AIC's 42nd Annual Meeting

Looking beyond the visible using spectral imaging techniques including infrared reflectography and ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence have been standard practice for conservation professionals since the 1930s. These techniques are relatively accessible to many museum professionals and have become routine in research and conservation for the characterization and differentiation of materials. Some institutions with imaging and color science staff with high-end spectral imaging equipment have the advantage of creating and processing large spectral data cubes that provide complex information for the identification of materials. Combining a lower resolution hyperspectral camera with a higher resolution DSLR camera modified for multiband imaging may present a more accessible imaging option to aid identification and characterization of materials in cultural heritage objects. This paper presents a case study in the combined use of multiband and hyperspectral imaging for investigation of the materials and manufacturing techniques of four archeological Andean painted textiles from the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian. The goals of this project are to explore a more accessible spectral imaging option, present a technique that can be used on a wide variety of cultural heritage objects and investigate the possibility of offering new insights that previous routine imaging did not provide. A Surface Optics Corp SOC710 hyperspectral camera is used in addition to a modified DSLR with a variety of narrow and long bandpass filters. The four painted textiles are a subset of a larger project investigating the materials and manufacturing techniques used to create twenty-one archeological Andean painted textiles using non-invasive techniques including XRF, handheld FTIR, Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy ; and destructive techniques including micro XRD, FTIR, Raman Spectroscopy, and HPLC. These techniques are expected to support information acquired through imaging techniques.