Ancient Buddhist paintings at Bamiyan are painted with oil paint

The whole world is taken aback by the act of destroying Taliban ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan's Bamiyan region in 2001. Behind the statues there are caves decorated with precious paintings from the 5th century. to 9th century AD.

These caves are also influenced by the Taliban's destructive actions as well as by the natural environment, but today they originate an important discovery. Through experiments conducted at the European Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (ESRF), scientists have shown that the paintings were painted with oil paint hundreds of years before the technique was invented in Europe.

In many books on European history and art, oil paintings are thought to have originated in the 15th century in Europe. But scientists from the Institute of Cultural Products Research in Tokyo (Japan), Center for Research and Restoration of the French Museum - CNRS (France), the Institute for the Conservation of Getty (USA) and ESRF recently identified Dry oil in specimens taken from Bamiyan cave. Drawn around the middle of the 7th century AD, paintings on the walls depicting Buddha in vermilion robes sitting cross-legged between palm leaves and magical creatures. Scientists discovered 12 out of 50 caves painted with oil painting techniques, perhaps using dry oil of walnut and poppy trees.

Details of a cave painting.(Photo: National Research Institute for Cultural Heritage, Tokyo - Japan)

The combination of synchrotron techniques such as infrared spectroscopy, fluorescent X-ray microscopy, X-ray osmolecular spectroscopy or micro X-ray diffraction are important for the results of the project. Marine Cotte, research scientist at CNRS and collaborating with ESRF, explained: 'On the one hand, the paintings are arranged in multiple layers, which can be very thin, overlapping. Micro-rays from synchrotron sources are necessary to separate these classes. On the other hand, these paintings are made of inorganic dyes mixed with organic binders, so we need a lot of different techniques to get a panoramic view. '

The results show the high diversity of dyes as well as adhesives. Since then scientists have identified the basic ingredients and alternative compounds. In addition to oil-based coatings, some layers are made of natural turpentine, protein, gum, and in some cases a varnish-like resin. Protein-based materials may be due to the use of adhesives from raw skin or eggs. Among the different dyes, scientists discovered high doses of white made from lead. Lead carbonate molecules are often used from ancient times to modern times not only in fine art but also in cosmetics as whitening agents.

According to Yoko Taniguchi, head of the research team, 'This is the earliest clear evidence of oil paintings in the world, although dry oil was used by the Romans and Egyptians, but only in pharmaceuticals and America. Products.'

These paintings are probably the work of artists traveling on the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China, across the Central Asian desert to the West. However, there are very few studies on this area. Taniguchi said 'For political reasons, research on Central Asian paintings is very rare. We are fortunate to have the opportunity from UNESCO to study these specimens as part of a conservation project for the world heritage site of Bamiyan, and we hope that future works can be provided. but a deeper understanding of painting techniques on Silk Road and Eurasia. '

The results were presented at a scientific seminar in January last in Japan and published in the Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry No. 22 April.