Seven ancient Japanese masks X-ray scanned in Rome with on-site experimental equipment by CHNet researchers

ROME-Superior Institute for Conservation and Restoration.Researchers of the CHNet node of Bologna recently scanned part of the precious collection of Japanese masks belonging to the National Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum “L.Pigorini”, now under restoration at the Superior Institute for Conservation and Restoration (ISCR) in Rome. This collection of masks, some of them dated back to the XVII century, showing examples of different theater traditions in Japan, is almost unique in Italy. The experimental transportable X-ray tomography equipment installed in underground rooms of the Institute worked for almost three full days scanning seven of the most important masks of the collection. The system acquired almost 20000 digital radiographs for a total of more than 100GB of raw data.
The three dimensional reconstruction, that will show the interior of the works of art, is now about to be accomplished in Bologna. Restorers and conservators as well as art historians will thus have a further fundamental input about the conservation state of the masks, their construction technique and new features, since now hidden, that often appear after such a kind of analysis.
The diagnostic campaign has been funded by the Italian MIUR in the framework of the call for national access to the Italian node of the European Infrastructure E-RIHS (European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science).