The Chiaravalle Cross: Results of a Multidisciplinary Study

Abstract

The Chiaravalle Cross, a masterpiece of Mediaeval goldsmithery, went under restoration in 2016. This was a unique opportunity to undertake an in-depth multidisciplinary study. Several issues were addressed, as for example the chronology of the Cross, lacking any official document about it. The scientific investigations included in situ and laboratory measurements, and the analyses, part of a multidisciplinary protocol, completely characterized the gemstones adorning the Cross, the cameos, the gold, silver, jasper and glass parts, to derive indications on their provenance, authenticity and dating issues. All the results were shared with the whole collaboration of experts, which included art historians, a restorer, a conservator, a scholar in ancient glyptic, gemologists, archaeometallurgists, physicists and scientists in a very fruitful exchange of knowledge. This work is an example of a real multidisciplinary research, gathering good practices in the study of a complex piece of art.

Keywords

• Chiaravalle Cross
• multidisciplinary protocol
• gemstones characterization
• ¹⁴C dating
• SEM measurements
• Raman Spectroscopy
• XRF analyses
• cameos study