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X-ray computed-tomography is an established inspection technique for cultural heritage objects, but it is rarely used for painted micro-samples. These small, delicate, and complex parts of historical objects offer important and unique insights to conservators and restorers, but there is no standard method for preparing them nondestructively and without contamination. Synchrotron computed tomography provides sufficient resolution to analyze them, but it is an expensive and time-demanding technique. In contrast, laboratory high resolution computed tomography, which offers comparable spatial resolution, is relatively accessible, making it an effective tool for the analysis of such samples. This work presents a comprehensive methodology developed specifically for analyzing painted samples using high resolution computed tomography, demonstrating the overall capabilities of this method in the field of cultural heritage. The preparation of the sample, the measurement and the post-processing were optimized with new dedicated designs and methodology. The result was then analyzed, identifying visible features including grains, material density, layering, and strand. High resolution computed tomography provides sufficient quality of measurements for good interpretative studies, and the workflow presented here makes data acquisition and processing quick and easy while emphasizing conservation of the micro-sample. The resulting dataset is also an invaluable contribution to museum archives, and it can serve as a basis for further experiments.
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