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Hendriks Laura

Adjointe scientifique HES

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Adjointe scientifique HES

Desktop: HEIA_B10.13

Haute école d'ingénierie et d'architecture de Fribourg
Boulevard de Pérolles 80, 1700 Fribourg, CH

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Ongoing

Catch me if you can, Microscale 14C analysis of natural organic dyes and pigments

Role: Main Applicant

Financement: Society in Science - Branco Weiss Fellowship

Description du projet :

As a Branco Weiss Fellow, Dr. Laura Hendriks aims to develop a new approach for radiocarbon dating of cultural heritage objects by targeting the agents of colours, namely the organic pigments and dyes. Based on 14C techniques developed for environmental and archaeological purposes, her research will tackle how to combine microsampling, chromatographic separation followed by radiocarbon analysis with state-of-the-art accelerated mass spectrometer to extract the 14C signature of organic dyes. The history of coloured objects will be revealed as both the substrate and the dye will provide temporal information on trading routes and on the practice of dyeing, hereby creating larger discussions with historians, art specialists and archaeologists on our understanding of the past.

Research team within HES-SO: Hendriks Laura

Durée du projet: 01.10.2020 - 31.10.2025

Montant global du projet: 500'000 CHF

Url of the project site: https://brancoweissfellowship.org/fellow/hendriks.html

Statut: Ongoing

2022

Compound specific radiocarbon ( 14 C) dating of our colorful past :

Scientific paper ArODES

from theory to practice

Laura Hendriks, Cyril Portmann

Helvetica Chimica Acta, To be published.

Link to the publication

Summary:

For generations, humanity has preserved customs, places, objects, artistic expressions, and values – our cultural heritage. The use of color on cultural heritage objects is ubiquitous and found on artefacts from prehistoric rock art to present day contemporary artworks. The chemical identification of the colored materials used within an artwork often provides information about the work's origin. At the simplest level, a comparison of the materials present with information on their first date of discovery indicates the earliest possible period in which the colored artefact was created. More precise constraints on the date of creation can be provided by radiocarbon (14C) dating, however until today no such analysis has ever been conducted on the compounds responsible for the object's color. The analysis of natural organic dyes and pigments is challenging, as the limited sampling access, their low concentrations and presence in highly complex matrix, are all major challenges to be overcome. The separation of intermingled carbon sources is without question the most difficult problem, yet feasible with the help of compound specific radiocarbon analysis (CSRA). Here, we discuss the potential of radiocarbon dating isolated natural organic dyes and pigments and explore new routes to date cultural heritage objects.

Combined, sequential dye analysis and radiocarbon dating of single ancient textile yarns from a Nazca tunic

Scientific paper ArODES

Gregory D. Smitch, Victor J. Chen, Amanda Holden, Negar Haghipour, Laura Hendriks

Heritage Science, 2022, vol. 10, no. 179

Link to the publication

Summary:

The accessioning of ancient textiles into museum collections often requires objective information regarding the object’s appropriateness and authenticity before purchase or gift acceptance. In the case of colored fabrics, the identification of dyestuffs consistent with the attributed time period and culture builds confidence and reduces the chances of the object being a simple forgery or fake produced using modern materials. Moreover, this information adds to the technical, cultural, and conservation knowledge regarding the object. Increasingly, chronometric age estimates in the form of radiocarbon dating are also needed to establish the object’s age or to further prove the materials match the purported date range of the textile. Each of these analyses consumes a small sample of the object, and typically they are conducted separately by different laboratories on individual sample yarns. This report demonstrates for the first time the sequential, combined analysis of dyes by liquid chromatography-diode array detection-mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating of the same residual dye-extracted sample. The chemicals and solvents used in various dye extraction protocols are shown not to contaminate the extracted yarns for radiocarbon dating purposes. The approach was used in the authentication study of an ancient Nazca tunic made from natural fibers (wool) and dyes (indigoids, anthraquinones, and flavonoids) shown to have most likely been produced between 595 and 665 CE.

2021

Radiocarbon dating of lead white: novel application in the study of polychrome sculpture

Scientific paper ArODES

Sara Sá, Laura Hendriks, Isabel Pombo Cardoso, Irka Hajdas

Scientific Reports, 2021, vol. 11, article no. 13210

Link to the publication

Summary:

Recently, radiocarbon dating underwent considerable technological advances allowing unprecedented sample size downscaling. These achievements introduced novel opportunities in dating cultural heritage objects. Within this pioneering research, the possibility of a direct 14C dating of lead white pigment and organic binder in paint samples was investigated on polychrome sculptures, a foremost artistic expression in human history. The polychromy, an indivisible part of polychrome sculpture, holds a key role in the interpretation and understanding of these artworks. Unlike in other painted artworks, the study of polychromies is repeatedly hampered by repaints and degradation. The omnipresence of lead white within the original polychromy was thus pursued as dating proxy. Thermal decomposition allowed bypassing geologic carbonate interferences caused by the object’s support material, while an added solvent extraction successfully removed conservation products. This radiocarbon dating survey of the polychromy from 16 Portuguese medieval limestone sculptures confrmed that some were produced within the proposed chronologies while others were revised. Within this multidisciplinary study, the potential of radiocarbon dating as a complementary source of information about these complex paint systems guiding their interpretation is demonstrated. The challenges of this innovative approach are highlighted and improvements on sampling and sample preparation are discussed.

Advances and limitations of 14C dating in the field of heritage sciences

Scientific paper ArODES

Laura Hendriks, Irka Hajdas, Nadim C. Scherrer, Stefan Zumbühl, Jens Stenger, Caroline Welte, Hans-Arno Synal, Detlef Günther

Technè, 2021, vol. 52, pp. 111-117

Link to the publication

Summary:

In heritage sciences, the ability to obtain information about the origin and dating of cultural heritage objects is fundamental for placing an object into its historical context. Radiocarbon (14C) dating can help to identify the period during which a work of art was created by dating its constitutive materials. Such information can, however, only be obtained by removing a sample from the object, which is critical since art is irreplaceable and demands that the sampling be kept to a minimum. In this context, we propose a novel dating approach, which targets the natural organic binder of the pictorial layer as a new 14C candidate. In combination with spectroscopic techniques to ensure suitable sample selection, both canvas and paint samples were dated from three oil paintings. While not authenticating the paintings for belonging to a given artist, the 14C results from the baroque and neoclassical objects tend to align themselves with the purported attribution. The third object, attributed to the beginning of the 20th century’s modern expressionism movements, showcases the challenges in dating the natural organic binder owing to the presence of paraffin wax. The presented case studies showcase, how 14C dating of the natural organic binder may complement or offer alternate routes of study in assessing an object’s historical context. Moreover, the importance of material studies in the sampling step is enlightened as a prerequisite to access reliable 14C ages.

2023

Compound Specific Radiocarbon (14C) Dating of Anthraquinone-Based Colourants in Historical Textiles

Conference

Hendriks Laura, Portmann Cyril, Spack Céline, Negar Haghipour, Serrano Ana, Suzan Meijer, Maarten Van Bommel

Dyes in History and Archaeology (DHA), 31.10.2023 - 03.11.2023, Copenhagen (Denmark)

Link to the conference

Radiocarbon (14C ) dating of mineralized textiles

Conference

Hendriks Laura, Clémence Iacconi, Corentin Reynaud, Negar Haghipour, Christophe Moulherat, Loïc Bertrand

New Research on Archaeological Textiles workshop,, 16.05.2023 - 16.05.2023, Musée du Louvre, Paris (France)

Link to the conference

2022

The Common Thread: Authenticating a Nazca tunic using combined dye analysis by LCMS and radiocarbon dating on a single fiber.

Conference

Hendriks Laura, Gregory Smith, Victor Chen, Amanda Holden, Negar Haghipour

24th Radiocarbon conference, 11.09.2022 - 16.09.2022, Zurich (Switzerland)

Link to the conference

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Hendriks Laura

Adjointe scientifique HES

Main skills

Analytical Chemistry

Radiocarbon (14C) Dating

Adjointe scientifique HES