Last updating: 24/04/2009


The websites of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza
dedicated to the authenticity of art objects are consulted worldwide
 by more than 350,000 visitors every year.


 

Français                 Italiano                  Deutsch     

 

www.C14SPECTRODATING.com
The dating of wood

Every single scientific method for the dating of wooden objects, such as the C14 dating method and molecular spectroscopy, is limited by intrinsic uncertainties.

The main disadvantage of the radiocarbon method lies in the notorious impossibility of dating objects made in about the last 350 years. Dendrochronological dating is significantly dependent on the climate of the place where the tree grew. The dating of wood by molecular spectroscopy, on the other hand, is independent of climate and has no period of inapplicability such as the C14 dating method, but its accuracy progressively diminishes the greater the age of the object to be dated.
The error factors of the three age-dating methods are well known and clearly explained in their respective bibliographies and on the Internet websites dedicated to them.
However the concordance, for example, between a spectroscopic dating and a radiocarbon dating undoubtedly increases the credibility of the final result, to the immense advantage of both art and science.
Spectroscopic dating is particularly interesting for the C14 method in the case of objects with an age of less than 350 years, on account of the widely known fact that these measurements are of uncertain validity owing to variations which have taken place in the amount of the carbon 14 isotope in the Earth’s upper atmosphere in this specific time span.
The double measurement represents an important advantage, for example, in the case of measurements effected on a series of samples, the age of which covers both the measurable period and the non-measurable period.

 

In the last decades the measurement instruments of the two existing methods have undergone remarkable technical development. Nonetheless their intrinsic limitations have remained substantially unchanged.

Some of the first equipment used at the British Museum for the C14 method

 

From the start the spectroscopic method has been able to avail itself of extremely modern equipment

 For a comparison between dendrochronology and spectroscopy see also www.dendrospectrochronology.com .

A full description of the C14 method can be found, among others, on the web sites:
www.Radiocarbon.org  and www.C14dating.com

 

 

The value of art expertise
in the scientific age

 

€ 4,500  
 Authentic

  

€ 5,000,000
 Auction of June 18, 2006
 


The judgement of a renowned expert or a famous auction house has, at times, the magic power to push an article’s market value up by as much as a thousandfold. Thus a fine piece of furniture, a painting or an African mask may just as easily cost €1,000 or €1,000,000. This disconcerting difference in value estimates is becoming increasingly common in the international market. This would be conceivable if the appraisal were based on meaningful and verifiable data. Unfortunately this is not always the case.

Over the centuries, well-to-do families and museums the world over have accumulated an unimaginable quantity of precious art treasures of incalculable commercial and art historical value. It is widely held, however, that over half of these works are not authentic. In the absence of scientific methods, such conclusions were based mainly on opinions.

A critical application of the new and accurate methods for ascertaining authenticity to this immense cultural heritage without the consent of its curators is neither thinkable nor desirable.

 On the other hand, with the Internet and other media invading the homes of collectors and investors worldwide, it is inevitable that false assertions regarding technical methods for determining authenticity are revealed for what they are. By discrediting scientific analysis, the art market certainly also harms itself. As a result, buyers and investors are increasingly inclined to make their purchases from large and relatively reliable auction houses. This is the tendency in all sectors and small dealers are forced to close down. But it is precisely the art sector which could escape this trend.

 Today gallery owners and art dealers are, in fact, in a position to complement their expert opinions with accurate scientific certificates, thus providing a more dependable guarantee of safer and fairer purchases than the large auction houses. Attitudes, as well as guarantees, need to be changed and scientific analysis should be seen as a useful and advantageous instrument and no longer as an obstacle or a threat.

 

 

NOW OPERATIVE !

Branch of the Milan scientific laboratory for determining the authenticity
of valuable antique art objects
 


The announced laboratory in Germany to serve central Europe is
now operative for the taking of samples from wooden objects to be dated and for the issuing of certificates.
 
 Please contact Dr. Martin Matthaes
 +49 (0) 17676305108 – mm@museoartescienza.com

The house, which has belonged to the Matthaes Family for 45 years, is situated on the shores of Lake Constance, near Lindau.
 

Other requests may be sent, as always, directly to the Milan laboratory at the following address:

Museo d’Arte e Scienza
Via Q. Sella 4 – 20121 Milano
Tel. 0039 02 72022488
Fax 0039 02 72023156
e-mail: info@museoartescienza.com

  
 

For further info:  

www.Museoartescienza.com     www.Spectroscopyforart.com    
www.PaintingsAuthenticity.com    www.AfricanArtAuthenticity.com and other sites

 
Short description of the natural and scientific foundations
of the spectroscopic dating of
wood

The essentials in brief

Infrared spectroscopy is not a new method or a new discovery. New is only its application for the ascertainment of age and authenticity in art. It has been used for decades the world over by all chemical and pharmaceutical companies with thousands of instruments and with the same programme and equipment as the ones used by the laboratory of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza. Its extreme reliability, accuracy and facility of use have made IR Spectroscopy in all fields where it can be applied the number one scientific method.

Spectroscopic dating is based on two well-known factors:

·         All the natural materials on earth, including those used for creating art objects, are compounds of specific molecules.

·         Some particular molecules undergo changes with the passage of time.

The IR spectrum of wood shows its molecules or groups of molecules as peaks and valleys (Figures 1, 2). Signs of age caused by evaporation, oxidation and new combinations cause the lowering of some absorption peaks and, to a lesser extent, a shift in the same (Figure 3).
This dating method therefore permits two possibilities for the evaluation of the spectrum, each one already offering good results singly.

1 – The graphic evaluation of the curve (Spectrography)
 Right from the start of this research, the spectrographic measurement of the angle (α) formed between peaks of different heights permitted a dating accuracy of +/-20% and these findings were communicated at the time, around 1995, to a number of European museums and institutes.
 
(Figure 1)   (Figure 2)

2 – The evaluation of frequency shifts      (Spectroscopy)

The discovery of shifts in absorption frequencies in spectroscopic analysis has boosted accuracy over the years to an unexpected extent and was inexplicably high in the first few years.

(Figure 3) - The diagram to the right is only one example of the many characteristics of a spectrum.

 

At present we are attempting to trace this accuracy, as well as independence from climatic conditions, to biological programmes inside the cellular nucleus of the tree. The incredible precision of these types of biological programmes in general is well-known and understandable for the growth of wood. An answer to the question why the ageing of wood must also be programmed can be supplied only by the evolution of cellular research.

Tree cells, unlike animal cells, are highly protected by a wall of cellulose, a hydrocarbon. Cellulose is extremely resistant to water and wood cells as well as datable wooden material can still be found in excavated Roman ships.

Research in collaboration with a German
archaeological museum (1995).                 (Figure 4)
 		  

Generation of reference tables to relate spectrum data to wood age:
 
The assignment of a spectrum to a specific wood species and to a specific age required the measurement of a great quantity of wooden objects of certain dating. This research, which called for many years of work on the part of qualified personnel was made possible only by the close and benevolent cooperation of international museums which began around 1993. The collaboration of some art museums terminated around 1995, since their curators feared there could be negative consequences for their collections. The Gottfried Matthaes Foundation, proprietor of the Museum, is, like the P. Getty Foundation, a non-profit organization at the service of art. Our cooperation with technical museums has continued.

 

Official and scientific acknowledgement of the spectroscopic method

Institutional acknowledgement: in Italy, for example, where the patent was registered, and where the best forgers have always been active, the Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police) is the State Authority officially responsible for combating forgery, also in the field of art. In June 2007, this Authority published an exhibition catalogue dedicated exclusively to the subject. In connection with the recognition of fakes in furniture, paintings and other art objects made from organic matter, six pages are dedicated to a detailed presentation of the spectroscopic method of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza, considered of prime importance. (Copies of the original catalogue of the G.d.F. are available free on request).
 Scientific Institutes: ever since its introduction, no publications or articles of any kind are known to have disputed the spectroscopic method in writing. Criticism has been frequent, but only verbal.
 The art market: the percentage of inauthentic art objects currently on the market is as high as around 80%. The non-acceptance of valid scientific methods is therefore an economic necessity for the trade. If scientific analysis gives a negative verdict, the seller continues to maintain, as in the past, that it is the test result that is at fault rather than the artwork.
 Museums: most of the items exhibited in museums come from donations not subjected to scientific investigation. Statistical studies show that 60% are copies or fakes. Any attempts to determine their authenticity would have catastrophic consequences.
 

The application of spectroscopic analysis for the dating of organic materials is patented
(It. Patent Nr. 01266808 - G. Matthaes, 1993)
 

 

NEW !

 Good news for friends of antique art objects:
Ivory is datable!

Ivory object, Africa

Buddha temple, China

The term “ivory” comprises today not only elephant tusks, but also the tusks and horns of other animals and some types of bone. What distinguishes all types of ivory is their hardness and durability, characteristics due to their chemical composition.
 For the most part ivory is made up of inorganic substances, the age of which is not measurable. There is also a presence of organic substances which undergo change with the passage of time following biological laws.

Infrared spectroscopic analysis identifies the molecules present in ivory enabling the inorganic substances to be clearly distinguished from the organic ones. For organic substances it is possible to apply focused analytical methods to selected and measurable molecules.

The spectroscopic curve permits the unmistakable recognition of the various kinds of ivory and therefore the elaboration of specific calculations for the dating of each type (Fig. 1 - 2).
 

Fig. 1

Fig. 2


Important! The molecules constituting ivory cells are not protected by walls like wood cells. Ivory samples for dating need to be appropriately stabilized immediately after they are taken.

The application of spectroscopic analysis for the dating of organic materials is patented
(It. Patent Nr. 01266808 - G. Matthaes, 1993)

Instructions on how to take ivory samples for dating

A)        The ivory object is sent to the laboratory of the Museum in Milan. This procedure allows the sample to be taken with minimum and invisible damage.
B)         The ivory sample is taken by the object's owner. For dating we need a minimal fragment of ivory (10 mm3 volume - mm 3x3x1) which can be taken from the edge or a corner of the object with a very sharp knife or a small coping saw.

The obtained fragment must be put into a piece of paper, which is to be folded carefully and mailed directly to the Museum laboratory. Price for one measurement: Euro 95, $125.

 

The Founders and permanent staff
of the Museo d’Arte e Scienza

   
 
   
 

Gottfried Matthaes
 Founder and  President

Giovanna Cozzi Matthaes
 Co-founder

  
 
     

Dott. Chim. Peter Matthaes
 Lab. Director and CTU

 Patrizia Matthaes
 Administration		 Silvia Mayer
 Languages and Communication		 Dott. Avv. Martin Matthaes
Lawyer - International Law
 
 
Chiara Civardi
First lab assistant		 Roberta Delmoro
 Art Historian (Independent)		 Marta Cugnasca
 Data processing		 Sonia  Checchini
Conservation
       

 

Since the information contained is strongly affected by ongoing technical and scientific developments, the texts and photographs of this website will be constantly updated.