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Title: Evidence for an unorthodox firing sequence employed by the Berlin Painter. Deciphering ancient ceramic firing conditions through high-resolution material characterization and replication

Journal Article · · Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/C4JA00376D· OSTI ID:1214934
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [9];  [9]
  1. Getty Conservation Inst., Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  2. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
  3. Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA (United States)
  4. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
  5. Universite de Toulouse (France)
  6. European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble (France)
  7. European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble (France); Laboratorie d'archeologie moleculaire et structruale (LAMS), Paris (France)
  8. Univ. of Utrecht (Netherlands)
  9. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Palo Alto, CA (United States). SSRL
+ Show Author Affiliations

XANES spectroscopy was used to complement the results previously obtained with Raman spectroscopy by the same group to determine the firing conditions used in the production of a single vessel painted by the Berlin Painter in the 5th century B.C. The vessel, part of the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, presents a complicated layered architecture of black and red gloss, with different stratigraphies present on the interior and exterior surfaces. The study of two samples, one each from the interior and exterior surface of the vessel, was performed with the complementary analytical techniques of X-ray nano- and micro-spectroscopy (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and full-field transmission X-ray micro-spectroscopy (FF-XANES) across the Fe K edge), and supported by a replication study. The replicates, made in a laboratory furnace providing complete control over the firing temperature and oxygen partial pressure, provided a paradigm for the comparison of the mineralogical phases observed in the ancient samples, which led to a deeper understanding of the firing conditions necessary for the production of the Berlin Painter's vessel. Our results confirm the necessity of multiple firings and painting applications to obtain the Berlin Painter's architecture and provide a further example of the multiplicity of techniques and practices employed by the potters of the Kerameikos in ancient Athens.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1214934
Journal Information:
Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, Vol. 30, Issue 3; ISSN 0267-9477
Publisher:
Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 22 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Raman spectroscopy for firing condition characterization: Case study of Karelian medieval pottery journal July 2019
The ID21 X-ray and infrared microscopy beamline at the ESRF: status and recent applications to artistic materials journal January 2017
2016 Atomic Spectrometry Update – a review of advances in X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and its applications journal January 2016

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