Authentication scientific examination

Readers interested in the archeology of copper will find several of the references listed at the end of this article of value. To assess the authenticity of ancient copper and bronze objects, museums such as the Cincinnati Art Museum have turned to modem scientific examination. For example, ultrahigh-voltage industrial computed tomography, coupled with x-ray inspection, has been used. 

There are several possible reasons why a scientific study of an art work may be desirable. An obvious one is in cases where the authenticity of an object is doubted on styHstic grounds, but no unanimous opinion exists. The scientist can identify the materials, analy2e the chemical composition, and then investigate whether these correspond to what has been found in comparable objects of unquestioned provenance. If the sources for the materials can be characterized, eg, through trace element composition or stmcture, it may be possible to determine whether the sources involved in the procurement of the materials for comparable objects with known provenance are the same. Comparative examination of the technological processes involved in the manufacture allows for conclusions as to whether the object was made using techniques actually available to the people who supposedly created it. Additionally, dating techniques may lead to the estabUshment of the date of manufacture. 

Barker, H. (1973), Scientific Criteria in the Authentication of Antiquities, Application of Science in Examination of Works of Art Proc. Seminar, June 15-19,1970, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 

In the end, the question of the authenticity of the Shroud as the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth remains open-ended. We should all keep in mind that science is really not in a position to ever prove categorically that the Shroud is authentic (i.e., Jesus burial cloth). We have, however, examined the probability that the Shroud was artistically produced and find it improbable. The question is left so that those who wish to believe it authentic are not hindered with scientific objection to doing so. However, without proof of authenticity, those who choose to believe the Shroud is not authentic are also free to do so without scientific objection, provided they do not assert a production mechanism that is excluded by the information now available. 

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