Dating trials of wooden historic artefacts through FT-IR spectroscopy

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.