Holographic tests on the Ghiberti panel ‘The Life of Joseph’

TLDR

The artifact is an 80 × 80 cm bronze bas‑relief panel by Ghiberti. The study applies holographic interferometry to a work of art undergoing restoration. The authors recorded double‑exposure holograms and real‑time interferometric tests in a laboratory equipped with holography. The techniques revealed the panel’s kinetic response to small thermal stresses, showing how temperature variations affect specific parts and the overall structure, thereby acting as a deterioration agent.

Abstract

An application of holographic interferometry on a work of art under restoration is described. The artifact is a panel, a bronze bas-relief 80 × 80cm2 in size. Double exposure holograms and real time interferometric tests were recorded in a laboratory equipped with holography. These techniques have shown the kinetic behaviour of the artifact in response to a small thermal stress, simulating the larger deformation caused by the daily thermal variation in the natural environment. In this way, it has been demonstrated how temperature variations affect both particular parts of the object and its overall structure, acting in time as an agent of deterioration.