## 3 Results and Discussion  
### The Nature of the Materials and Their Preservation State  
By means of the optical microscopy and the keys for the microstructural identification of the anatomical parts of the wood, it was established that the icon panel is made of linden (_Tilia cordata Mill_). Involving stereomicroscopy and UV, visual and IR reflectography, the conservation state of the wooden support was analyzed, along with the pictorial layer and the gildings. It has been noticed that the icon is in a reversible precollapsed state, with advanced deterioration and degradation in some areas, close to almost irreversible collapse. Furthermore, the optical magnifying glass was used to analyze the sampling areas of the pictorial material and gildings. The six samples of pictorial material were initially analyzed under an optical microscope. As can be seen from Figure 10a,b, the dirt on the surface of the painting is opaque with a rough microstructure, in which dust and soot particles are trapped. Furthermore, small drops of oil and wood powder from woodworms are noticeable. The third sample (Figure 10c), taken from the edge of an area with a superficial gap in the pictorial layer, is represented by an intense red pigment with small bronze traces. The fourth image (Figure 10d) is a fragment from a medallion background, light blue, covered with flax oil and dark varnish. The sample with the silver foil (Figure 10e), taken from the center of a flower, had superficial particles from the last bronze regilding, traces of dust and dirt, and the sample with the gold foil (Figure 10f), collected from a flower petal, has a worn surface as it comes from a curved area of the sculpture, where there are traces of bronze and embedded dirt. Impurities are present in all samples, due to dirt and bronze gilding, that have penetrated into the varnish, and the painted surface has irregularities in all samples. The SEM microphotographs (Figure 11) of the six samples of the pictorial material and gildings, allowed the highlighting of the surface distribution and morphology of their structural components. Figure 10: Microphotographs of the pictorial layer (50–200\(\times\)): (**a**) Section in the paint layer, with the preparation, colors, varnish and embedded dirt; (**b**) Varnish with embedded dirt and bronze gilding traces; (**c**) Red pigment, varnish and bronze gilding traces; (**d**) Blue pigment with slightly stained varnish; (**e**) Silver foil with bronze gilding traces; (**f**) Gold leaf with bronze gilding traces. The preparation was analyzed on a clear area in the stratigraphic section of the pictorial material from P1 sample (Figure 11a), which shows discontinuities and some fine longitudinal cracks in the center. The analysis of the varnish from the gilded surface (Figure 11b) highlights the traces of embedded dirt, strongly penetrated into the varnish, that has fine cracks on the surface, traces of bronze gilding, soot and atmospheric dust, with uneven distributions and granulations. The red pigment in P3 sample (Figure 11c) and the blue pigment in P4 sample (Figure 11d) also show soot and atmospheric dust traces, with uneven distributions and granulations. The silver foils in P5 sample (Figure 11e) and the gold ones in P6 sample (Figure 11f) presents discontinuities, gaps, and erosion iridescence with uneven varnish, traces of bronze gilding and surface structures embedded on certain areas with soot and atmospheric dust. The P2 sample (Figure 11b), which also has traces of bronze gilding, was analyzed by EDX separately from the areas with these marks. Thus, the EDX analysis established the elemental composition of both the preparation, the varnish layer with dirt, the two basic pigments (red and blue), as well as the two types of gilding with silver and gold foils (Table 1). In the preparation (from P1 sample) were identified the components of the primer: Ca, C and O based on chalk powder (CaCO\({}_{3}\)) and a series of microelements (Si, Al, Mg, Na, K and Fe) specific to the red-brown bolus.