A Portable Set up for Hyperspectral Imaging of Stained-Glass Panels

In the past years, hyperspectral imaging has become a popular technique for the non-invasive investigation of works of art and has been extensively used for the analysis of pigments in paintings and manuscripts. The application of spectral imaging on stained glass however is very limited. Due to their transparency, imaging of stained glass presents some challenges, such as the necessity of a proper transmittance setup and the complex interaction between light and glass, which can affect the acquisition.

In this work, we present a portable setup for hyperspectral imaging of stained-glass panels. The setup has been designed for transmittance measurements, and in the current configuration, it can support panels with a maximum size of around 45 × 45 cm.

The portable setup has been tested at the facilities of the Swiss National Museum on 10 stained-glass panels belonging to the museum’s collection, which were selected to be representative of different historical periods and glass-making techniques. Characteristics, advantages, and limitation of the system will be discussed, showing preliminary results on some of the case studies analyzed.