Tracing the biological origin of animal glues used in paintings through mitochondrial DNA analysis.
We report the development of a suitable protocol for the identification of the biological origin of binding media on tiny samples from ancient paintings, by exploitation of the high specificity and high sensitivity offered by the state-of-the art DNA analysis. In particular, our aim was to molecularly characterize mitochondrial regions of the animal species traditionally employed for obtaining glues. The model has been developed using aged painting models and then tested to analyze the organic components in samples from the polychrome terracotta Madonna of Citerna by Donatello (1415-1420), where, by GC-MS and FTIR spectroscopy, animal glues and siccative oils were identified. The results obtained are good in terms of both sensibility and specificity of the method. First of all, it was possible to confirm that Donatello used animal glue for the preparation of the painted layers of the Madonna of Citerna and, specifically, glue derived from Bos taurus. Data obtained from sequencing confirm that each sample contains animal glue, revealing that it was mostly prepared from two common European taurine lineages called T2 and T3. There is one remarkable exception represented by one sample which falls into a surviving lineage of the now extinct European aurochs.
Dipartimento di Biologia Applicata, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy. emidio.albertini@unipg.it
Emidio
E
Albertini
Lorenzo
L
Raggi
Manuela
M
Vagnini
Alessandro
A
Sassolini
Alessandro
A
Achilli
Gianpiero
G
Marconi
Laura
L
Cartechini
Fabio
F
Veronesi
Mario
M
Falcinelli
Brunetto Giovanni
BG
Brunetti
Costanza
C
Miliani
D000269:Adhesives / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008322:Mammals / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010151:Paintings; D010802:Phylogeny; D011817:Rabbits; D012756:Sheep; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D013552:Swine
D000269:Adhesives; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial