A variety of instrumental analytical techniques can be applied to the
physical and chemical examination of works of art and archaeology. In this
paper, a few examples are discussed of the application of micro-analytical
chemistry in this interdisciplinary field. The following subjects from the
experience of our laboratory, in collaboration with several specialized
institutes, were selected: Early Bronze Age ceramic crucibles, residues
and powders from Goltepe, South Central Turkey, have been analysed
using surface analytical techniques to investigate potential evidence of
tin smelting. The study indicates that the crucibles were used for
processing of tin and gives clear evidence of a local tin industry. Roman
glass from a collection of objects discovered in Qumrân near the
Dead Sea was used to study the corrosion of glass objects in a
particularly stable environment over a period of nearly 2000 years. The
corrosion of a series of glass-in-lead windows from St. Michael and St.
Goedele’s Cathedral, Brussels, was studied using electron probe
microanalysis and micro X-ray fluorescence. New views can be formulated on
the corrosion mechanism, which appears to be a complex multiphase process
under the influence of atmospheric pollution. A few preliminary results
are discussed for the analysis of glass paintings, in particular carnation
red glass paints.
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