Limousin Enamels from the Collection of Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów. Part II: Application of Analytical Methods in the Restoration Work

Abstract

Limousin Enamels from the Collection of Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów

Part II
Application of Analytical Methods in the Restoration Work

Enamel is a material made by fusing powdered glass, used to metal protective coatings. Enamel offer properties not available in comparison to traditional materials, such as good chemical resistance increased thermal and color stability.But enamel is also very fragile material, small mechanical strain or other accident caused damage like cracks or exfoliation. Today many synthetic resins are used as consolidation material. Apart from resins without the addition of filers for that purpose polymer composites are more and more often applied. Composite materials consist of two or more distinct physical phases, one of which, the filer is dispersed in a continuous matrix phase. Composites having the domains with dimension from micro to nanometers are especially attractive to material science and technology because such systems have new, unique physical and chemical properties. Composites offer a combination of properties not available in traditional materials, such as enhanced mechanical properties, increased thermal and or photochemical stability, etc. One of the most popular group of filer used to obtain ncomposites is silica. This work presents the results obtained during the conservation of historic enamels from Limoges. Objects subjected to the conservation came from the collection of the Museum of the Palace in Wilanów and their origins date back to the XVI-th and XVII-th century. The scanning electron microscopy and infrared analysis served for determining the state of keeping objects; providing information about secondary interferences in historic substance and showed the kind, the extent of the damage of metal base. Analyses allowed also for trace consolidations weakened and exfoliated parts of the enamel, by displaying distribution (abilities of the penetration) of used materials.