The 6th CrysAC workshop on “Micro- and nano-diffraction for cultural heritage”

The 6th CrysAC workshop organised by Gilberto Artioli (University of Padova, Italy, chair of CrysAC) and Partha Pratim Das (Nanomegas, Brussel, Belgium) took place on the 23rd August 2022 as a satellite meeting of the 33rd European Crystallographic Meeting, France. The workshop was hosted by Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF) in Palais du Louvre, Paris. In keeping with the terms of reference of the Commission, the CrysAC workshop on "Micro- and nano-diffraction for cultural heritage" was within the series of one-day workshops organized by the IUCr Commission on Crystallography in Art and Cultural Heritage, and aimed to stimulate knowledge exchange between crystallographers and researchers interested in Cultural Heritage investigations. Different communities were invited to present reviews of established research, recent results and envisaged trends in key areas of Archaeometry and Conservation Science.

The workshop invited scientists from research institutions, museums, and conservation bodies, in order to illustrate state-of-the-art applications of diffraction techniques in the sub-micron spatial resolution. Recent instrumental and methodological advances, mainly based on electron diffraction and synchrotron radiation, open novel fields of research on cultural heritage materials, to understand chemico-physical processes and structural transformations with unprecedented spatial resolutions. After the workshop, the participants could attend a unique excursion guided by Victor Etgens, the head of C2RMF, into the C2RMF laboratories in the basement of the Louvre palace.

33rd ECM in Versailles, France

The microsymposium MS43 on “Crystallography for cultural heritage materials” took place on August 27, 2022 within the programme of the 33rd ECM in Versailles, France. The session, co-chaired by Silvie Švarcová (ALMA Laboratory, Czech Republic, CrysAC) and Victor Etgens (C2RMF, France; previously IPANEMA, France), was opened by the invited lecture by Kirsten M. Ø. Jensen (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) dedicated to the application of computed tomography Pair Distribution Function analysis for the characterisation of heterogeneous phases in wood from the Mary Rose, the famous flagship of Henry VIII. The other contribution dealt with study of degradation phenomena in paintings, characterisation of mediaeval brocade patterns and study of ancient pottery and its contemporary replica.

In the closing ceremony, Gilberto Artioli propagated the forthcoming 34th ECM and 18th EPDIC which both will take place in Padova, Italy, on the 26-31 August 2024 and 30 August – 2 September 2024, respectively.

Invited lectures

International Symposium “Crossroads: data-driven talks on ancient materiality at the interface of archeology, science and engineering”, Turin, Italy, 3 June 2022

Gilberto Artioli delivered an invited seminar titled: “An Integrated Diagnostic and Valorization Project for UNESCO Sites: The Case of the Terme del Sarno, Pompei”, at the International Symposium “Crossroads: data-driven talks on ancient materiality at the interface of archeology, science and engineering”. Museo Egizio, Torino, Italy, 3 June 2022.

School of XFEL and Synchrotron Radiation Users, 6-10 November 2023, Liptovský Ján, Slovakia

Silvie Švarcová (ALMA Laboratory, Czech Republic, CrysAC) delivered an invited lecture “XRPD and EDS for analysis of paintings” at the international School of XFEL and Synchrotron Radiation Users.

CrysAC members’ activities

Workshops, trainings, mobility and outreach

First training courses for applications of synchrotron light in archaeology and cultural heritage studies, Istanbul, Turkey, 18-19 March 2023

This event was organized by TENMAK (Türkiye Enerji, Nükleer ve Maden Araştırma Kurumu: Turkish Energy, Nuclear and Mining Research Council). https://www.tenmak.gov.tr/giris-introduction.html The audience was composed of about 100 persons (half on site, half remote), most of them Turkish archaeologists and heritage actors. The program encompassed presentations from beamline staff (SESAME, ELETTRA, ESRF) and from senior archaeologists and expert synchrotron radiation users. Time was also dedicated to train future users in elaborating synchrotron radiation experiments and writing proposals. The main objective was to make heritage actors from Turkey more aware about capabilities offered by synchrotron radiation facilities.

The Historical Materials BAG 2-day event, ESRF, Grenoble, France, 5-6 December 2022

Following the workshop organized in January 2020 at ESRF for the cultural and natural heritage community, a project of “historical materials BAG” access was discussed (https://www.esrf.fr/BAG/HG172). After one year of operation, it was important to get scientific feedback from the BAG partners and to discuss ways to further improve this process. The event was a clear success. 23 persons attended it, most of them PhD students from all over Europe. The first day was dedicated to scientific presentations (PhD students and beamline scientists). On the second day, training on the FullProf software was proposed (course given by Gilles Wallez, Chimie Paris) and was very well received by the participants.

The exhibition “Rises and Falls of Portrait Miniature”, Chomutov, Czech Republic, 25 June – 24 September 2022

The event organised by the ALMA Laboratory, Czech Republic, presented to the public results of a scientific project focusing on non-destructive analysis of portrait miniatures from the Czech collections. The impact of the detailed material investigation on authentication of these subtle pieces of arts was documented by numerous examples. Within the exhibition, an interactive workshop demostrating analytical techniques took place. An illustrative film “Technique and history of miniature paintings” complementing the exhibition is available: https://www.iic.cas.cz/homepage/videa/

ERASMUS+ project 'Building Power Skills through ART'

Alicia Rafalska of CrysAC participated in the Erasmus Action: Cooperation partnerships in higher education.

Symposia and conferences

43rd International Symposium on Archaeometry, Lisbon, Portugal, 16-20 May 2022

Several contributions from CrysAC members were presented at the 43rd International Symposium on Archaeometry (ISA 2020/2022) held in Lisbon on May 16-20, 2022 (https://www.isa2020-lisboa.pt). This is a very important meeting for the archaeometric community, involving both archaeology and conservation.

Molecular Transformations in Oil Paint, 16-17 June, Paris, France

Silvie Švarcová (ALMA Labortaory, Czech Republic, CrysAC) delivered a lecture, and Marine Cotte (ESRF, France, CrysAC), Frederik Vanmeert (University of Atwerpen, Belgium - Koen Janssens’ group) and their co-workers presented the activities of the Historical Materials BAG and numerous results from the investigation of Dutch painted artworks.

Structure 2022 - The conference of the Czech and Slovak Crystallographic Association (CSCA) and regional IUCr committee, 20-23 June 2022, Tábor, Czech Republic

Silvie Švarcová (ALMA Laboratory, Czech Republic, CrysAC) presented the lecture “XRPD as a powerful tool for study of painted artworks” and attended the assembly of CSCA.

Conference “Quasicrystals: State of the art and outlooks”, 18 November 2022, Accademia dei Lincei, Rome, Italy

Emil Makovicky presented a lecture at the Quasicrystals conference in Rome, entitled “Quasicrystals and Art: Interesting new facts”.

Preparation of sessions at the 26th Congress and General Assembly of the IUCr, Melbourne 2023

The Commission at present is actively involved in the organization of microsymposia and keynotes at the next (26th) Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography, 22–29 August 2023, Melbourne, Australia.