1,720,964 research outputs found
An analytical techniques pool to hit the target. A comprehensive examination on an Apulian red figured pottery collection
No full textNo abstract availabl
Diversified production of red figured pottery in Apulia (Southern Italy) in the late period
No full textLate Apulian red figured pottery [1] from Egnatia (Fasano, Brindisi, ITALY) was studied in
order to widen the view on this ceramic class in Southern Italy. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass
Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) provided the samples elemental composition that allowed to make provenance
hypotheses. Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive
Spectrometry (EDS), supplied information about the minero-petrographic features of the objectsto
better understand their production technology. The set of results highlighted the contemporary
presence in the Apulian land in the late 4th century b.C. of both local and imported finds and showed
the existence of two different kinds of local production, the "classic" Attic and a peculiar one,
characterized by the application of an engobe layer before the black gloss. Our previous studies
resulted in the discovery that an engobe layer, with similar chemical and minero-petrographic
characteristics, was found in finds from another site in central Apulia (Monte Sannace). So the
discovery of red engobe on fragments from Egnatia, proves that its use was not an isolated occurrence,
but was quite common in the production of red figured in Apulia during the Late period, appearing as a
peculiar technological mark of Apulian potters
The source of blue colour of archaeological glass and glazes: the Raman spectroscopy/SEMEDS answers
No full textThe founding of lapis lazuli to give blue colour to glass and glazes is more and more coming out from the most recent studies of pottery and glassware of different epochs and provenances. The recent discovery in the south of Italy (Frederick II, Melfi
castle) of enamelled glass pieces including blue enamels questioned the real nature of the blue colour raw materials because the castle is built over and not far from outcrops of two volcanic rocks – haüynophire and phonolite – that contain haüyne, mineral belonging to sodalite group as lazurite, that can be blue or become blue after heating. Raman microscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were tested in order to identify the rock
used as raw material and to understand if the chromophore-bearing mineral in the artefacts could be other than lazurite.
To do this, the two volcanic rocks, lapis lazuli and archaeological glass with blue enamels, were studied. In particular,
temperature-dependent Raman measurements and Raman mappings both on single lazurite and haüyne crystals and on the rocks and the enamels were carried out also in order to investigate the colouration mechanism of haüyne. The results obtained allowed to make hypotheses about the transformations occurring in haüyne with heating and about the procedures of distinguishing the raw materials
A multi-analytical approach to amber characterisation
No full textIncreased need for non-destructive investigation methods in archaeology has become a major issue
since sampling is in most cases restricted in view of the importance or uniqueness of the objects.
For this reason, preliminary investigation using non-destructive techniques was performed on five
samples of amber beads obtained from different excavation and archaeological sites. The use of FTIR
and micro-Raman analysis revealed the presence of carboxyl, peroxide, hydroxyl, and complex ester
functional groups as well as single and double bonds in the structure of the studied resin varieties.
Further analysis of the amber samples from both archaeological and geological types by XPS, XRF,
and SEM showed the presence of sulfur and a wide range of trace elements on the surface of the
analysed samples. Our results proved that the combination of structural-molecular and surface
elemental techniques for amber characterisation provides a very useful and simple methodology for
the description of geological and archaeological amber samples from different regions of Europe
Multi-spectroscopic approach to explore the technological features of medieval gilded and enamelled glasses from Melfi (PZ)
No full textGilded and enamelled glasses of Islamic style, coming from a 13th century
landfill in Melfi castle, a Swabian emperor Frederick II fortress, were
subjected to a multi-techniques approach in order to explore the complex
and very fascinating ancient production technology of gilding and
enamelling on glass. Non-destructive μ-Raman spectroscopy was employed
on the most important and well-preserved objects, optical (OM) and electron
(SEM) microscopies were used to investigate the sections stratigraphy of
tiny fragments sampled from the borders of the already damaged objects. In
order to provide the chemical analyses of the bodies and the enamels,
energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy (EDS) and X-rays photoelectron
spectroscopy (XPS) were also employed. The body of the objects proved to
be made of silica-soda-lime glass, while the enamels of lead-rich glass
(“soft enamels”) and coloured by lapis lazuli and cobalt for blue, hematite
and minium for red, lead-tin yellow for green and calcium phosphate for
white. The gilding was found to be applied on a red enamel basis. The
presence of carbon inside the gildings and the detection of two different
gold signals by XPS suggested the hypothesis of the use of the so-called
“liquid gold”. This study gave thus an important contribution to the
understanding of the production of this class of rare and precious objects,
also confirming that the materials and technological procedures are
consistent with the Islamic tradition, probably due to the presence of Islamic
artisans at the court of Frederick II
- …
