Mauro Bernabei

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Papers by Mauro Bernabei

Dendrochronological analysis of the Stradivari's harp

Dendrochronologia, 2022

Stradivari's apprenticeship is still not completely understood today. Tradition has it that he wa... more Stradivari's apprenticeship is still not completely understood today. Tradition has it that he was a pupil of Nicola Amati, the great violin maker who preceded him in musical instruments production in the city of Cremona. However, no documents proving Stradivari's presence in Nicola Amati's workshop can be found. In this paper, we present a dendrochronological analysis of Stradivari's harp, the only surviving portable diatonic harp, now in the possession of the Museum of the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella, Naples. The harp bears the inscription "Ant: • Stradivarivs Cremonen. s F. 1681" engraved on the column. Dendrochronological analysis of the soundboard revealed high correlation values (T BP > 16) between the tree ring sequence of the harp and that from a Nicola Amati cello made in 1679, suggesting that the wood of the two soundboards comes from the same tree trunk. The dendrochronological analysis of the harp offers new evidence of Stradivari's possible apprenticeship and has stimulated reflection on the wood trade for making musical instruments during the golden age of Italian classical violin making (16th-18th centuries).

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Dreidimensionale Modellierung der Größe und Lage von Harzgallen im Fichtenstamm

by Peder Gjerdrum and Mauro Bernabei

Holz Als Roh Und Werkstoff, 2007

Dendrochronological analysis of the library (Sala Vaccarini) and sacristy of the S. Nicolò l'Arena Monastery, Catania, Italy

Historical and Cultural Framing of a Medieval Wooden Artwork Through Dendrochronology

A small wooden cabin has been analyzed through dendrochronology. The artifact is a choir built by... more A small wooden cabin has been analyzed through dendrochronology. The artifact is a choir built by the lords to attend sacred functions while separated from the rest of the hall. The artwork was attributed to the workshop of Arduino da Baiso, but the wooden structure is not entirely convincing because of a stylistic incongruity between the lower carved part and the simple linear cusp, whose panels inlaid with floral motifs are very close to certain Florentine marquetry. Dendrochronological analysis demonstrates that the whole structure of the choir is coeval and that the panels of the two parts come from the same batch of trunks. This means that the entire choir was designed and built by the same workshop with fir wood, probably coming from the Tuscan Emilian Apennines.

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Flying on wood and fabric: The tree species used for the construction of the Ansaldo A.1 “Balilla” biplane (1918)

Archaeometry

La Natività, un rilievo ligneo in Valtellina: Sotoria, restauro, analisi diagnostiche

Tree-Ring Analysis on Wooden Artifacts

Nanotechnologies and Nanomaterials for Diagnostic, Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, 2019

Wood has been used by mankind since prehistory; therefore the presence of wood in cultural herita... more Wood has been used by mankind since prehistory; therefore the presence of wood in cultural heritage is huge. The dendrochronological dating is considered one of the principal techniques for the study of wood of historical and architectural interest. When the traces left by the history make a correct reading of the context impossible, the results given by dendrochronology are often the only certain data useful as a reference. Wood species identification and tree-ring analysis allow far more than just dating: often it is possible to identify the provenance of the woods, closely studying some technical aspects, detecting major or minor interventions of restoration, substitution, and reuse, and, in some fields of study, verifying the attribution of the artifact to a certain artist or school. The power of dendrochronology is based on the rigorous scientific approach and the complete independence from other stylistic or historical considerations.

Dendrochronological dating of the Cherubini stringed instruments collection, Florence

In 2009, the general catalogue of the Conservatory Cherubini Collection was produced. 49 stringed... more In 2009, the general catalogue of the Conservatory Cherubini Collection was produced. 49 stringed instruments of the collection, the most important nucleus of the Florentine and Tuscan violin-makers’ school, were submitted to a dendrochronological investigation to obtain information regarding the instruments’ construction dates and attribution. Sampling was carried out using a portable tree-ring measuring device, equipped with a high resolution digital camera. 37 stringed instruments were dated. The correlation values of the statistical cross-dating tests were generally very high. Apart from dating the instruments, the dendrochronological analyses permitted to determine which instruments had been made from wood of the same provenance and, in some cases, from the same tree trunk. The mean chronology built on the musical instrument series is 558 years long and dates from 1396 to 1953 AD. The master chronology is well replicated along its entire length and cross-dates well with all the...

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Dendrochronological note on linden trees in S. Lugano (Bolzano, Italy)

Italian Journal of Forest and Mountain Environments, 2006

Ad oggi, pochi lavori di dendrocronologia sono stati realizzati sul tiglio. Questioni legate alla... more Ad oggi, pochi lavori di dendrocronologia sono stati realizzati sul tiglio. Questioni legate alla particolare conformazione anatomica del legno e alle caratteristiche dell’accrescimento radiale comportano talvolta la formazione di anelli non chiaramente individuabili. Inoltre, la presenza sporadica dei tigli nei boschi italiani non facilita la costruzione di cronologie campione di riferimento. In questo lavoro, le classiche tecniche proprie dell’anatomia del legno e della dendrocronologia sono state impiegate per far luce sulla reale durata della vita di due piante di tiglio di notevole interesse storico locale. E stata cosi realizzata una cronologia di 245 anni che si sincronizza bene con le cronologie campione del larice e del pino cembro della zona. Tale cronologia ha contribuito alla ricostruzione di un piccolo pezzo della storia della valle.

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The old-growth beech forest of Cervara valley (National park of Abruzzes, Italy)

Is the dating of short tree-ring series still a challenge? New evidence from the pile dwelling of Lucone di Polpenazze (northern Italy)

Journal of Archaeological Science, 2020

Short tree-ring series are a recurrent problem in dendroarchaeological studies because they are d... more Short tree-ring series are a recurrent problem in dendroarchaeological studies because they are difficult to match against site and reference chronologies. Young wood posts discovered at the Early Bronze Age pile-dwelling site of Lucone D (Brescia, Italy) show tree-ring series not exceeding 40 rings. Dendrochronological analysis allowed us to cross-match 10 short series, which fail to find a cross-match against the site chronology and the regional GARDA1 chronology. Their precise dating, however, would invite new scenarios to better understand both the construction activity and the woodland management practices of ancient populations. Here, we examine the dating of these posts and speculate on young wood use in the context of pile dwellings. In order to precisely 14C date the subchronology of the 10 posts, we isolated random annual rings from two posts. Then, using wiggle-matching, the annual 14C measurements of the young woods were dated against a new absolute annual calibration cu...

Microscopical investigation on the secondary metabolites deposition in the red heart of beech

The beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) affected by red heart is characterized by a low durability an... more The beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) affected by red heart is characterized by a low durability and an intense brownish coloration. In this report the more frequent deposition typology of the false heartwood secondary metabolites has been documented. The secondary metabolites placing inside the cells seems to happen in three fundamental forms: under shape of spherical elements; under shape of layer on the cell walls; in the extreme cases the metabolites content completely fills up the cellular lumen. These metabolites function is that of a mechanical barrier against several adversities, that include the attack of some pathogenic agent, but also the simple loss of the humidity tenor in wood which is not more efficient in the water transport.

A Guarneri violin in the attic: the power of dendrochronology for analysing musical instruments

Heritage Science

Dendrochronology is the science that dates wooden artefacts by measuring annual growth rings visi... more Dendrochronology is the science that dates wooden artefacts by measuring annual growth rings visible in the wood. And, in the case of musical instruments, the method is non-invasive. In addition, dendrochronology can also help to identify the wood’s provenance and to supply information on how the soundboard was made, giving details of ring width and regularity. This study also demonstrates the effectiveness of dendrochronology in attributing a musical instrument to an important luthier. It deals with a privately owned violin, whose date and origin had previously remained uncertain, despite various attempts to authenticate, at least, its technical and stylistic characteristics. The outermost tree-ring of the instrument’s soundboard was dendrochronologically dated to the year 1696 and attributed, with certainty, to the Italian luthier Giuseppe Guarneri filius Andreae, father of the famous Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri "del Gesù". Thanks to dendrochronology, in this way, a twi...

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Methodologies for dating wooden artefacts

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

In recent years, constant progress has been made with regard to wood-dating techniques. In Italy,... more In recent years, constant progress has been made with regard to wood-dating techniques. In Italy, both the number and length of dendrochronological reference chronologies have increased so that by now the last 10,000 years are almost completely covered. This indispensable dating method has provided new ways for studying archaeological and prehistoric finds. New technologies have remarkably improved the sampling techniques, which today, in most cases, are very effective and non-evasive. Modern software now allows easy data management and statistical analyses. Apart from dendrochronology, the diffusion of isotope analysis has also had great impetus. With regard to radiocarbon dating, the calibration curve has been enriched by new data, and several peaks of cosmic emissions have been identified that, in future, can be instrumental in improving dating precision. Apart from radiocarbon, the isotope analyses of O, H and Sr, especially if linked with dendrochronology, allow to refine the i...

Surveying and Dating the Wooden Roof Structure of St Francis of Assisi Church in Valletta, Malta

International Journal of Architectural Heritage

St Francis of Assisi Church is an historic religious building in the centre of Valletta, Malta’s ... more

Beyond the visible: the Viterbo Crucifixion panel painting attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti

Microchemical Journal

Abstract The painting object of the present work, currently exposed in the Museum of Colle del Du... more Abstract The painting object of the present work, currently exposed in the Museum of Colle del Duomo in Viterbo (Italy), has been dated back by art historians to the 16th century and it owes its relevance to a still discussed attribution to Michelangelo Buonarroti. For this reason, art historians and the responsible curator of the Museum commissioned scientific investigations to support and explain their hypothesis about the painting attribution and dating. Here we report the results of two sets of investigation: diffuse reflectance hyperspectral imaging and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy of the painting; radiocarbon dating and identification of the panel wood. The hyperspectral dataset, coupled with X-ray fluorescence spectra on selected analysis points, reveals the presence of precious ultramarine blue and vermillion pigments, confirming the importance of the painting committer. Wood analysis and radiocarbon dating by wiggle matching technique revealed that the botanical species used for the panel is Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens L.), and enabled dating the painting around AD 1500± 25, providing to art historians a further element for the attribution of the artwork.

Dating trials of wooden historic artefacts through FT-IR spectroscopy

Journal of Cultural Heritage

Abstract This paper constitutes an attempt at using FT-IR spectroscopy for the dating of historic... more Abstract This paper constitutes an attempt at using FT-IR spectroscopy for the dating of historical and artistic artefacts made of poplar wood. It was decided to do the tests only on poplar (Populus spp.) to reduce a part of the typical wood variability, while poplar was chosen because it is widely present in Italian heritage, such as panel paintings, statues and furniture, and these objects cannot be dated by dendrochronology; also because 14C methodology has major limitations. Poplar artefacts from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century were selected, dated by means of documents, by attributions, or stylistically. In addition, recent poplar samples were selected as a reference. Wood flour were taken from the selected samples, discarding the surface layers that could have been influenced by oxidation phenomena. Before taking measurements with FT-IR, the wood meal was dried and the chemical extractives were removed. The results show the presence of a time-related trend, but the time factor is certainly not the only one that causes the variations within the spectra. After a discussion, it is therefore considered that the results do not allow at the current state to definitely produce a reliable reference for dating poplar wood artefacts through this methodology.

The wooden foundations of Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto) in Venice: Technological characterisation and dating

Journal of Cultural Heritage

Abstract The wooden foundations of Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge), the oldest and most famous of... more Abstract The wooden foundations of Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge), the oldest and most famous of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, were analysed in order to determine the tree species used to construct the foundation, to examine the timber's present-day physical and mechanical properties and to identify construction periods. The material recovered during geotechnical surveys underwent micro-morphological, physical, chemical and mechanical analyses. The radiocarbon method was used for dating purposes. The footings of the bridge's foundations, mostly consisting of alder wood, were shown to be in good overall condition generally. A comparison of normal and polarised light images of wooden cross-sections showed abundant crystalline cellulose within the cell walls, indicating that the state of conservation of the waterlogged samples is very close to that of sound alder wood. Only one alder sample showed signs of severe bacterial attack, mostly concentrated in the fibre cell walls. Radiocarbon dating identified two distinct construction periods. One sample dates to 1570 AD ± 85, whilst another dates to the year 960 AD ± 59. The later dating corresponds to the construction of the stone bridge that still exists today. The earlier period, around the year 1000, likely refers to the foundations of the first bridge, built after several pontoon bridges, and corresponding to the initial Ponte della Moneta.

Author Correction: Tree rings reveal globally coherent signature of cosmogenic radiocarbon events in 774 and 993 CE

Nature communications, Dec 17, 2018

The original version of this Article contained an error in the Data Availability section, which i... more

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Observations on Holocene subfossil tree remains from high-elevation sites in the Italian Alps

The Holocene

Subfossil tree remains from 38 high-elevation sites in the eastern Alps, which were mostly locate... more Subfossil tree remains from 38 high-elevation sites in the eastern Alps, which were mostly located in the province of Trentino, Italy, were dendrochronologically analysed. A total of 909 samples were collected, 497 of which were dated to calendar years through dendrochronology and separated into six groups. A further tree-ring series of 20 samples were cross-dated into two groups and their ages established by means of radiocarbon dating. The new Trentino Chronology that was established on the basis of these samples covers more than 80% of the last ca. 11,500 years. The uneven distribution of wood samples through time is most likely caused by different factors, for example, climatic and anthropogenic factors. According to our observations, the trees fell at the sites where they were found. The tree-ring series show that trees often died after a period of pronounced growth decline, for example, as a consequence of variations in groundwater levels. A comparison of the Holocene sample distribution of the new Trentino Chronology with contemporaneous records of other European tree-ring chronologies suggests that, at least partly, the greater scale of climatic variability influenced the depositional frequency. The new data contribute to our understanding of past climatic variability and environmental dynamics.

Mauro Bernabei

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