Non-invasive characterization of a set of Roman equestrian statuary bronze fragments through Neutron Diffraction

This experiment aims to characterize the composition, the microstructure and all the characteristics related to the production and manufacturing methods of a set of bronze fragments (believed to be from the Roman age), recovered from the sand cave inside a lake in the Renai Park (Signa, FI, Italy).The fragments are made up of portions of a horse, human figures, draperies and plates of a basement, and could belong to an equestrian monument or several sculptural groups. These artifacts are currently undergoing restoration at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence and will be available for diagnostic investigations only until June 2021. It is therefore a unique opportunity to analyse, by means of Neutron Diffraction, large samples representative of monumental works of art otherwise impossible to move for diagnostic analysis.

本实验旨在对一批出土于意大利佛罗伦萨省锡尼亚市雷奈公园内湖下沙洞的青铜残件（推测为古罗马时期遗物）的成分、微观结构，以及与生产制造工艺相关的全部特征进行表征。这批残件包含马形构件、人像、衣饰残片及基座底板部分，可能属于一座骑马纪念像或多组雕塑。目前这批文物正在佛罗伦萨硬石修复工坊（Opificio delle Pietre Dure）进行修复，且仅在2021年6月前可用于诊断研究。因此，本研究提供了难得的契机：可借助中子衍射（Neutron Diffraction）技术，对那些因体积庞大无法移动以开展诊断分析的大型纪念性艺术文物代表性样品进行分析。