The “Black Panther”: a multi-analytical study on the statue of the football player Eusébio da Silva Ferreira

The iconic Eusébio da Silva Ferreira statue attracts a lot of attention from Sport Lisboa e Benfica Football fans and fans worldwide who, eager to show their affection and respect for the player, touch and pose with the statue, a proximity that the sports Club promotes and encourages. The statue (classified as a bronze but the alloy was not known) is in a good state of conservation but localised signs of possible corrosion – visible green/blue, orange and white stains - appear intermittently and an alteration to the original position of the statue leaves a cloud of uncertainty when it comes to its physical stability. To address these questions a multi-analytical combined approach was devised with the use of portable equipment (digital microscope, h-XRF, 3D scanner and a Pundit PL-200) and laboratory techniques (µXRD, µRaman and VP-SEM-EDS). Contrary to what was previously thought, the sculpture was produced using a ternary Cu–Sn–Zn alloy rich in Pb. The coloured deposits analysed revealed the presence of Cu, Fe and Zn which translates into active corrosion that needs to be closely monitored. Other deposits are due to atmospheric debris. Copper phthalocyanine, a blue-green pigment was identified which may be related to the patina. The ultrasound technique has allowed the determination of the relative thickness of the statue but fell short of determining the actual position of a sustaining inner rod. Further studies are needed to address this issue.