A Multi‐Analytical Campaign on Reused Medieval Musical Parchment From the Archivio di Stato di Siena (Italy)

ABSTRACT

In this study, a non‐invasive, multi‐analytical approach combining hypercolorimetric multispectral imaging (HMI), stereomicroscopy, X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, principal component analysis (PCA) and X‐ray radiography (RX) is used to investigate three reused musical parchment fragments dating from the late 14th or early 15th century and preserved in the Archivio di Stato di Siena. The aim is to characterise and differentiate the inks used for musical texts and notations, as well as marginal annotations, with the broader objective of identifying distinct writing interventions. Imaging analyses revealed differences in the preservation state of the writing within the script, while also enhancing the visibility of faded and partially lost traces. The black inks generally exhibited spectral behaviour consistent with iron‐gall formulations, whereas selected annotations were compatible with carbon‐based writing materials. XRF analysis identified iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) as the principal elemental markers. PCA was used as an exploratory tool to identify the main compositional differences and to guide the subsequent interpretation of the spectroscopic dataset. The Fe/Cu ratio enabled the chemical discrimination and spatial mapping of multiple ink formulations across all three fragments, revealing the coexistence of primary writing materials and localised secondary interventions. The integrated investigation of the miniature on one of the fragments identified the pictorial palette and provided evidence of the gilding technique. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the workflow for the multi‐analytical investigation of reused parchment fragments, improving the characterisation of heterogeneous materials and supporting the identification of historical hands involved in producing and subsequently reusing the fragments.