Comments on: IR and UV Examination of Egyptian Papyrus

By: Pavlos Kapetanakis

Pavlos Kapetanakis — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:40:44 +0000

Hi Bryan,
IR reflectography is especially valuable for looking beneath the surface of a painting and detect underdrawings but it can also provide information about later restorations, cracks and hidden signatures. Our painting conservation lab is using a high resolution SWIR camera for their IR reflectography which can penetrate thick paint layers with minimum distortion , but you may be able to capture some information with an SLR camera such as yours and an IR filter. You should use Tungsten lamps (warm infrared light) to illuminate the painting.
Hope that’s helpful.
Pavlos

By: Bryan Kay

Bryan Kay — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:56:23 +0000

Hi Pavlos

I was reading your article on “Examination of Egyptian Pyrus – UV & IR photography and was wondering if the settings mentioned in your earlier reply to Suzanne would work if I was going to try on an oil based painting?

I am doing research and the painting was unsigned by the artist but on a visual observation of the canvas, one can see lines / markings / lettering ect…that I was hoping to somehow bring out using infrared reflectography.

I came across your work and camera settings – I have a Canon D60 camera so assume I can emulate your settings.

Any help would be great,

Thanks,
Bryan

By: John Gaudet

John Gaudet — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:34:10 +0000

My comment of March 17, 2011 in a previous part of this blog might be more appropriate here. I’m interested in knowing if you could determine the width of the papyrus strips used in making the ancient paper. I’m trying to find evidence for the size (and vigor) of the plants in the ancient swamps in Egypt. One indication might be large width of the strips used in the best grades of paper.

By: Pavlos Kapetanakis

Pavlos Kapetanakis — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:53:23 +0000

Hi Suzanne,
Thank you for your question.
We use a digital SLR (single- lens reflex) camera (Nikon D70) for IR reflectography, with a 87C filter held in front of the lens with a Kenko Technical Filter Holder. As far as exposure goes, in general f/11 and 2-6” yields good results. The image captured, a semi- bright purple, is then viewed on Photoshop on Grayscale Mode. The image’s color levels (shadows and highlights) as well as brightness/ contrast and sharpness (if image is not sharp) are then adjusted as necessary.

By: Suzanne Hargrove

Suzanne Hargrove — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:57:35 +0000

Hi Pavlos:

Regarding your examination of the Egyptian Book of the Dead using IR and UV illumination, can you tell me more about the camera you used to do the IR imaging?

Sincerely,

Suzanne