Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analysis of ancient copper alloy artifacts

The elemental composition of copper-based archaeological artifacts and museum objects provides information that can address questions related to manufacturing technologies and metal circulation, and also may be helpful for authenticity verification. As the range of the materials investigated using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is growing wider due to technological improvements, we tested the performances of this analytical technique to determine copper alloy compositions. Standardization, detection limits and reliability of the method will be discussed. The application of our LA-ICP-MS protocol to the study of Matisse bronze sculptures will be presented.