito décor mimicking chain mail on the alabasters is shed light on, as well as sgraffito and pastiglia décor on the framework. Light microscopy, XRF and analysis of cross sections with SEM-EDS, Micro Raman and ATR-FTIR provide insight into the production of this group of works and the employed pigments and binders.

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