this enabled the restorers to choose the right materials and methods to use in the restoration. the samples were analysed under a powerful microscope, using a technique called ftir spectroscopy. this is one of the samples that the restorer had taken from the painting. it s less than half a millimetre. it s very, very tiny. the microscope reads the sample by firing radiation through it. some is absorbed by the material, and the rest, which passes through or reflects back, is recorded. this produces what s known as a spectrum. different molecules produce different spectra, which researchers can use to identify what the samples are made of. the technology has produced cutting edge instruments that are able to collect more than 1,000 spectra in a single shot, in one second. what is very important is to try to take as small samples as we can, because,
so that the restorers could find out what pigments artemisia used and where exactly they re located. this enabled the restorers to choose the right materials and methods to use in the restoration. the samples were analysed under a powerful microscope, using a technique called ftir spectroscopy. this is one of the samples that the restorer had taken from the painting. it s less than half a millimetre. it s very, very tiny. the microscope reads the sample by firing radiation through it. some is absorbed by the material, and the rest, which passes through or reflects back, is recorded. this produces what s known as a spectrum. different molecules produce different spectra, which researchers can use to identify what the samples are made of. the technology has produced cutting edge instruments that are able to collect more than 1,000 spectra in a single shot, in one second.
revealing the original nude image wasn t the only aim of the restoration. two tiny micro samples were taken from the painting so that the restorers could find out what pigments artemisia used and where exactly they re located. this enabled the restorers to choose the right materials and methods to use in the restoration. the samples were analysed under a powerful microscope, using a technique called ftir spectroscopy. this is one of the samples that the restorer had taken from the painting. it s less than half a millimetre. it s very, very tiny. the microscope reads the sample by firing radiation through it. some is absorbed by the material, and the rest, which passes through or reflects back, is recorded. this produces what s known as a spectrum. different molecules produce different spectra, which researchers can use to identify what the samples are made of.
when you see such history such floating and you don t know how it s going to be fixed, it was more than i could bear. reporter: while the museum remains closed for now, volunteers and donations are helping to bring it back to life. this was damaged? it was. it took the restorers over a month and a half to try to get it fixed. they did. it looks gorgeous. reporter: in meantime, they hold pop-up presentations at area schools so students like this 10-year-old can learn about anderson s legacy. what do you hope people take away from her life? that she was a very important activist and that she was a very strong singer. reporter: an opera singer herself, she was inspired by anderson as a child. now itit s her turn to carry th totorch.
The restoration of a precious copy of the Yongle Dadian ("Yongle encyclopedia") is being celebrated through a special exhibition at the National Library of China in Beijing.