The circulation of precious metals in the Arab Empire: the case of the near and the Middle East*

Gondonneau, A.; Guerra, Maria

doi:10.1111/1475-4754.t01-1-00087

Cited by 24 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(13 reference statements)

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“…This is important because it implies both the existence of a stable supply of precious metal supporting the new coinage and the precise intent of Florence to issue a coin that would soon dominate the market because of its high purity standard. On the other hand, the high variability observed in the compositions of the Tarì and, to a lesser extent, in the Augustali, could suggest the reuse of Islamic and North African gold, as also proposed by Gondonneau and Guerra [19], on the basis of complex laboratory instrumentation (12 MeV proton activation analysis) [20] and, for some specimens, destructive analysis such as LA-ICP-MS [21].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of XII–XIV Century Italian Gold Coins

Baldassarri¹,

Cavalcanti

Ferretti

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeology

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An extensive analytical study has been performed on a large number of gold coins (Norman-Swabian Augustale and Tarì, Grosso of Lucca, Florin of Florence) minted in Italy from the end of XII century to XIV century. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique was used for verifying the composition of the coins. XRF is a nondestructive technique particularly suited for in situ quantitative analysis of gold and minor elements in the precious alloy. The Florins turned out to have a gold content very close to 24 carats (pure gold) although in a couple of cases we observed relatively high concentrations of iron (around 2%) or lead (around 1%). The Grosso of Lucca has a similar composition, with a measured gold content around 97% due to a higher silver percentage (about 2%), with respect to the average Florin. The Augustali analyzed showed, on average, a gold content around 89%. The average gold content of the Tarì analysed is around 72%, with a relatively large variability. The analysis revealed the use of native gold for the coinage of the Florins, excluding the possibility of recycling gold coming from other sources. On the other hand, the variability observed in the compositions of the Tarì and Augustali could suggest the reuse of Islamic and North African gold. The study could shed some light on the sudden diffusion of gold coins in Italy around the first half of XIII century, allowing hypotheses on the provenience of the gold used for a coinage that dominated the economic trades from then on.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of XII–XIV Century Italian Gold Coins

Baldassarri¹,

Cavalcanti

Ferretti

et al. 2014

Journal of Archaeology

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“…Indeed, elemental measurements made on Sijilmasa's gold coins highlight silver (Ag) and copper (Cu) additions for debasement issues (Gondonneau et al . ; Roux and Guerra ; Gondonneau and Guerra ). For example, during the Almoravid dynasty (mid‐11 th to mid‐12 th c.), when Sijilmâsa was one of the major minting centre for dinars , the elemental contents of these gold coins ranged between 84 to 98 wt.% for Au, 3 to 14 wt.% for Ag and 0.10 to 2.10 wt.% for Cu (Roux and Guerra ), whereas the values obtained on modern West African gold nuggets present a fineness of gold beyond 97% (Gondonneau et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sijilmâsa was one of the North African outlets of West African gold ( e.g Gondonneau et al . ; Roux and Guerra ; Gondonneau and Guerra ; Nixon et al . ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Medieval Silver Production Around Sijilmâsa, Morocco

2020

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Sijilmâsa (south-east Morocco) was one of the most strategic cities in a far-reaching exchange network, that is, the Trans-Saharan trade, linking the Maghreb with West Africa during the medieval period (from the 8 th to the 15 th century CE). It was also one of the most important gold and silver monetary workshops at the time. If gold came from West Africa, we know from written sources that silver was produced in Morocco, although archaeological evidence of silver mining and smelting has remained elusive. Thanks to a thorough analysis of the lead isotopic data from silver mining districts in Morocco and from ores and slags of our study, we were able to refine the tracing of our materials and provide tangible evidence of medieval mining in the close hinterland of Sijilmâsa city.

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“…2001) and the provenance of the metals used in statues (Srinivasan 1999), jewellery (Guerra et al . 2006) and coinage (Gondonneau and Guerra 2002) have been defined.…”

Section: Museums: a World Of Treasuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeometry and Museums: Fifty Years of Curiosity and Wonder*

Guerra

2008

Archaeometry

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Artefacts and works of art kept in museum collections originated in many cases from ancient private collections. In such cases, a partial or total absence of historical information may create additional problems concerning their authenticity. The study of museum collections and their preservation requires the use of analytical techniques but also combined examination techniques not commonly necessary for the study of archaeological objects. This paper gives an overview of the importance of museum items for the understanding of the past, the difficulties relating to their authentication and the significant advances brought about by science‐based techniques, in particular those cases discussed in Archaeometry during the past 50 years.

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The circulation of precious metals in the Arab Empire: the case of the near and the Middle East*

Cited by 24 publications

References 19 publications

X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of XII–XIV Century Italian Gold Coins

X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis of XII–XIV Century Italian Gold Coins

Medieval Silver Production Around Sijilmâsa, Morocco

Archaeometry and Museums: Fifty Years of Curiosity and Wonder*

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