pXRF, Raman, and Multivariate Analysis Aiming to Discriminate Among Different Kinds of Marble Fragments of “Hygeia” Sculpture from Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand’s Collection
Author(s): Letícia Martins Birelo, Rafael Molari, Carlos Roberto Appoloni, Lilian de A. Laky.
The marble statue of Hygeia (1st–2nd centuries AD), part of the collection of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), is believed to have undergone extensive restoration in 18th-century Rome. The sculpture, composed of 185 fragments and measuring 161 cm in height, represents a complex assemblage of original ancient elements and later additions. In this study, a fully non-destructive analytical approach combining portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), Raman spectroscopy, and multivariate statistical analysis was applied to investigate the material composition of selected fragments. Twenty regions of the statue were analyzed in situ and compared with three reference marbles of known provenance: Paros, Pentelikon, and Thasos. Elemental and molecular data were evaluated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA). The multivariate results consistently separate the analyzed regions into two main groups, in agreement with independent stylistic and archaeological assessments. Furthermore, the combined spectroscopic and statistical evidence indicates compositional affinity with Paros and Pentelikon marbles, while allowing Thasos marble to be excluded. These results demonstrate that the integration of non-invasive spectroscopic techniques with multivariate analysis is an effective strategy for addressing questions of material characterization and restoration history in archaeological sculptures when sampling is not permitted.