የባህላዊ፤ ታሪካዊና ሃይማኖታዊ የማዕድናት ቅርሶች ውቅርና ይዘት ትንተና
ዶ/ር ግርማ ወልደ ትንሣኤ
Abstract
The application of non-destructive scientific-analytical techniques for the type, quantity, quality, and composition of the minerals that make up metallic and metal-alloyed heritages of historical, cultural (traditional), religious (sacred/sacramental), souvenirs, decorative items, medals/badges among others is not a common practice in Ethiopia. The portable analytical X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers are particularly useful for immediate feedback about the compositional elements without affecting the heritages physical appearance. This study is based on a professional service delivered in one of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOTC) museum using portable XRF to quickly determine the type, mineral content and quality of gold and silver-plated heritages. The traditional practice of gold and silver smiths using aquarage (a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid) requires removing sample particles from one particular spot of the heritage and summed up for the whole part to read of quality in Karats (Cartage). Customarily the gold content in karats is rounded using two significant digits of ፲፬, ፲፮, ፲፰, ፳፩, ፳፪ and ፳፬ and less accurate. As a result, the practice will put permanent physical damage of typically blemishes (visible and non-visible scar) with repeated inspections. On the other hand, the new practice demonstrated in the EOTC museum will emplace proper preservation and protection from various types of theft and replacement with replicas of synthetics and imitations products and provide certifications. Furthermore, it will allow setting a consistent standard on material selection and metal content for design and production of sacred processional items using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) technologies of jewelry in accordance of the EOTC creed. The application could be expanded to other nationally important heritages in order to generate new systematic and complete data of major and trace elemental compositions in all Ethiopian museums for custody and research.
