Art, archaeology and forensics

Reading composition without taking anything from the object

On an artwork, an archaeological object or a piece of evidence, sampling is often forbidden — and always regretted. X-ray fluorescence gives the elemental composition without pressing contact, without a specimen, and without consuming anything.

That is what makes it usable in a restoration room as much as at a customs post.

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Non-destructive
No sampling
In situ
On the object itself
30+
Years of experience
Analyse qualitative de pigments dans les peintures. Copenhague, restauration.
Pigments and provenance

What the palette says about date and place

Pigments have a history: each appears, spreads, then disappears. Identifying the elements of a coloured layer often means placing a work in time — or establishing that it cannot be of the period claimed. X-ray fluorescence gives the elements; Raman confirms the pigment.

The same reasoning applies to glass, metals and ceramics.

  •  Characterisation of colouring pigments
  • Provenance and origin research
  • Museum restoration: wood, metals
  • Meteorite analysis
  • Analysis of books before deacidification
Which technique for which question
Colloque sur la contrefaçon, Parlement européen. Bruxelles
Authenticity and investigation

Counterfeiting, taggants and forensic science

A counterfeit rarely gives itself away to the eye: it gives itself away in its composition. Taggants deliberately introduced into an ink or an additive, an alloy that does not match the declared origin, a coating hiding a less noble substrate.

We work with investigation services and customs, and took part in a symposium on counterfeiting at the European Parliament.

  •  Characterisation of counterfeits
  • Chemical taggants: inks, paints, additives
  • Forensic, customs and food-safety investigations
  • Precious stones: provenance traceability database
Metal expertise by microanalysis

The techniques we bring to bear

XRF answers the elemental question. Other questions call for other instruments.

X-ray fluorescence

Elemental composition, from magnesium to uranium, without sampling.

Raman spectroscopy

Molecular identification: telling apart two pigments of identical elemental composition.

Electron microscopy and EDS

Morphology and spot analysis, where a micro-sample is possible.

Polarised light microscopy

Characterisation of fibres and minerals, asbestos included.

Heritage, research and custom developments

Restoration pigments, the fight against counterfeiting, laboratory instruments and bespoke developments.

Colloque sur la contrefaçon, Parlement européen. Bruxelles
Counterfeiting symposium, European Parliament. Brussels
Analyse qualitative de pigments dans les peintures. Copenhague, restauration.
Qualitative analysis of pigments in paint. Copenhagen, restoration.
Développement : mesure d'épaisseurs à l'intérieur d'un tube, avec une source de ¹⁰⁹Cd, pour un résonateur de synchrotron.
Custom development: thickness measurement inside a tube. Cd-109 source. For a synchrotron resonator.
Conférence Polluconf.
Polluconf conference.
Mise en œuvre d’un Raman dans MEB.
Raman spectrometer integrated into an SEM.
Collection de tubes à rayons X.
A collection of X-ray tubes.
Analyse XRF portable des pigments d’une peinture sur toile.
Portable XRF analysis of the pigments of a painting on canvas.
Raman interfacé sur microscope électronique à balayage.
A Raman spectrometer interfaced with a scanning electron microscope.
Analyses combinées in situ, portables et non destructives : Raman, EDXRF et microscopie optique.
Combined in-situ analyses, portable and non-destructive: Raman, EDXRF and optical microscopy.
Microscopie optique à lumière polarisée.
Polarised light optical microscopy.
  • Calibrated in Switzerland
  • Repaired in Switzerland
  • Custom adjustments
  • Local support

A work or a collection to study?

We come with the right technique — X-ray fluorescence, Raman or microscopy — and measure on site, usually without taking a sample.

Contact an expert