Please cite this article in press as: M. Fioravanti, et al., A non-invasive approach to identifying wood species in historical musical instruments, Journal of Cultural Heritage (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2016.05.012 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model CULHER-3095; No. of Pages 8 Journal of Cultural Heritage xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Available online at ScienceDirect www.sciencedirect.com Wooden Musical Instruments Special Issue A non-invasive approach to identifying wood species in historical musical instruments Marco Fioravanti * , Giuseppina Di Giulio , Giovanni Signorini GESAAF, University of Florence, via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Florence, Italy a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 22 September 2015 Accepted 19 May 2016 Available online xxx Keywords: Wood identification Cultural heritage Wooden musical instruments Non-invasive techniques Reflected light microscopy a b s t r a c t Identifying the wood species is an important step in the process of studying and preserving historic wooden artefacts. Identification procedures normally applied in cultural heritage contexts are unsuitable for musical instruments, as sampling might alter the aesthetics and functionality of these historically and culturally valuable instruments. Furthermore, macroscopic identification, through the naked eye or a lens, is often inadequate. It is necessary, therefore, to adopt a non-invasive approach, which renders visible the greatest number of anatomical features possible. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of identifying the wood of historical artefacts using microscopes with high magnification and reflected light together with polarized light filters. A total of 117 musical instruments from the “Luigi Cherubini” Conservatory’s collection, preserved at the “Galleria dell’Accademia” Museum in Florence (Italy) were examined as case study. The collected data here presented demonstrate that many anatomical features of the wood can be observed in situ, thanks to the portability of the instruments, and that identifying can be done indeed (in almost 6000 observations, only 8% gave no results). In cases where identifying was not possible, the problems involved: the presence of very thick coats of clear varnish, which makes it virtually impossible to see the structure of the underlying wood; the presence of a patina that conceals the wooden surface; and poor surface quality of the wood, which can falsify the appearance and size of wood cells. © 2016 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. 1. Research aims The main objective of this study was identifying the wood of his- torical musical instruments by means of a non-invasive approach. Portable microscopes with high magnification and reflected light together with polarized light filters were used and the identifica- tion was carried out in situ to meet the conservation needs. 2. Introduction Identifying the wood species in artefacts of art-historical inter- est represents one of the most important phases in studying a wooden work of art. In fact, knowing the species ensures cor- rect conservation of the artefact [1], but it also helps to clarify its broader cultural significance. Every work of art that has come down to us from the past is, in itself, a testimony of an intangible heritage, nowadays labeled as traditional knowledge; this is the result of complex relationships that developed over time between * Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 055 2755612. E-mail addresses: marco.fioravanti@unifi.it (M. Fioravanti), giuseppina.digiulio@unifi.it (G. Di Giulio), giovanni.signorini@unifi.it (G. Signorini). local communities, available technologies and the environment. Included in this assemblage of knowledge, skills, practices, beliefs and representations, is the reasoning behind the choice of the most suitable species for creating wooden artefacts. This choice is the end result of an empirical selection process consisting of continuous critical review in order to optimize the realization or functional- ity of the wooden piece. Consequently, interpreting the choice of wood requires input from a variety of disciplines within a solid interdisciplinary framework. The identification procedures commonly employed for wood [2,3], often cannot be applied to cultural heritage artefacts in gen- eral, and to musical instruments in particular, due to a series of limitations imposed by the uniqueness of the objects and by their continued functionality. For example, microscopic identifica- tion, requiring a sample removal, is an operation that is obviously precluded for musical instruments as it would compromise their function and aesthetics. Macroscopic identification, on the other hand, allowing the observation of a very limited number of anatom- ical features, leads, in the best cases, to the determination of taxa of lower grade (i.e. Groups, Divisions, Families.). In case of musical instruments the observation of the readable surfaces at high magnification represents a useful option that could successfully lead to the determination of the wooden species or, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2016.05.012 1296-2074/© 2016 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.