© M. Mechling

Musée National des Arts Asiatiques - Guimet / Volkenkunde Museum Leiden. Study by Univ. Paris 3 & Univ. Leiden (Mathilde Mechling)/ Guimet (Pierre Baptiste and Thierry Zéphyr)/ EFEO (Brice Vincent) / C2RMF (David Bourgarit, Elsa Lambert and Anne Maigret) / Univ. Leiden (M. Klokke) - June 2016-Dec 2018. Contact: Mathilde Mechling (mathilde.mechling@gmail.com).

After visual examination at the Musée Guimet, metal has been sampled from 36 bronze statuettes for ICP-AES elemental analysis of the metal at the C2RMF (October 2016).

In November 2016, all 36 statuettes have been transferred at the C2RMF to undergo systematic X-ray radiography and photography. 3D scanning and X-ray tomography have been carried out on a selection of statuettes, together with digital microscopy to investigate chasing and engraving.

In March 2017, 4 statuettes have been radiographed using neutrons at the Orphée Reactor, Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Saclay, France. This has allowed us to clearly visualize the consecrations deposits inside the statuettes.

A paper is in a press.

In addition, 46 statuettes from the Volkenkunde Museum at Leiden have been sampled in May 2017 for metal analysis, again by ICP-AES at the C2RMF. The synthesis of all analysis (Guimet+ Leiden) is in progress