Sul restauro di una targa di maiolica istoriata attribuita a Francesco Xanto Avelli e datata 1536, e le relative analisi scientifiche

The illustrated majolica panel attributed to Francesco Xanto Avelli, whose complex restoration is the subject of this work, bears the numbering no. 18. It is part of a series of at least 40 pieces, numbered from 1 to 39, and executed in the year 1536 probably in Urbino. At the moment, 22 artefacts of this series are known, perhaps designed to adorn a studiolo. After a careful examination of the state of the artefact, which was seriously damaged and whose state of conservation risked being irreversibly compromised due to a previous inadequate restoration, the fragments were detached, cleaned and the old adhesives removed. After the new assembly was carried out with a suitable adhesive, the gaps were formally integrated and the chromatic compensation was carried out with the ultimate aim of recovering the legibility of the work. The materials and methods used for this restoration have been tested in museums since the mid-1970s. Archaeological analyses aimed at both the study of origin and the processing technology were carried out on some of the fragments detached during the cleaning work. Mineralogical analyses using XRD and semi-quantitative chemical analyses were carried out using an energy-dispersive microprobe (EDS) associated with a scanning electron microscope (SEM).