Raman spectroscopic analysis of Mexican natural artists’ materials

This work represents the Raman spectra of 15 natural artists’ materials that were obtained from local market in Mexico. Some of these products are not endemic to the region, but are often used in local conservation practice. Other materials are of local origin and have been used for centuries by local craftsmen. The Raman spectra that are reported here are: Chia oil, linseed oil, Campeche wax, beeswax, white copal, dammar, colophony, mastic, pixoy, chapopote, chucum, aje gum, gutta gum, peach gum and gum Arabic. The sample of pixoy was mixed with TiO2, although it was not clear whether this was done intentionally or not. The Raman spectrum of chapopote, the local name for bitumen, contained features of carbonaceous and terpenoid matter. The Raman spectra of chapopote and chucum suffered severely from fluorescence, resulting in noisy Raman spectra. Aje gum and gutta gum are not gums, since they are resinous (terpenoid) in nature. Aje is a rare animal resin originating from Coccus axin.