Materials and techniques of Kalighat paintings: Pigment analysis of nine paintings from the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum

SMC Author

Michelle Shulman

SMC Affiliated Work

1

Status

Faculty

School

School of Science

Department

Chemistry

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2011

Publication / Conference / Sponsorship

Journal of the Institute of Conservation

Description/Abstract

Kalighat paintings were produced in Kolkata in the eastern part of India during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These hand-painted images were produced in large numbers with a variety of water-based, opaque colours on paper. Images were duplicated by copying by hand with a team of artists employed to add colours and decoration to bold outlines indicated with pencil by the master artist or, occasionally, in the mid part of the nineteenth century were printed by lithography.

A travelling exhibition of 80 Kalighat paintings from the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum toured Indian venues in 2011 and 2012. Pigment analysis has been carried out on nine of the works selected for the exhibition using a number of non-destructive techniques, including ultraviolet photography, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and Raman microscopy.

Several pigments were identified conclusively by these methods—Prussian blue, ultramarine blue, indigo, red lead, chrome yellow and carbon black. Evidence suggesting that Indian yellow and yellow and red dyes might be present was also collected.

Keywords

Kalighat paintings, Raman microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, pigments, non-destructive analysis

Scholarly

yes

DOI

10.1080/19455224.2011.607769

Volume

34

Issue

2

First Page

173

Last Page

185

Disciplines

Chemistry | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

Original Citation

Wheeler, Michael; Burgio, Lucia; & Shulman, Michelle. (2011). Materials and Techniques of Kalighat Paintings: Pigment Analysis of Nine Paintings from the Collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum (MS ID 607769). Journal of the Institute of Conservation, vol. 34, issue 2, pg.173-185. 10.1080/19455224.2011.607769

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