Mobile Raman spectroscopy analysis of ancient enamelled glass masterpieces
Abstract
Richly decorated enamelled glass objects and fragments of different provenance and epoch have been analysed using mobile and fixed Raman instruments: some fragments of the outstanding Begram treasure (Musée des arts asiatiques – Guimet, Paris) dated to the 1st century AD, mosque lamps and bottles of Syrian/Egyptian provenance dated to the 13th/14th century (collections of Musée du Louvre and of Musée des arts décoratifs, Paris). The techniques are compared using the data obtained from the study of a group of similar objects and fragments discovered in Melfi Castle in the South of Italy in an archaeological context dated to the last quarter of the 13th century. The glass body was difficult to analyse requiring the use of high-energy high-power laser beams and/or sampling that allowed determining the soda-lime type precisely. In contrast, a variety of colouring agents was identified: lapis lazuli and/or cobalt for blue, antimonate pyrochlore solid solution for yellow, with the addition of cobalt/lapis lazuli for green,
- This article is part of the themed collection: Molecular Analysis for Art, Archaeometry and Conservation