A CONTRIBUTION OF INAA TO THE DETERMINATION OF THE PROVENANCE OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY SCULPTURE

Maria Ligęza1, Ewa Pańczyk2, Luzja Rowińska2, Lech Waliś2, Barbara Nalepa1

1Academy of Fine Arts, 9 Smolensk Str., 30-059 Kraków, Poland,
2>Department of Nuclear Methods of Material Engineering, Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, 16 Dorodna Str., 03-195 Warsaw, Poland


The object of the investigation is the so called Madonna Jackowa, or St. Hyacinthus’s Madonna, a gothic alabaster figurine dated from the XIVth century. The purpose of the investigation is to provide an answer to the question whether Madonna Jackowa was made of native alabaster. Samples of alabaster from five various quarries located along the line Cracow-Lvov as well as in Lower Silesia were analyzed and the content of trace elements was compared with that of the sculpture. The determination of trace elements was carried out by means of the instrumental neutron activation analysis.