A Technical Study of Five Ruby Ambrotypes

Lisa Duncan
2009 unpublished
Ruby ambrotypes are images made photographically upon a colored glass support. A descriptive study of ruby ambrotypes was carried out on five samples. Goals of analysis included identifying the colorants in the glass support, classifying coatings on the surface and characterizing tarnish. Elemental analysis performed with x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) revealed the presence of manganese as the colorant in the
more » ... Surface coatings were found to be complex mixtures of natural resins and fatty acids using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy in tandem with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Tarnish of the silver image was identified with Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDS with backscattered electron (BSE) imaging to be a combination of predominantly silver sulfide and silver chloride salts.
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