Glass, pottery and enamelled objects: identification of their technology and origin
Résumé
Much like weapons, vessels made from glasses and ceramics have longbeen held as objects of very high technology. Ceramic technology mastery is even at the foundation of metallurgy. In producing glass, potteries and enamelled metals, three critical, and energy intensive steps are needed : obtaining fine powder, firing, and building appropriate kilns. Control of the colour also requires advanced physical and chemical knowledge. Indeed, if ceramic production is somewhat the art of forming a heterogeneous matter (only some components melt), glass or enamel production requires the object to pass through a homogeneous liquid state to obtain the desired microstructure and properties. This chapter presents the different destructive, non-destructive and non-invasive analytical methods that can be carried out in laboratory, on shards or sampling with fixed 'big' instruments, or on site (museums, reserves, etc.) with mobile setups. After a brief overview of the history of pottery, the implications of the processes involved (grinding, shaping, sintering, enamelling, decoration) on micro-and nano-structures (formation / decomposition temperature, kinetic / phase rules, sintering) is given. The emphasis is given to information that can be obtained by XRF and Raman mobile non-invasive measurements. Examples illustrating how these studies help to document technology exchanges and exchange routes are also given.
Domaines
Chimie
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Colomban_Glass, pottery Final RSC Conservation Sciences.pdf (2.45 Mo)
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