The scientific investigation of the wooden board from the 1802 Book of Psalms

Abstract

This paper presents some investigations on the wooden board of the religious Book of Psalms, dated back to 1802, which was published at the typography of the Moldavian Metropolitan Church in Romania. The visual observation was performed to assess the conservation state and to choose the most appropriate diagnostic analyses to provide useful information for book restoration. Wood species and textile fibres has been characterised by optical microscopy; biological analysis was performed to identify fungi and bacteria, as well as insect species; superimposed materials, such as glue, were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The analysis revealed the use of beech for the board, flax and cotton for the strips, original glue and a synthetic material, probably used in restoration works. Microbiological contamination was due to fungal attack ('Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus flavus'); the insect species was 'Anobium punctatum'. The critical observation of board made by the working group was an effective operation as it supplied useful information on original techniques of the book and allowed to choose the appropriate analyses with the aim of minimum intervention.