On-Site Identification of Early Böttger Red Stoneware Using Portable XRF/Raman Instruments: 2, Glaze & Gilding Analysis

What is it about?

Twenty‐one glazed red stoneware objects, with gilded or gold‐painted decor from different collections (Cité de la Céramique, Sèvres, France; Art Institute of Chicago, USA; a private collection) attributed to 18th century Böttger, Meissen (Saxony) have been analyzed with a portable X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and portable or fixed Raman micro‐spectrometer in laboratory/museum/collector rooms. Analysis was aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the technology of production of the gilding and black glaze, to augment what is known from the limited literature. Three different techniques to obtain a golden décor emerged as a result of this study: (i) a true gilding with gold, (ii) gold with mercury, and (iii) an alloy of copper and zinc.

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