Microscopic and Chemical Characteristics of the Murals in Shekhawati Region, Rajasthan, NW India Implications on the Painting Technique

Abstract eng:
Rajasthan (NW India) and especially the Shekhawati region (NE Rajasthan), has a tradition of external and interior wall paintings decorating historical buildings. Despite this huge patrimony, the state of conservation of the surfaces is precarious and the knowledge of the pictorial technique is based on verbal tradition and direct visual observation. In addition the teminology adopted to designate the pictorial technique is ambiguous.The research carried out under the frame of a two-years project granted by the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development was based on the application of PLM, FTIR, SEM-EDS analytical techniques to characterize the wall paintings and materials.The architectural surfaces of all of the studied monuments have a similar stratigraphic sequence, both in terms of number and function of the layers, composition and design, reflecting the use of local materials and well known, shared practices. Material analysis allowed to mark differences with those reported in the literature.In addition, the research also allowed to clarify the pictorial techniques by providing evidence that the terms fresco lustro and a fresco are inappropriate for the designation of Shekhawati murals, as they correspond to the final aestethic effect. The pigments were applied on the marmorino burnished surface mixed with organic compound(s) completely transformed into whewellite.

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