Análisis mediante XRF de una cruz procesional medieval de plata originaria de Italia central

Silver processional crosses are objects of liturgical worship, which by their nature and function have been subjected to repairs and periodic maintenance. Therefore, not only the manufacturing technique, but also the history of these objects can be effectively investigated through the analysis of the constituent materials. As for most of the art objects, the analysis of the cross has to be performed by means non-destructive techniques. Among the potentially applicable techniques, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) is one of the best choices. However, the peculiar structure of the silver crosses, made of a gilded silver sheet and decorated with enamel, makes the application of this technique not easy because the fluorescence signal contains the contribution of all layers or strata (substrate of silver, gold and / or enamel) included in the volume analyzed.