Exploring the raw materials and technological practice to obtain red and black surfaces of Apulian red figure pottery by Raman and SEM‐EDS investigations

Abstract

In this paper, 4th century BC Apulian red vases, from sites among the most relevant in Apulia (Italy), are studied by means of Raman spectroscopy. The effectiveness of this technique in the archaeometric research is emphasized, particularly regarding the manufacturing procedures and raw materials of black and red surfaces. Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X‐ray Spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS) analyses are carried out jointly with Raman spectroscopy in order to complete the morphological and chemical information. The results show that two different clays have been employed for black gloss and ceramic body. The black gloss proves composed of the finest fraction of terre rosse—very common all over Apulia—with no organic material added to its clayey suspension. Traces of carbon found on the surfaces can be ascribed to fly ash deposited during the firing process. This research highlights that two more methods besides red engobe were used by Apulian potters to color red the surface of whitish/grayish vases realized with local raw materials, namely, the addition of either “miltos” or a clayey layer enriched in Fe oxides. A multi‐step firing (ox‐red‐ox), reaching the maximum temperature of about 900°C, can be deduced from the different mineralogical phases identified through Raman. The possibility of gaining information on the hematite particles size from the position of its characteristic Raman bands is successfully investigated, allowing to get clues on the presence of a surface layer in a nondestructive manner by comparing the particle size there and in the ceramic body.

Electrochemical methods to discriminate technology and provenance of Apulian red‐figured pottery. II: EIS

“…Although different pairs of impedance parameters provide site-characteristic grouping of data points, relatively large dispersion was obtained. This can be seen in Figure S1 of Supplementary information for the discrimination between the Egnatia samples obtained by voltammetry (Doménech-Carb o et al, submitted, Part I of this work) attributed to the Attic mode of manufacturing and those fabricated in Apulian technologies (Eramo & Mangone, 2019;Forleo et al, 2022;Giannossa et al, 2017Giannossa et al, , 2021Mangone et al, 2008Mangone et al, , 2013. The most significant discrimination results were obtained from plots of R 1 versus C 1 illustrated in Figure 4a of R 1 range between 10 and 100 Ω, whereas the capacitance values associated to Q 1 values range between 0.1 and 0.8 μF.…”

“…Research on Apulian red-figured pottery fabricated within fifth and fourth centuries BCE has to face the problem of the discrimination between the productions in Attic mode and those made using local Apulian procedures (Eramo & Mangone, 2019;Fontannaz, 2005;Forleo et al, 2022;Giannossa et al, 2017Giannossa et al, , 2019Giannossa et al, , 2020Giannossa et al, , 2021Ingo et al, 2000;Lühl et al, 2014;Mangone et al, 2008Mangone et al, , 2013Mangone, Giannossa, Colafemmina et al, 2009;Maniatis et al, 1993;Mirti et al, 2004Mirti et al, , 2006Robinson, 2014;Tang et al, 2001;Thorn, 2009;Thorn & Glascock, 2010;Tite et al, 1982;Walton et al, 2013).…”

Pigments and Techniques of Hellenistic Apulian Tomb Painting

“…Investigating the manufacturing characteristics of Hellenistic items from Apulia is an extensive research project that we have been carrying out for years [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. This paper focuses on the identification of raw materials (pigments/colorants/binders) and the verification of the painting techniques of wall painting from Hellenistic tombs in the Daunian area (northern Apulia), paying close attention to how different classes of finds relate to one another from a technological–productive perspective [ 8 ].…”