The Agency's Laboratories Seibersdorf and Vienna
Saliera Examination
Portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer designed and constructed in the IAEA Seibersdorf Laboratories (in cooperation with Atominstitut, Technical University, Vienna) has been installed in the Conservation Science Department of the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna for a period of two months: December 2006 - January 2007. The instrument will be used to examine the famous goldsmith work "Saliera" by Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571). The "Saliera", stolen from the Museum in 2003, has been recovered by the Austrian police in the beginning of 2006. Currently the precious object is undergoing restoration works in the Conservation Science Department. The portable XRF spectrometer will provide data on the chemical composition of the various parts composing the salt cellar to support selection of optimum conservation strategies. The pictures show the instrument focused on the sculpture of Ceres, goddess of the earth, to collect X-ray fluorescence spectrum of the gold alloy.
