The mineral composition of colors of the carved wooden icon "Cross of Golgotha"

The article deal with the results of study of the mineral pigments (white, red, and blue in color) from the carved icon «Golgotha Cross» (?19-th century). The relevance of study of the mineral pigments of the icon is conditioned by the use material from the deposits of red ochre near the Skitskaya village, Komi Republic. Three of stages of painting were deciphered. The carved wood surface was covered by the first layer of ceruse up to 0.3 mm thick. А colorful layer of pigments in red and blue was applied оn the ground. Thickness of pigment layer depended on preservation, is up to 0.2 mm. The pigments were studied by Raman spectrometry, XRD and EDS. X-ray diffraction indicates cerussite PbCO3. EDS and XRD allow us detecting white lead as main component of the pigments. Red pigment is minium. Raman spectrometry and XRD allow detecting prussian blue as main component of the blue pigments. Dark color of the icon is caused by the uppermost protective layer composed of lacquer or boiled linseed oil. The study of composition of the pigments allows supposing that exotic (imported from another region) pigments were used in icon painting by the Old Believers in Komi region in the 17th-19th centuries.