Examination of museum objects by means of video holography

A prototype inspection system has been tested which makes use of electronic speckle pattern interferometry with computer image processing, for deformation and stress analysis and for the location and analysis of defects in museum objects. Two different examples have been chosen: a nineteenth-century oil painting on a wood panel and a seventeenth-century enamelled terracotta vase. The method can give quite accurate metrological information; it is also particularly promising for rapid qualitative analysis.