Analysis on the wooden board of the religious book of Psalms dated to 1802

Abstract

In this paper some investigations on the wooden board of the religious Book of Psalms, dated back to 1802, will be reported and discussed. This religious book was published at the typography of the Moldavian Metropolitan Church in Romania. In particular, wood species has been characterised by optical microscopy. Superimposed materials, such as glue, were analysed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Different textile fibres were studied through polarising microscope. Biological analysis was performed through inoculation in culture medium. The analysis revealed the use of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) as wood for obtaining the board. Infrared spectroscopy allowed for finding glue and a synthetic material, probably used in restoration works. Polarising microscopy gave information about textile fibres. Two kinds of textile fibres were found: flax and cotton. Flax was used for joining the two parts of the board. Cotton was used for coloured fibres: blue and beige. These last ones probably belong to textile strips used for attach the board to the book cover. At last, the board is covered almost completely by a fragmentary dark brown material whose fibres were examined under polarising microscope. These fibres can to be attributed to strongly degraded and brownished paper