[Phil C (OP)]

Ref: historic artefacts and objects:


We are a forensic laboratory working in the area of the development of trace elements in order to establish provenance and have been approached by a reputable Board of Antiquities (BoA) from the Middle East seeking our assistance in the protection/repatriation of their historic artefacts and object, currently under severe threat of theft. The BoA officials state that, frequently, they discover their stolen artefacts on sale/auction in the 1st World but, unless they can prove their ownership, the Authorities are reluctant to act.


We are in the process of working on this problem with them but, before making any recommendations, we are keen to assess the impact of the application of a clear surface coating when applied to substrates such as metal, glass, canvas, vellum and paper (I appreciated that these can be broken down even further). 


So far, we've conducted Oddy tests on the metal substrates with positive results,


We've also created an new 'contact test' where we applied the surface coating under Oddy test conditions to a range of inorganic substrates (stone, ceramic tile, glass and pottery), and again, following inspection under SEM, with positive results.


Can anyone suggest further tests that we could undertake, that might satisfy the conservator community (bearing in mind that these artefacts are at risk of being lost forever so, in terms of risk assessment, the BoA officials believe that, in these circumstances, retention trumps conservation...)?


Thanks in advance!


Phil

[RD]

Identification via laser-speckle-pattern has the advantage that you don't have to apply anything to the artifact  ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4741809.stm
https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingenia_Technology#Technology