A preliminary comparative technical analysis of earth-based pigments used by Aboriginal artists from the Kimberley region and other natural, synthetic or commercial sources

Abstract

Developing non-destructive analytical methodologies for Indigenous Australian cultural heritage is of critical interest for art historians, curators, artists and conservators. Prompted by an observed increase in the number of Australian Aboriginal artworks with problematic provenance, highlighted in a ground-breaking authentication case, and technical questions raised by the need to treat flood damaged artworks, research was undertaken to determine the best methods for analysing ochrebased paints. As many Aboriginal paintings and artefacts are predominantly composed of earthbased pigments, samples of synthetic pigments and naturally occurring ochres were obtained from a range of commercial a..