On‐Site Identification of Early BÖTTGER Red Stoneware Made at Meissen Using Portable XRF: 1, Body Analysis

Abstract

A selection of 50 red stoneware objects, polished, unpolished, partially polished or glazed, from different collections (D epartement du Patrimoine et des Collections de la Cit e de la C eramique, S evres, France; Art Institute of Chicago; a private collection), attributed to 18th century B€ ottger, 20th century Meissen (Saxony) and Chinese productions have been analyzed with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer in museum/ collector rooms. The comparison of major (Si, Al), minor (K, Ca,Fe), and trace (Ti, Mn, Zr, Rb, Sr) element ratios was made to assist with the classification of the different artifacts as a function of their production technology and raw materials. The results are discussed in light of historical reports on the characteristics of B€ ottger production and criteria of identification are proposed to distinguish between "classical" B€ ottger (early 18th century) and other productions.

Non-invasive Raman analyses of Chinese huafalang and related porcelain wares. Searching for evidence for innovative pigment technologies

“…The Raman technique failed to identify the colouring ions that don't form complexes or crystallites. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy [89,91], portable XRF [91,92] or Synchrotron µXRF/diffraction [93] should be also very useful.…”

On‐Site Identification of Early Böttger Red Stoneware Using Portable XRF/Raman Instruments: 2, Glaze & Gilding Analysis

“…The black‐glazed red stoneware (sometimes called Boccaro ware) developed by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus and Johann Friedrich Böttger at the Court of Augustus the Strong, Prince‐Elector of Saxony was celebrated as a “completely new kind of porcelain” by their contemporaries and represents the first step in porcelain production in Saxony. Notwithstanding the historical importance of this highly technological and artistic achievement, in‐depth technical studies of Böttger stoneware and its decoration are limited . Böttger started the manufacture of red stoneware composed of iron‐rich clays/kaolins firstly in 1706 in Meissen and two years later in Dresden.…”

Spectroscopy of 16th century Portuguese tin-glazed earthenware produced in the region of Lisbon

“…(i) Scatterplot of K/Si versus Ca/Si count ratios and (ii) scatterplot of Fe/Si versus Ca/Si count ratios for the ceramic pastes. In both cases, the counts measured by XRF for each element were normalized by Si, considered as the main component of the ceramic body, to eliminate errors resulting from empirical measurements and data treatment procedures[26].…”