Chemische Charakterisierung und Spurenanalytik
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The structure and composition of ancient gold objects retain information about their long history of manufacture, from the exploitation of the ore to the finishing touches, as well as evidence of their use, deposition, and degradation. By developing an efficient analytical strategy, it is possible to retrieve that information. This chapter sets the necessary foundation 131to explore fully the analytical results presented in the following chapters of this volume. The techniques employed in the analyses of the Egyptian jewellery are described and the analytical parameters provided. For more established techniques, only brief introductions are presented, while more recent developments are presented in greater detail.
To gain insight into the possible origin of the gold used in the production of tesserae containing gold leaf less than 0.5 μm thick placed between two layers of glass, we propose a non-destructive synchrotron radiation (SR) XRF protocol based on sequential analysis under optimised analytical conditions. Using this protocol, trace element analysis is achieved with detection limits of 1–6 mg/kg. As Pt and Au have adjacent fluorescence energies, we tested the most challenging situation, when Pt is present in very low concentrations in gold. Data obtained by double-dispersive XRF (D2XRF) and μXRF for fourth–ninth-century mosaics decorating nine Eastern and Western religious buildings show that the Eastern and Western tesserae are made from different alloys.
However, these alloys are identical to those used to make gold leaf for gilding, because plastic deformation requires the use of gold alloys with high ductility and malleability. Although trace element composition of gold used in the concerned period is only available for coins, by comparing the amounts of Pt contained in the tesserae and in the coins we show that Roman tesserae are made from Roman gold, as described in the documentary sources. We observe for the Byzantine period the use of a Byzantine gold and of gold supposedly from different stages of recycling, and we suggest the use of Umayyad and Abbasid gold for the production of Islamic tesserae.