Cover imageA Noli Me Tangere oil painting on canvas depicting a risen Christ appearing before the three Marys in a garden, a popular subject in the

Renaissance. Analysis by Raman spectroscopy has determined the pigments used and an unusual resin base. Image courtesy of Stephen Hibberts.

Typeset by Nova Techset Private Limited, Bengaluru & Chennai, India. Printed in the UK by Cambrian Printers.

This paper meets the requirements of ISO 9706:1994(E) and ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper) eff ective with volume 338,

issue 1649, 1992.

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A (ISSN 1364-503X) is published 26 times a year for US$6531 per year by the Royal Society, and is distributed in the USA by

Agent named Air Business, C/O Worldnet Shipping USA Inc., 149-35 177th Street, Jamaica, New York, NY11434, USA. US Postmaster: Send address

changes to Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, C/O Air Business Ltd, C/O Worldnet Shipping USA Inc, 149-35 177th Street Jamaica, New York, NY11414.

Continuing its long history of infl uential scientifi c publishing,

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A publishes high quality theme issues on

topics of current importance and general interest within the

physical, mathematical and engineering sciences, guest-

edited by leading authorities and comprising new research,

reviews and opinions from prominent researchers. Each

issue aims to create an original and authoritative synthesis,

often bridging traditional disciplines, which showcases

current developments and provides a foundation for future

research, applications and policy decisions.

rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org

SUBSCRIPTIONSIn 2016 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A

(ISSN 1364-503X) will be published

26 times a year. For more details of

subscriptions and single issue sales

please contact our fulfi lment agent:

Turpin Distribution

The Royal Society Customer Services

Pegasus Drive

Stratton Business Park

Biggleswade

SG18 8TQ

T +44 17 6760 4951

F +44 17 6760 1640

E royalsociety@turpin-distribution.com

Alternatively, please contact our customer

service team at :

E sales@royalsociety.org

SUBMISSIONS For submission guidelines and access to

journal content visit:

rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering SciencesISSN 1364-503X

© The Royal Society, 2016

Except as otherwise permitted under the

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988,

this publication may only be reproduced,

stored or transmitted, in any form or by any

other means, with the prior permission in

writing of the publisher, or in the case of

reprographic reproduction, in accordance

with the terms of a licence issued by the

Copyright Licensing Agency. In particular,

the Society permits the making of a single

photocopy of an article from this issue

(under Sections 29 and 38 of this Act) for

an individual for the purposes of research

or private study. Open access articles, which

are published under a CC-BY licence, may

be re-used without permission, but subject

to acknowledgement.

PRICES FOR 2016

Online

only

Online

and print

£ UK/Rest of World £2,460 £3,444

€ Europe €3,200 €4,480

$ US/Canada $4,665 $6,531

EDITORC. David Garner

COMMISSIONING EDITORBailey Fallon

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR

Ruth Milne

PRODUCTION EDITORThadcha Retneswaran

EDITORIAL BOARDKazuyuki Aihara

Henrik Alfredsson

Chunli Bai

Giu-Qiang Chen

Jack Connor

Athena Coustensis

Andrew Cooper

Ineke De Moortel

Caterina Ducati

Baylor Fox-Kemper

Marie-Pierre Gaigeot

Robin Garrell

Isabelle Gallagher

Nigel Glover

Joanna Haigh

Yasuhiro Iwasawa

Nick Jenkins

Brian Kennett

Richard Kerswell

Ying-Cheng Lai

Stephen Liddle

Simon Lilly

Joseph T. C. Liu

Malcolm Longair

Mike Lovell

Paul Milewski

Nicolas Moussiopoulos

Tim Palmer

Richard Pattrick

Vincent Poor

Stuart Robinson

Misao Sasaki

Gordon Semenoff

John Shepherd

Ajay Sood

Ingrid Stairs

Douglas Stephan

Howard Stone

John Meurig Thomas

Bryan Webber

Paul Williams

Colin Wilson

Xuesong Wu

Maohai Xie

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Nan Yao

Julia Yeomans

RSTA_374_2082_Cover.indd 5-7RSTA_374_2082_Cover.indd 5-7 19/10/16 6:45 PM19/10/16 6:45 PM

Raman spectroscopy in art and archaeologyTheme issue compiled and edited by Howell GM Edwards and Peter Vandenabeele

ISSN 1364-503X | Volume 374 | Issue 2082 | 13 December 2016

Ph

il. Trans. R

. So

c. A | V

olu

me

374

| Issu

e 2

08

2 | 13

De

ce

mb

er 2

016 R

aman spectroscopy in art and archaeology

The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship

of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists

drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and

medicine. The Society’s fundamental purpose, as it

has been since its foundation in 1660, is to recognise,

promote, and support excellence in science and to

encourage the development and use of science for

the benefi t of humanity.

The Society’s strategic priorities emphasise its

commitment to the highest quality science, to

curiosity-driven research, and to the development

and use of science for the benefi t of society.

These priorities are:

• Promoting science and its benefi ts

• Recognising excellence in science

• Supporting outstanding science

• Providing scientifi c advice for policy

• Fostering international and global cooperation

• Education and public engagement

For further information on the Royal SocietyThe Royal Society

6 – 9 Carlton House Terrace

London SW1Y 5AG

T +44 20 7451 2500

W royalsociety.org

For further information on Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A T +44 20 7451 2214

E philtransa@royalsociety.org

W rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org

ISBN: 978-1-78252-229-4

ISSN 1364-503X

The Royal Society Registered Charity No 207043

1364-503X(20161213)374:2082

RSTA_374_2082_Cover.indd 2-4RSTA_374_2082_Cover.indd 2-4 19/10/16 6:45 PM19/10/16 6:45 PM