GC/MS and proteomics to unravel the painting history of the lost Giant Buddhas of Bamiyan (Afghanistan).

ABSTRACT: A chemical investigation of the organic paint binders of the Giant Buddhas of Bāmiyān was performed using an analytical approach based on mass spectrometry, combining traditional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry protocols with advanced proteomics methodologies. The research was carried out on a selection of rescued fragments. The data revealed the use of egg proteins as the paint binders of the original layers, in accordance with the traditional use of this proteinaceous medium in antiquity, spanning from the Mediterranean basin to the Far East, and already in the Bronze Age. Egg tempera was thus known to artists of the region in the first centuries AD, probably also due to the position of the Bāmiyān valley, which was connected to the Silk Road. Milk was found in the first historical

SUBMITTER: Lluveras-Tenorio A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5381772 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature