2016 XRF Workshop

The Getty Conservation Institute and the Yale Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (IPCH), together with the Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL), presented this third jointly organized XRF Boot Camp at SRAL and the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht, the Netherlands, November 8–11, 2016.

During the workshop, eighteen participants representing ten countries gained in-depth training in the principles of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and practical instruction on the collection and interpretation of data, focusing primarily on qualitative analysis and the use of handheld instrumentation. Interactive lectures were paired with laboratory activities involving hands-on instrument use as well as data processing and interpretation. In addition, for this year’s workshop, instrument representatives from Bruker, Niton, and XGLab were on hand to assist participants with questions specific to the different models of portable XRF units used.

The application of XRF to the study of core material groups in cultural heritage collections was emphasized throughout the workshop and illustrated with examples from ongoing projects at SRAL and the collections of the Bonnefantenmuseum.

Special attention was paid to the analysis of painted surfaces, focusing on the common challenges faced by conservators of paintings, objects, and works on paper when dealing with multilayer coatings on a variety of substrates. In addition, recent advances in XRF instrumentation and techniques applied to the study of cultural heritage, including scanning macro-XRF, were discussed.

On the last day, the participants, who had worked in pairs from the beginning of the workshop, presented the results of their analysis through short presentations followed by a group discussion with all the instructors.

Maggi Loubser, GeoMag GeoChem, South Africa

Alexander Seyfarth, Rock River AXS, LLC, USA

Roald Tagle, senior application scientist, Bruker Nano Analytics, Berlin, Germany

Anikó Bezur, director of scientific research, Technical Studies Laboratory, Yale IPCH

Karen Trentelman, senior scientist, Getty Conservation Institute

Lynn Lee, assistant scientist, Getty Conservation Institute