PIXE Analysis for the pigment identification in the Nizet manucript (18th century)

Written in 1740, the Nizet Manuscript is a heraldry book compiling the genealogy of the Nizet family (Verviers, Belgium). It presents a large number of hand-painted heraldries in traditional heraldic colours; the gold- and silver-like colours have undergone alteration and induced the degradation of the paper.
The first inspection of the book with a binocular lens and UV-visible spectroscopy has led to the selection of representative points to be studied by PIXE analysis for the different groups of pigments. The PIXE measurements have been conducted with the cyclotron of the Institute of Nuclear and Atomic Physics and of Spectrometry of the University of Liege.
Some pigments have been clearly identified, such as vermillion, umber or brass, while the presence of some others needs to be confirmed, for example azurite or lapis-lazuli. In the case of the green pigments and the organic ones (red, pink and black colours), the PIXE results must be completed by a molecular analysis. In order to exactly identify all the pigments, Raman analyses will be done to complete the pigment identification of the Nizet Manuscript.