Laboratory for the Study of Cultural Heritage

Introduced into scientific circulation are monuments of ancient Russian art - bow carved polychrome crosses of the 17th century. More than 200 icons of the Russian North of the 17th century and more than 50 works of the Russian avant-garde have been identified. Regularities in the manufacture of glazes and smalts of different colors were revealed. A technique for tomographic studies of multilayer materials using optical coherence tomography on test objects and an icon of the 14th century has been developed. The database includes data on the reference spectra of pigments of the 17th century and the Russian avant-garde. A model has been developed for the quantitative analysis of the component composition of paints on artwork canvases based on spectral data.

Implementation of research results :

Expert analysis of museum objects and objects of cultural heritage. Areas of use: the study of pigments and binders of paint layers of painting, as well as gilding in church interiors.

Production of samples of special glasses activated by manganese, chromium and titanium ions with specified fluorescent properties. Applications: reference glasses in laboratories for the calibration of optical and X-ray instruments.

Education and retraining of personnel:

A new educational program for Masters Femtosecond and Quantum Technologies has been developed; students were recruited and training under the program began in September 2022. The educational and methodical manual "Physical Optics" was published // Chirtsov A.S., Tsvetkov A.R. et al., ITMO University, 2022, St. Petersburg, ISBN, 2227-8397. 

The thesis was defended for 2 bachelors, 1 candidate dissertation.

Four employees of the laboratory completed advanced training courses "Theories and practices of culture storage", which were held at the "European University in St. Petersburg".

Events:

• The scientific seminar “Optical Workshop for Restorers” (ITMO University), 
• The scientific seminar “Modern Optical Methods for Researching Old Russian Easel Paintings” (Kirillo-Belozersk), 
• The Neradov’s Readings conference (State Russian Museum), the scientific seminar “Preserving Heritage” (Museum of History Petersburg), 
• International Scientific Symposium Fundamentals of Laser Micro- and Nanotechnologies (FLAMN-22) (ITMO University), 
• International Conference The STEMM Smart Nanomaterials (SNAIA ), 
• Section Methods of spectroscopy in art ( The spectroscopy techniques in Art ) at ITMO University and L'Ecole Polytechnique (Paris). 

Infrastructure transformations:

Research Equipment Sharing Center of Nanotechnology at ITMO University

Collaborations:

Joint scientific activities and research with the following Russian organizations:

• State Russian Museum (Russia);
• Museum of the History of St. Petersburg (Russia).