opportunity to investigate a valuable medieval codex created the unique possibility
to come one step closer to understanding how the Hebrew manuscripts were
prepared.
The major goal of the project was to confirm the provenance and dating of the
Bible. Additionally, the study was expected to establish the pallet of pigments used
in the preparation of illuminations and kind of inks. The art historians dated
manuscript roughly at the fifteenth century and suggested its western origin;
therefore, the influence of local manufacturing on preparation of religious manuscripts that were usually governed by eastern rules was highly probable. Additional
valuable information could be delivered by the comparison of the analyzed Hebrew
Bible to a western manuscript dated at the same time. The presence of the colorful
and high artistic quality illuminations, showing fantastic creatures, animals, and
numerous human figures distinguished this object from other Hebrew manuscripts.
The type of illumination was generally atypical for Hebrew texts, and during the
investigation, it has been established [123] that such illuminations are characteristic
to western, especially German style. At the same time, the image of a mermaid in
one of the illustrations suggested strong influence of eastern style. The text of the
invocation present in the manuscript listed a date (1492) when the Bible was sold,
and it could aid in placing this manuscript in time and region. Additionally, the
invocation contains also a name of the location where the transaction took place.
However, the place does not exist nowadays and the speculation was that the place
was located somewhere in northern France or in Germany. Besides, knowing the
time when the manuscript was sold or where the transaction took place did not
mean the Bible was made at the place of sale or that it was prepared directly before
the transaction. For more detailed study of the provenance, the comparative analysis
of a reference book made around the time included in the invocation (1492) and
closely to the expected location (France or Germany) was required. Comparison to
the reference manuscript Breviarium Romanum of French origin should aid dating
and might help in provenance determination of the investigated Hebrew Bible. The
richly illuminated reference medieval western manuscript also belonged to the
collection of The Ossolinski National Library in Wrocław.
The micro-Raman spectroscopy analysis was implemented in the investigation
of palette of pigments and inks applied in the Hebrew and the western manuscripts.
The measurements were carried out in situ (Fig. 16.1) with time of the analysis
strictly limited due to the high historical value of both manuscripts. The study was
performed using the Horiba Yvon Jobin T64000 spectrometer equipped with a
confocal microscope with 50Â and 100Â objectives. The Ar/Kr ion laser lines at
514 and 647 nm were employed for the Raman excitation, and the laser power at
the exit was below 6 mW for the green laser and below 40 mW for the red laser.
The spectra were dispersed using a diffraction grating (1800 line/mm) and detected
by a CCD camera (1024 Â 256) with the spatial resolution of 200–1100 nm, and a
notch filter was used to separate the Rayleigh signal. The spectra were recorded at
room temperature in the range 100–3800 cm
−1 with a spectral resolution of ca
2 cm
−1 . The integration time and accumulations (minimum 2) were chosen separately for each analyzed spot. The analysis of inks and red and orange pigments was
492
T. Łojewski and B. Łydżba-Kopczyńska
to come one step closer to understanding how the Hebrew manuscripts were
prepared.
The major goal of the project was to confirm the provenance and dating of the
Bible. Additionally, the study was expected to establish the pallet of pigments used
in the preparation of illuminations and kind of inks. The art historians dated
manuscript roughly at the fifteenth century and suggested its western origin;
therefore, the influence of local manufacturing on preparation of religious manuscripts that were usually governed by eastern rules was highly probable. Additional
valuable information could be delivered by the comparison of the analyzed Hebrew
Bible to a western manuscript dated at the same time. The presence of the colorful
and high artistic quality illuminations, showing fantastic creatures, animals, and
numerous human figures distinguished this object from other Hebrew manuscripts.
The type of illumination was generally atypical for Hebrew texts, and during the
investigation, it has been established [123] that such illuminations are characteristic
to western, especially German style. At the same time, the image of a mermaid in
one of the illustrations suggested strong influence of eastern style. The text of the
invocation present in the manuscript listed a date (1492) when the Bible was sold,
and it could aid in placing this manuscript in time and region. Additionally, the
invocation contains also a name of the location where the transaction took place.
However, the place does not exist nowadays and the speculation was that the place
was located somewhere in northern France or in Germany. Besides, knowing the
time when the manuscript was sold or where the transaction took place did not
mean the Bible was made at the place of sale or that it was prepared directly before
the transaction. For more detailed study of the provenance, the comparative analysis
of a reference book made around the time included in the invocation (1492) and
closely to the expected location (France or Germany) was required. Comparison to
the reference manuscript Breviarium Romanum of French origin should aid dating
and might help in provenance determination of the investigated Hebrew Bible. The
richly illuminated reference medieval western manuscript also belonged to the
collection of The Ossolinski National Library in Wrocław.
The micro-Raman spectroscopy analysis was implemented in the investigation
of palette of pigments and inks applied in the Hebrew and the western manuscripts.
The measurements were carried out in situ (Fig. 16.1) with time of the analysis
strictly limited due to the high historical value of both manuscripts. The study was
performed using the Horiba Yvon Jobin T64000 spectrometer equipped with a
confocal microscope with 50Â and 100Â objectives. The Ar/Kr ion laser lines at
514 and 647 nm were employed for the Raman excitation, and the laser power at
the exit was below 6 mW for the green laser and below 40 mW for the red laser.
The spectra were dispersed using a diffraction grating (1800 line/mm) and detected
by a CCD camera (1024 Â 256) with the spatial resolution of 200–1100 nm, and a
notch filter was used to separate the Rayleigh signal. The spectra were recorded at
room temperature in the range 100–3800 cm
−1 with a spectral resolution of ca
2 cm
−1 . The integration time and accumulations (minimum 2) were chosen separately for each analyzed spot. The analysis of inks and red and orange pigments was
492
T. Łojewski and B. Łydżba-Kopczyńska