Fig. 11

a SEM micrograph of a section with gold leaf with corresponding EDS analysis showing gold. b SEM micrograph of a cross section with a red paint layer (red layers in the centre at spectrum 16 and 17) with corresponding EDS analysis showing lead in the white layer below the red layers. It should be noted that unlike common presentation of paint cross sections, both SEM images are inverted: the older layers appear uppermost, and so the gold ground appears above the gold leaf. Ba, S, Ca, and Zn in the red layers indicate filler materials. (Source: analysis of samples commissioned by Tongji Architectural Conservation Laboratory, analysed at the School of Chemistry of Xi’an Jiaotong University by Junyan Liang)