Superpixel segmentation and pigment identification of colored relics based on visible spectral image

To enrich the contents of digital archive and to guide the copy and restoration of colored relics, non-invasive methods for extraction of painting boundary and identification of pigment composition are proposed in this study based on the visible spectral images of colored relics. Superpixel concept is applied for the first time to the field of oversegmentation of visible spectral images and implemented on the visible spectral images of colored relics to extract their painting boundary. Since different pigments are characterized by their own spectrum and the same kind of pigment has the similar geometric profile in spectrum, an automatic identification method is established by comparing the proximity between the geometric profiles of the unknown spectrum from each superpixel and the pre-known spectrum from a deliberately prepared database. The methods are validated using the visible spectral images of the ancient wall paintings in Mogao Grottoes. By the way, the visible spectral images are captured by a multispectral imaging system consisting of two broadband filters and a RGB camera with high spatial resolution.