Spectroscopy Science: Did You Really Buy A Priceless Work Of Art?
Collectors,museums and art dealers face a lot of problems determining origin, authenticity and discovery of forgery of artwork. Experts are easily fooled - but science, not so much. They get help through the application of modern, non-destructive, "hi-tech" techniques. Spectroscopy is a technique that has been useful in the fight against art fraud because it can determine chemical composition of pigments and binders, which is essential information in the hands of an art specialist in revealing fakes. As described in a recent paper, "…according to the FBI, the value of art fraud, forgery and theft is up to $6 billion per year, which makes it the third most lucrative crime in the world after drug trafficking and the illegal weapons trade." read more