Please cite this article in press as: D.C. Samoilescu, et al., A comparative study of two icons representing the “Coronation of the Virgin by the Holy Trinity”: Walachia, 18th century and Transylvania, 19th century, Journal of Cultural Heritage (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2017.04.001 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model CULHER-3217; No. of Pages 6 Journal of Cultural Heritage xxx (2017) xxx–xxx Available online at ScienceDirect www.sciencedirect.com Case study A comparative study of two icons representing the “Coronation of the Virgin by the Holy Trinity”: Walachia, 18th century and Transylvania, 19th century Dorina Claudia Samoilescu a,1 , Octavian G. Duliu b,∗ , Maria M. Manea c , Daniela Stan c , Bogdan Constantinescu c a University of Bucharest, Doctoral School in Physics, 405 Atomistilor Str, 077125 Bucharest-Magurele (Ilfov), Romania b University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, Department of Structure of Matter, Earth and Atmospheric Physics and Astrophysics, 405 Atomistilor Str, 077125 Magurele, (Ilfov), Romania c Horia Hulubei National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, 30 Reactorului Str, 077125 Magurele, (Ilfov), Romania a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 9 August 2016 Accepted 10 April 2017 Available online xxx Keywords: Icons Pigment Digital radiography UV photography XRF FT–IR spectroscopy FT–Raman spectroscopy a b s t r a c t The results of a comparative study performed by complementary contact-less, non-invasive spectro- scopic methods applied to two orthodox wooden icons are presented and discussed. An 18th century post-Brancovan icon crafted in a Valcea (Walachia) workshop and a 19th century one from Sibiu (Transylvania) were investigated by digital radiography, UV photography, X-ray fluorescence, Fourier Transform–Infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The experimental results were used to identify the min- eral pigments, the type of primer, the binder, as well as various other details pertaining to the structure or to subsequent interventions. Except for stylistic ones, there were no major differences found between the two icons, which is indicative of the use of similar pigments as well as of some shared painting techniques between these two geographical regions. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. 1. Research objectives The main objective of this research consists of conducting a com- parative study of two original orthodox icons belonging to different cultural contexts: Walachia, end of 18th century, Byzantine influ- ences, and Transylvania, second half of the 19th century, Western influences, in order to underline existing similarities and differ- ences concerning the materials and techniques used. Therefore, we have chosen five independent, non-destructive and contact-less methods, such as digital radiography (DR) [1,2], UV photography [3,4], X-ray fluorescence (XRF) [3,5], Fourier Transform–Infrared Spectroscopy (FT–IR) [6], and Fourier Transform–Raman Spec- troscopy (FT–Raman) [7], to investigate the pigments, primer, binder as well as the wooden support of both icons. As neither of these methods can alone provide enough information to identify ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: o.duliu@upcmail.ro (O.G. Duliu). 1 Sister Serafima is the religious name given to Miss Dorina Claudia Samoilescu after taking vows at the One Wood Monastrery, Francesti, Valcea County, Romania. the nature of pigments or binders, we have used them in correlation to get a more complete description. All such information gleaned from our analysis will be of value both to art historians and artists who attempt additional restora- tions. 2. Introduction Orthodox iconography and iconographic art in Romania, rooted in the Byzantine art, prospered throughout all Romanian regions until the 1870s when, after the unification of Moldova and Walachia, the influence of Western art became increasingly domi- nant [8]. Beginning with the Brancovan art legacy, the 18th century Romanian religious painting was largely inclined towards por- traiture. One century later, however, the strong influences of post-Renaissance Western art had gradually stripped icons of their traditional style and religious character, drawing them closer to true paintings [8]. Although Walachia and Transylvania were both under the stew- ardship of the same Orthodox Church, throughout history they http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2017.04.001 1296-2074/© 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.