Mineral preservatives in the wood of Stradivari and Guarneri.

ABSTRACT: Following the futile efforts of generations to reach the high standard of excellence achieved by the luthiers in Cremona, Italy, by variations of design and plate tuning, current interest is being focused on differences in material properties. The long-standing question whether the wood of Stradivari and Guarneri were treated with wood preservative materials could be answered only by the examination of wood specimens from the precious antique instruments. In a recent communication (Nature, 2006), we reported about the degradation of the wood polymers in instruments of Stradivari and Guarneri, which could be explained only by chemical manipulations, possibly by preservatives. The aim of the current work was to identify the minerals from the small samples of the maple wood which were availab

SUBMITTER: Nagyvary J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2621340 | biostudies-literature | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature