Pigment Identification of Ancient Wall Paintings Based on a Visible Spectral Image

Many ancient wall paintings are confronted with the threat of irreversible damages and in urgent requirement of restoration. This work provides the superpixel segmentation method and pigment identification method for the visible spectral image of ancient wall paintings to guide the scientific restoration of the paintings. The superpixel segmentation method for the visible spectral image is an extension of SLIC (Simple Linear Iterative Clustering) for the RGB image by redefining the feature of the visible spectral image. It can extract the outline of wall paintings and limit the pigment filling area in restoration of wall paintings. 44 kinds of commonly used pigments with size variations are selected to construct a visible spectral reference database for pigment identification. The pigment used in each superpixel is identified by searching the database in a specifically constructed feature space to find the nearest reference sample. This can provide guidance to pigment selection in restoration of wall paintings. At last, the methods are validated using the visible spectral image captured from Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang by using a multispectral imaging system.