ATR/FTIR INVESTIGATION INTO THE NATURE OF THE METAL THREADS FROM ROMANIAN MEDIEVAL TEXTILES

In this paper, chemical and physical nature of the metal threads surfaces and their silk core yarns used in the Romanian religious embroideries and velvet brocades, dating from 15th to 16th century, have been investigated by using the Attenuated Total Reflectance/Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR/FTIR). Results obtained may help decoding the history of some of the most valuable medieval metal thread textiles preserved in the Romanian museums and monasteries collections, and advancing diagnostic techniques for choosing appropriate conservation and restoration treatments and efficient monitoring of the deterioration processes.