Characterization of Paint Binder in Historical Persian Paintings by ATR-FTIR

One of important aspects in the field of Art technology and conservation of Persian historical paintings is the characterization of binder (or binding medium) used in paints. The basic rule in this field is identification of historic materials without destruction of the works or the sample taken from them. ATR-FTIR (attenuated total reflectance-FTIR) is one of the common non destructive methods for characterizing organic materials in paintings. In this paper samples prepared using common binders of Persian paintings, have been tested for the evaluation of ATR-FTIR method. In the second step real historic samples have been tested. Results showed that the method is efficient in classification of binders (to hydrocarbon, protein and drying oil groups), but is not perfectly successful in detailed identification. Detailed research needs other test methods. J. Color Sci. Tech. 8(2014), 27-36©. Institute for Color Science and Technology.