Abstract
The study of organic matter found in art objects or archaeological remains is a real analytical challenge. These samples, subjected to physical, chemical and temporal stresses, see their constituent organic matter embedded in complex matrices, irreversibly degraded or denatured. Characterizing this organic matter is an invaluable source of information for understanding aging mechanisms. The talk will cover the new methodologies we have proposed, based on proteomic analysis and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry, enabling the precise identification of proteins from a few micrograms of cultural heritage samples and, more pertinently, the identification of original animal species and age-related modifications. Several examples illustrating these methodologies will be presented, such as the study of a fish glue contained in a 17th-century multilayered polychrome composed of binders of different origins. Part of the presentation will be devoted to methodological developments for the study of native lipid compounds (lipidomic analysis) and their applications, such as authenticating the biological origins of lipids found in archaeological lamps. Our current analytical challenges, linked to the analysis of intact macromolecules, and their contribution to the study of these ancient samples, will also be detailed.
