X-rays reveal secrets of 14th-century tomb of England’s infamous Black Prince
Enlarge / Effigy of Edward of Woodstock, aka the Black Prince, in Canterbury Cathedral. Visitors to Canterbury Cathedral can view the effigy of a 14th-century knight in full armor laid out on top of a marble tomb. It's the tomb of Edward of Woodstock, colloquially known as the Black Prince, and it's one of just…
X-ray analysis reveals hidden composition under iconic portrait of the Lavoisiers
The French 18th-century chemist Antoine Lavoisier is a complicated historical figure. Scientifically, of course, he is an undisputed giant, helping usher in the chemical revolution as the field shifted from a qualitative to a quantitative approach, among many other achievements. He was also a wealthy nobleman and tax collector for the Ferme Generale, one of the…
X-rays reveal censored portions of Marie Antoinette’s letters to Swedish count
Enlarge / 1775 portrait of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, by Jean-Baptiste-André Gautier-Dagoty. X-ray analysis of letters between the queen and a Swedish count revealed words that had been blacked out, rendering them illegible—until now.Public domain Most people associate Marie Antoinette with the affair of the diamond necklace, "Let them eat cake!" and the onset…
X-rays reveal the faded colors of a 1,300-year-old Inca idol
Sepulveda et al. 2020 The idol of Pachacamac was already 700 years old when Spanish conquistadors arrived in Peru, according to radiocarbon dating of the wood. People journeyed from all over the Andes to consult the statue, believed to be an important oracle of the Inca gods, leaving behind offerings of gold, silver, and valuable…
How AI helps unlock the secrets of Old Master and modernist...
Enlarge / Restorers of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage remove surpeints and reveal the original of "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" altarpiece by Van Eyck brothers.John Thys/AFP/Getty Images X-rays are a well-established tool to help analyze and restore valuable paintings, because their higher frequency means they pass right through paintings without harming them. X-ray…
