ABSTRACT
This case study uses two examples to illustrate the use of the in-depth diagnosis of materials, composition and the three-dimensional structures of artefacts at the Textile Laboratory of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence. The institute is a pioneer in the use of non-invasive surveys for cognitive purposes and to direct treatments. Radiography of a seventeenth-century Japanese manchira from the Stibbert Museum revealed its complex inner armour of metal mesh and boiled and lacquered leather. Dye analysis and multispectral investigation confirmed it as a high-quality artefact of samurai armour from the Japanese imperial dynasty. This dictated the manchira’s minimally invasive treatment and mounting for display. A ‘coin purse’ from the Vesuvian area is the most interesting and complete textile artefact in the collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, preserved following the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. The purse was investigated using radiography and tomography analyses; these gave more detail of the structure and revealed the presence of two sets of coins inside the purse without the need to physically unwrap it. The purse was cleaned minimally but otherwise untreated, in order to preserve its fragile structure.
