Heraldic Art on Paper: Technical Analysis of the Materials and Painting Techniques in 17th-Century Illuminated Manuscripts from Ireland

The early modern period in Ireland was marked by war and political turbulence, which disrupted all spheres

of life, including artistic production. Consequently, few examples of Irish visual art survive from this period, leaving a

gap in our understanding of the materials and techniques used by Irish artists. This study is the first investigation of

colorants present in three 17th-century illuminated heraldic manuscripts on paper, which are part of the National Library

of Ireland’s collections. Technical analysis was conducted using non-invasive analytical techniques (VIS-SWIR FORS,

pXRF, microscopy). The choice of colorants varies according to each manuscript and corresponds to the work by different

heralds over a 50-year period. More than 12 different colorants were identified in various combinations, including azurite/

blue verditer, indigo/woad, smalt, cinnabar/vermilion, red lead, insect-based red lake, arsenic sulphide yellow, yellow

lake, shell gold, copper-based green, vergaut, carbon black and iron gall ink. We detected evidence of altered azurite and

degraded vermilion, which negatively impacted the visual integrity of the images. The production, in Ireland, of these

heraldic manuscripts is in line with wider European artistic traditions; the materials identified correspond with artists’

treatises and trade records, and with the results of other analysed European illuminated manuscripts of the period.