Unveiling a painter’s palette: multianalytical investigation on pigment lumps from the Persepolis World Heritage Site

Abstract This study investigates aspects of polychromy and the materials and techniques used in the decoration of architectural and sculptural elements at the Persepolis World Heritage Site. While evidence of ancient surface decoration has long been documented on stone reliefs and pigment lumps excavated at the site, many samples in the Persepolis Museum remain unexamined. A group of pigment lumps in green, red, yellow, blue, and white were recently analyzed using XRD, SEM-EDS, ICP-OES, µ-Raman, and µ-FTIR spectroscopy. Results identified natural copper carbonate as the green pigment, a refined calcite-dolomite mix as white, and iron oxides as red and yellow. Significantly, the blue pigment was identified as Egyptian blue, whose production technology was likely introduced from the West. These findings confirm previous analyses while providing new insights into the materials and techniques of Achaemenid polychromy, advancing our understanding of painting practices on the Iranian Plateau during the first millennium BCE.