This paper is concerned with the estimation of the volume fraction and the anisotropy of a two-component composite from measured bulk properties. An algorithm that takes into account that measurements have errors is developed. This algorithm is used to study data from experimental measurements for a nanocomposite with an unknown nanostructure. The dependence on the nanostructure is quantified in terms of a measure in the representation formula introduced by D Bergman. We use composites with known nanostructures to illustrate the dependence on the underlying measure and show how errors in the measurements affect the estimates of the structural parameters.