A SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION ON THE PROVENANCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF A BLACK-FIGURE AMPHORA ATTRIBUTED TO THE PRIAM GROUP*

The restoration of a Greek black-figure amphora provided an opportunity to study the provenance and production technology of the vase. The composition of the ceramic body, determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), matches that of Attic products. Investigation by X-ray diffraction and reflectance spectroscopy suggests a maximum firing temperature around 900°C and a body re-oxidation temperature around 800°C, respectively. The morphology and composition of black, red and dark red surface areas were studied by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray energy-dispersive analysis; the black areas show the features of a typical well-vitrified black gloss, while the red areas were most probably obtained by simple burnishing of the body; the dark red additions, on the other hand, are the likely result of a partial re-oxidation of a clay-ochre mixture.

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