Cave Temples of Mogao Art and History on the Silk Road
Non-invasive analysis and large calibration imaging of murals at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mogao caves in Dunhuang
Overview
TheUNESCO Earth Heritage Site of the Mogao caves, along the ancient Silk Route, consists of 492 richly painted Buddhist cave temples dating from the 4th - 14th century. The 45,000 square metres of wall paintings in nearly 500 caves are an immense resource for the study of the history of art, architecture, religion, technology, politics and cultural commutation.
Mogao Caves, an UNESCO World Heritage Site in Dunhuang, Red china
The wall paintings of this historical site are vulnerable and, therefore, whatever inspection needs to be not-invasive and not-contact.
The aim of this projection was to develop a methodology for the non-invasive and in situ analysis of the large scale murals , even when they are located in unreachable areas (eastward.g. ceilings). Our research was mainly focused on the analysis of murals in cave 465. Cave 465, located at the northern cease of the site is unique in its Indo-Tibetan tantric Buddhist style, and similar many other caves, the date of its structure is still under debate.
Addressing the Challenge
The collaboration with the Dunhuang Academy was initiated in 2011, and since then the ISAAC mobile laboratory has visited the site of the caves several times, applying a range of non-invasive imaging and spectroscopic analytical techniques. More than specifically, spectral imaging has been applied on big mural surfaces using the PRISMS system in the telescope configuration.
This enabled the imaging of painted areas located also on the ceiling of the caves. Hyperspectral imaging has been too applied on areas of special interest, using the high resolution version of PRISMS organisation in the telescope configuration.
The ISAAC mobile laboratory in cave 465, Mogao caves
October (Optical Coherence Tomography) scanning enabled the high resolution, depth resolved examination of the paint layers structure and sequence. Moreover, a range of spectroscopic techniques, from FORS to Raman and XRF spectroscopies, were used to provide complementary information, including detailed identification of the pigment materials used.
Making a Departure
In the context of this project, a methodology for the automatic analysis of big scale spectral imaging data was developed. Moreover, for the offset time, a full non-invasive and in situ examination of diverse degraded paint layers was performed, revealing their original composition. The scientific test of the murals provided very important data about the history of cave 465, placing its dating in the period between late twelfth to the 13th century.
References
Kogou, Due south., Shahtahmassebi, G., Lucian, A., Liang. H, Shui, B., Zhang, W., Su, B. and van Schaik, S. 2020. From remote sensing and machine learning to the history of the Silk Route: large calibration material identification on wall paintings. Sci Rep 10, 19312 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-76457-9
Liang, H., Lucian, A., Lange, R., Cheung, C.S. and Su, B., 2014. Remote Spectral Imaging with Simultaneous Extraction of 3d Topography for Historical Wall Paintings. ISPRS Journal Of Photogrammetry And Remote Sensing, 95, pp. 13-22.
Lange, R., Zhang, Q. and Liang, H., 2011.Remote Multispectral Imaging with Prisms and XRF Analysis of Tang Tomb Paintings. Proceedings of SPIE, 8084, 80840y
Liang, H., Keita, Grand., Vajzovic, T., and Zhang, Q., 2008.PRISMS: Remote High Resolution In Situ Multispectral Imaging of Wall Paintings. In: International Council of Museums, Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) Triennial Conference, New Delhi, 2008, New Delhi.
Liang, H., Keita, K. and Vajzovic, T., 2007.PRISMS: A Portable Multispectral Imaging System for Remote In Situ Examination of Wall Paintings. Proceedings of SPIE, 6618, 661815
people
Bookish Investigator:
Professor Haida Liang (Nottingham Trent University)
Co-Investigator:
Professor Su Bomin (Dunhuang Academy)
Research Fellows:
Dr Sammy Cheung (Nottingham Trent University)
Shui Biwen(Dunhuang Academy)
Zhang Wenyuan (Dunhuang Academy )
Yu Zongren (Dunhuang University )
Research Administration:
Rebecca Lange (Nottingham Trent Academy)
Andrei Lucian (Nottingham Trent University)
Research Students :
Sotiria Kogou (PhD, Nottingham Trent University)
Alex Hogg ( MSci, Nottingham Trent Academy )
Stuart Christian (BSc, Nottingham Trent Academy)
Source: https://www.isaac-lab.com/paintings-mogao
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