Study of the pigments on the capitals in the Doña Petronila Hall of the Royal Palace of Huesca (Huesca Museum) using portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_salduie/sald.2026213506Keywords:
Aragonese Romanesque, White lead, Minium, Azurite, Compositional chemometricsAbstract
The polychromy of eight capitals in the Doña Petronila Room of the Royal Palace of Huesca (Huesca Museum) was studied using non-invasive portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF). White lead is inferred in whites, flesh tones and mixtures; red lead in reds and oranges; and a yellow lead oxide mixed with ochre in yellows. Blues and greens contain copper, consistent with azurite, malachite or other copper greens. Iron ochres occur in the angel’s hair and the devil’s flesh tone; in other yellows, the iron signal cannot be distinguished from that of the substrate. Mercury is detected in dark areas, consistent with cinnabar. Arsenic does not represent a distinct pigment. The predominance of lead and the co-occurrence of calcium and sulphur suggest a gypsum ground applied in a dry technique, but the binder cannot be identified. Multivariate analysis distinguishes four groups: lead pigments, copper greens/blues, iron ochres and mercury-bearing areas.
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