A selection of 23 rare glass objects, mostly enameled, of various provenance and age, from the 5th century BC to the 19th century AD including the Western and Islamic Middle Ages but with a focus on 16th-18th century Venetian and French 'façon de Venise' artefacts, have been studied on-site at the Sèvres museum or at the laboratory. The Raman signatures of the transparent or opacified glass matrix and of enameled decorations are discussed and compared to those previously recorded on ceramics and stained glasses. The Raman parameters allow discrimination between 2 groups (with some variations) of glass bodies, belonging to mixed Ca-Na and Ca-containing Na-rich silicates, with some exceptions. Most enamels are instead lead-based glasses, but we also found enamels having a composition close to that of the glass body. Most of the pigment signatures are similar to those recorded on ceramic glazes, which proves the link between the two technologies. A particular emphasis was given to the identification of white opacification techniques. Very specific signatures could question the authenticity of some artefacts, and at least in two cases, arguments have been found to identify a fake or embellished artefact.

On site Raman analyses were performed at the Musée national de Céramique, Sèvres, France, on rare Iznik (former Nicaea) pottery produced from ~1480 to ~1620. A comparison is made with a series of shards. The town of production of these potteries was highly disputed in the 80's and many questions still remain. The potential of glaze on-site analyses as a classification/datating tool is evaluated. The structure of the silicate glaze does not change with the sample (index of polymerisation ~ 0.5-0.8, indicating a lead silicate composition; characteristic Si-O stretching mode doublet at ~985 and 1030-1050 cm -1) . By contrast the corresponding signature of most of the "Kütahya" wares peaks at ~1070-1090 cm -1 . The lowest index is measured for a brilliant overglazed red bole, according to a lower temperature of (post)firing. The different crystalline phases identified in the glaze are α-quartz, haematite, spinel, cassiterite, uvarovite garnet and zircon. White colour arises from α-quartz slip in most samples studied. Cassiterite (SnO 2 ) opacifier is only present in some early blue-and-white ceramics (Master of the Knots and Baba Nakkas style, ca. 1510-1530) and we do not have other evidence of its intentional use as an opacifier. Intentional addition of tin oxide is likely for colour lightening in some red, blue and in clear green boles. At least two types of red glazes and two types of Cr-containing green pigments are evidenced.

Both European and Asian historical records report that Jesuits were at the origin of enamelling technology transfers from France (and Italy) to Asia during the 17 th century. A mobile Raman setup equipped with a high magnification (x200) microscope objective with long working distance is used to identify the use of European (arsenic-rich) cobalt in 17 th and 18 th century porcelains: twenty soft-paste porcelains from Rouen (L. Poterat' Factory), Saint-Cloud, Paris (Pavie', Hébert', Chicanneau', and Bellevaux' factories), Lille, Mennecy, and Vincennes factories, of which almost all were produced before 1750, belonging to the Cité de la Céramique Collection (formerly Musée national de Céramique, Sèvres), have been analysed in order to get a more representative view of the type of cobalt ore used. A large proportion of blue decors exhibit signs of lead arsenate, even for productions after ~1750, which proves the wilful interest given to arsenic phases in magnifying blue hues. Different lead arsenate signatures are observed, one assigned to the product of reaction of As-rich cobalt ore with lead-based glaze and another characteristic of added arsenic. At least two groups of glaze are identified: a lead-rich one and a mixed lead-alkali glaze. Porcelains made during the second half of the 18 th century exhibit the very strong As-O modes characteristic of the voluntary addition of a lead-arsenate forming compound. Comparisons are made with Qing Chinese productions exhibiting similar Raman signatures and expected to have benefited from transfers of technologies.

On-site Raman analyses were performed at the Musée National de Céramique, Sèvres, France, on the rare, first-known European porcelain dishes, produced from 1575 to 1587 in Florence, under the patronage of Grand Duke Francesco I de Medici. The results are discussed in the light of previous chemical analyses. The different identified phases are a-quartz, feldspar, calcium phosphate and b-(and a-) wollastonite, i.e. the fingerprints of both hard-and soft-paste porcelains. The presence of feldspar is consistent with the high potassium and aluminium content, evident from previous composition analysis. The good dissolution of quartz grains and the signature of b-wollastonite (CaSiO 3 ) are consistent with a frit-ware technology. Calcium phosphate in the enamel indicates that the Islamic technique of opacification with calcined bone was used.

On-site Raman analyses were performed at the Musée national de Céramique, Sèvres, France, on select rare items of the earliest known European hard-paste porcelains and stonewares, produced from ca 1710 to 1750 in the Meissen workshop (Saxony) founded by J. F. Böttger and E. W. von Tschirnhaus. Characteristic on-site Raman signatures have been obtained for white Sake bottles from ca 1715, a green bowl depicting a purple landscape dated 27th August 1726 and a figurine and coffee cups produced in the middle of the eighteenth century. In addition, some artefacts (a red polished stoneware cup from ca 1710 to 1715, a white ewer stopper from ca 1725, a blue underglaze decorated flat stopper believed to have been manufactured after 1719 and decorated coffee cups) were analysed at the laboratory. Raman spectra identified different types of mullite-rich bodies, including calcium-rich and quartz-containing pastes. Different types of glazes and pigments (haematite, Naples yellow, cassiterite, lapis lazuli, etc.) have also been identified. The results are discussed in the light of previous chemical analyses and historical records. We propose characteristic parameters to discriminate between the different production technologies.