Changes in the supply of eastern Mediterranean glasses to Visigothic Spain

Ares, Jorge de Juan; Grassi, Francesca; Gutíérrez, Yasmina Cáceres; Schibille, Nadine

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2019.04.006

Cited by 26 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…However, this import appears to relate only to isolated, finished objects and not to the trade of raw glass en masse. In contrast, raw glass chunks indicative of bulk imports and regional secondary working have been recovered from numerous late antique and Visigothic Iberian sites ( 11 , 26 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Investigations into the transformation of ancient glassmaking have focused on the eastern Mediterranean, on Egypt and the Levant, because of the region’s long history of primary glass production ( 7 – 10 ). The supply of glass to the central and western Mediterranean regions relied on imports from the east, and from the late antique period onward increasingly on the recycling of Roman glass ( 11 , 12 ). Relatively little is known about medieval and early Islamic glassmaking in the Iberian Peninsula ( 13 – 17 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The glass from Šaqunda also differs from earlier assemblages in terms of functionality and typology. Whereas large open tableware constitutes the bulk of Visigothic assemblages ( 11 ), these are largely absent in Šaqunda, being replaced by closed forms, such as unguentaria, bottles, and beakers ( SI Appendix , Fig. S1 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Ex novo development of lead glassmaking in early Umayyad Spain

Schibille

Ares

García

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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This study investigates glass finds from the Iberian Peninsula as a proxy for identifying the mechanisms underlying technological transformations and innovation in the wake of the Arab conquest in the seventh and eighth centuries CE. High-resolution laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry data combined with lead isotope analyses of a precisely dated (mid-eighth century to 818 CE) glass assemblage from the Rabad of Šaqunda in Cordoba, capital of Umayyad Spain, enabled us to trace the origins of an Iberian glassmaking industry and to unambiguously link it to the exploitation of local raw materials. The analytical data reveal increased recycling, some isolated imports of Islamic plant ash glasses from Mesopotamia, and, most notably, the development of a new type of glassmaking technology that resorted to the use of lead slag from silver and lead mining and processing in the region around Cordoba. The production of this type of lead glass from Šaqunda was short-lived and was subsequently refined by introducing additional fluxing agents. The technological innovation of Islamic glassmaking in Spain evidently drew inspiration from adjacent high-temperature technologies. The revival of glass and the development of a local glassmaking tradition was indirectly related to the wider processes of Islamization, such as the introduction of glazed ceramics that are compositionally related to the lead glasses from Šaqunda.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Ex novo development of lead glassmaking in early Umayyad Spain

Schibille

Ares

García

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Nine samples have very low Al 2 O 3 and elevated MgO levels. They bear some similarities with the so-called Magby (Magnesium-rich Byzantine) glass made with a plant ash component, although the absolute MgO contents of the low-alumina al-Minya tesserae are at the lower end (1-1.5% MgO) of the range found in the literature (1-2.5% MgO) [43][44][45][46]. Also identified in the assemblage is one HIMT (high iron, manganese and titanium) tessera, a type dated to the 4 th -5 th century [2,40,41,[52][53][54].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Production and provenance of architectural glass from the Umayyad period

2020

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A large assemblage (n = 307) of architectural glasses (tesserae and windows) from the early 8th-century Umayyad residential site at Khirbat al-Minya was analysed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Trace element patterns are essential to establish the provenance of the base glass, while the comparative evaluation of the colouring and opacifying additives allow us to advance a production model for the manufacture of glass mosaic tesserae during the early Islamic period. The primary glass types are Levantine I and Egypt 1a, as well as a few older, reused tesserae, and Mesopotamian plant ash glass used for amber-coloured window fragments. Chemical data revealed fundamental differences in the colouring and opacification technologies between the Egyptian and Levantine tesserae. Co-variations of lead and bismuth, and copper, tin and zinc in the Egypt 1a tesserae provide first evidence for the production of different mosaic colours in a single workshop, specialising in the manufacture of tesserae of different colours. No such trend is apparent in the Levantine samples. Red, cobalt blue and gold leaf tesserae were found to be exclusively made from a Levantine base glass, indicating that the generation of some colours may have been a specialised process. The same may apply to the amber-coloured window glass fragments of Mesopotamian origin that exhibit very unusual characteristics, combining elevated copper (2% CuO) with an excess in iron oxide (5% Fe 2 O 3). These findings have significant implications for the production model of strongly coloured glass and the exploitation of resources during the early Islamic period.

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“…Therefore, the variable levels of CaO and Al 2 O 3 suggest the use of different types of sands containing feldspar as impurities (Freestone, 2005). At the same time, high concentrations of FeO, MnO and TiO 2 reflect a silica source rich in accessory minerals (De Juan Ares, Vigil-Escalera Guirado, Caceres Gutiérrez, & Schibille, 2019b).…”

Section: Major Element Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Characterization of Vitreous Finds from Cosenza Cathedral (Calabria – Italy) by the Combined Use of Analytical Techniques

Barca

Papparella

2020

Open Archaeology

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AbstractThis article presents an archaeometrical research carried out on twenty-six vitreous finds collected in the Cosenza Cathedral (Calabria, Italy). The glasses have been subdivided in two typo-chronological groups. The first group is composed of 14 vitreous samples dating to the 4th–6th century AD. The second group includes twelve samples; seven are stems of funnel-shaped hanging lamps which date between the 12th and the 13th century AD, two are bottlenecks of balsamaria and three are concave bases. The aims of this study were the determination of the chemical composition of vitreous finds and the individuation of the primary glass sources. The samples were characterized through Electron Probe Micro Analyser with Wavelength Dispersive Spectrometer (EPMA-WDS) and Laser Ablation with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The data confirm that all the finds of the first group are “silica-soda-lime” type glasses characterized by a high content of Na2O and a low content of K2O and MgO. On the contrary, the samples of the second group, showing higher contents of K2O and MgO, are vegetable silica-soda-lime glasses. Their composition confirms the typological attribution to the medieval period.

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Changes in the supply of eastern Mediterranean glasses to Visigothic Spain

Cited by 26 publications

References 24 publications

Ex novo development of lead glassmaking in early Umayyad Spain

Ex novo development of lead glassmaking in early Umayyad Spain

Production and provenance of architectural glass from the Umayyad period

Chemical Characterization of Vitreous Finds from Cosenza Cathedral (Calabria – Italy) by the Combined Use of Analytical Techniques

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