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This article focuses on the archaeological and archaeometric characterization of a glass head pendant in Phoenicio-Punic style from the Marchetti Collection, a formerly private assemblage now belonging to the University of Padova. After the first visual inspection, the typology and appearance of the object raised serious doubts about its authenticity. For this reason, an integrated approach combining stylistic and typo-chronological analyses with archaeometric data was implemented for reconstructing the manufacturing techniques and identifying the raw materials used (i.e., silica source, flux composition, and colouring and opacifying agents). The analytical techniques used include stereomicroscopy (SM) to identify the production techniques, OM, SEM-EDS, and µ-Raman for textural and chemico-mineralogical investigations. The archaeological study and the comparison of our analytical results with the data published in the scientific literature agree in confirming that the investigated object is a forgery, as already demonstrated for other pieces from the same collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic and extensive analytical study was carried out on the loose inlays discovered in the Ptolemaic workshop of Tebtynis (Fayum oasis, Egypt). This paper presents data derived from the multi‐methodological archaeometric investigations (optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy–energy‐dispersive spectroscopy, electron probe microanalysis, micro‐Raman spectroscopy) performed on a set of intentionally colored and opacified glasses. In particular, we will discuss the textural, chemical, and mineralogical results related to the study of the yellow, yellowish‐orange, red, and brown inlays and semi‐finished/waste products now preserved at the Museo Egizio, Torino. The results highlight the presence of natron (low‐magnesium glasses, LMG) and plant ash (high‐magnesium glasses, HMG) base glass, coexisting with intermediate composition. Yellow samples are opacified using lead antimonates doped with iron and sometimes tin; conversely, yellowish‐orange specimens and the only brown sample are characterized by nanocrystals of cuprite. Red glasses are found in two variants: Dull reds are HMG with colloidal metallic copper particles, while sealing‐wax reds show LMG composition, associated with dendritic cuprite dispersed in a transparent, greenish matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inlays range among the most aesthetically pleasing and technically challenging glasses produced in the Ptolemaic period. Despite the central role of this phase in the history of glass technology, little is known about the recipes and the technological knowledge of the Egyptian artisans. This paper will thus focus on the study of the materials from the secondary workshop of Tebtynis (Fayum oasis, Egypt). We report the first multi‐methodological study comprising textural, chemical, and mineralogical analyses (optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy‐dispersive system, electron probe microanalysis, and μ‐Raman spectroscopy) on a set of 81 colorless, white, blue, and green samples carefully selected among the 800+ glasses from the craft area now stored at the Museo Egizio, Turin (Italy). Our study offers the biggest compositional database of well‐dated Ptolemaic glasses currently available in the literature, highlighting some interesting novelties regarding the silica and alkali sources, and the coloring and opacifying techniques employed. The results suggest a specialized craft of traditional origin, but open to innovation and experimentation, as expected from transitional phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the frame of a project aimed to systematically characterize Bronze Age glasses in Northern Italy, a few glasses from Frattesina (Rovigo, Italy) were chemically analyzed by wavelength-dispersive electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Trace chromofores were also analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Frattesina di Rovigo (Final Bronze Age (FBA), 1200–1000 BC) is at present the only recognized European locality showing evidence of glass working in the Bronze Age. The results of the investigation, which was initially carried out for standardization and comparison purposes of the chemical analyses of coeval glasses, yield interesting information if interpreted on the basis of the available chemical data from other Northern Italian and European glasses.The protohistoric glasses from Frattesina were likely produced with a rather advanced production technology. At least three different source materials were used, besides the pigments: a nearly pure source of silica, a source of stabilizers (mainly CaO, MgO), and a source of monovalent alkalis (Na2O, K2O) used to lower the softening point, possibly derived from wood ashes. The restricted range observed for the total alkali content and the presence at Frattesina of two classes of materials characterized by distinct Na2O/K2O ratios indicate a rigorous control of the physical properties of the glass, and the availability of at least two different sources of alkaline elements.The color of the glass was determined by the use of chromophoric elements (especially Cu, Co, Fe, Mo) and by skillful control of oxidation/reduction conditions during the working process. A thin red coating on bulk blue glasses was obtained by exposing the material to reducing conditions and by inducing the exsolution of crystals and crystal aggregates of metallic copper in the surface layer. The metallic particles have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and have dimensions of the order of 0.2–0.4 μm. The technique is surprisingly similar to the one used to obtain metallic luster in renaissance glazes and optoelectronic effects in modern composite nanomaterials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]