Authentication and analysis of goldwork

2016

The compositional and structural characterization of the constituent alloys of precious metal artefacts is the basis for understanding the technological processes used in the art of the ancient goldsmiths. This research presents a multi-analytical approach to the study of the technologies of ancient jewellery manufacturing through the use of non-traditional methods. The development of original methods, such as the application of hardware devices and software programs, allows us to overcome the application limits of traditional analysis, as in the study of Castellani’s earrings, where statistical analyses were carried out using Pearson’s Coefficient Correlation and Cluster Analysis to identify the correlation of elements in the soldering areas. For the Tarquinia fibula, a methodology based on Imaging Analysis has been used to measure the geometrical parameters involved in the construction of the jewel. For another study, a new experimental apparatus was set up in order to identify ma...

2019

In this introduction to volume 33 of ArcheoSciences, we provide a brief overview of the use and abuse of gold over time, and its different aspects, from the mine to the objects, their use, analysis, and restoration. For this purpose, we focus on the papers presented in this volume, which originate from the Workshop AURUM: authentication and analysis of goldwork, organised under the auspices of the EU-DG Research funded project AUTHENTICO. The main aim of this project was to develop tools and expertise for law enforcement agencies to combat illicit trade in antiquities and to fight fraud and forgeries; to do so requires an understanding of the diversity of the cultural, technical and material manifestations of gold artefacts, and their very specific combinations and expressions. Some of the scholarly foundations of this endeavour are illustrated by the selection of the 55 papers, arranged in five topical sections, which are introduced in this text. Dans cette introduction au volume 3...

2009

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Archéosciences, 2009

In this introduction to volume 33 of ArcheoSciences, we provide a brief overview of the use and abuse of gold over time, and its different aspects, from the mine to the objects, their use, analysis, and restoration. For this purpose, we focus on the papers presented in this volume, which originate from the Workshop AURUM: authentication and analysis of goldwork, organised under the auspices of the EU-DG Research funded project AUTHENTICO. The main aim of this project was to develop tools and expertise for law enforcement agencies to combat illicit trade in antiquities and to fight fraud and forgeries; to do so requires an understanding of the diversity of the cultural, technical and material manifestations of gold artefacts, and their very specific combinations and expressions. Some of the scholarly foundations of this endeavour are illustrated by the selection of the 55 papers, arranged in five topical sections, which are introduced in this text.

ArchéoSciences, 2009

The compositional and structural characterization of the constituent alloys of precious metal artefacts is the basis for understanding the technological processes used in the art of the ancient goldsmiths. This research presents a multi-analytical approach to the study of the technologies of ancient jewellery manufacturing through the use of non-traditional methods. The development of original methods, such as the application of hardware devices and software programs, allows us to overcome the application limits of traditional analysis, as in the study of Castellani's earrings, where statistical analyses were carried out using Pearson's Coefficient Correlation and Cluster Analysis to identify the correlation of elements in the soldering areas. For the Tarquinia fibula, a methodology based on Imaging Analysis has been used to measure the geometrical parameters involved in the construction of the jewel. For another study, a new experimental apparatus was set up in order to identify markers on the micro/nano scale. It consists of a scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDS) integrated with XRF, an equipment developed in order to obtain a greater depth of analysis and a better integration of the compositional data. The aim of the work has been to integrate data from different analytical methodologies in order to identify technology transfer and/or production features, as well as the circulation of the goldsmith's artefacts.

ArcheoSciences, 2009

In this introduction to volume 33 of ArcheoSciences, we provide a brief overview of the use and abuse of gold over time, and its different aspects, from the mine to the objects, their use, analysis, and restoration. For this purpose, we focus on the papers presented in this volume, which originate from the Workshop AURUM: authentication and analysis of goldwork, organised under the auspices of the EU-DG Research funded project AUTHENTICO. The main aim of this project was to develop tools and expertise for law enforcement agencies to combat illicit trade in antiquities and to fight fraud and forgeries; to do so requires an understanding of the diversity of the cultural, technical and material manifestations of gold artefacts, and their very specific combinations and expressions. Some of the scholarly foundations of this endeavour are illustrated by the selection of the 55 papers, arranged in five topical sections, which are introduced in this text.

2016

A few years ago, 25 gold appliqués with a total weight of 255 g and dated to a period between the 5th and the 3rd centuries BC were offered to the National History Museum in Sofia (Bulgaria). Some Bulgarian archaeologists – experts in the field of toreutics – expressed the opinion that the offered finds are originals. At the same time, the results of an investigation carried out by the Bulgarian Police brought evidence to the contrary, and, on these bases, started a hearing of the case. Using a non-destructive method of investigation (ED-XRF), the concentrations of Ag, Au, and Cu were determined. A detailed observation of the surface of the finds with reflective optical microscopy was carried out, and, at the same time, stylistic parallels of the offered finds were sought by comparing them to the known similar ancient appliqués. On the bases of the chemical composition, technological observations, and the comparison with parallels of similar chronological finds reported in the liter...

This contribution aims to compare jewellery artefacts from some northern Italy archaeological sites, dated to different periods of the Copper age. Through a techno-typological and functional study that takes into account several morphometric, morphological and specific trace parameters (indicators of anthropic and/or wear activity), the methods, techniques and tools are reconstructed and compared. On the one hand, with the typological analysis, jewellery has been looked at as a cultural marker allowing to gather information (raw material, forms, and measures) on different aspects of past life, such as style, territories, and traditions. On the other hand, with the technological analysis, interpretative hypotheses are proposed based on the comparison between production traces and experimental data in order to reconstruct (in part or completely) manufacture procedures and fabrication techniques. Finally, a functional analysis enabled to distinguish wear traces from technological traces and to recognize if the object has been used or not.

Objects Specialty Group Postprints Volume Twenty-Five, 2018, 2021

This article presents recent research on gold artifacts from the site of Ur, ca. 2450–2100 BCE and proposes some possible methods for their manufacture. Sir Leonard Woolley excavated these artifacts at the site of Tell al-Muqayyar (ancient Ur) in southern Iraq in the 1920s and 1930s as part of a project sponsored by the Penn Museum and the British Museum. The material finds were divided: half went to the Iraq Museum, a quarter to the Penn Museum, and a quarter to the British Museum. This project grew out of the Ur Digitization Project and continued as part of the Penn Museum’s preparations for the reinstallation of its Middle East galleries. The objects examined include gold vessels, jewelry, and other objects of personal adornment such as diadems or fillets, hair ribbons, earrings, bracelets, and pins. The objects were examined using visual examination, microscopic examination, and x-radiography in an attempt to determine each object’s method of manufacture. Specifically, the authors were looking for evidence of the type of gold production used through the presence of platinum group element inclusions suggesting that the gold used to make the objects was from an alluvial gold source. In addition, the authors checked for evidence of seams, mechanical attachment, soldering, casting, and working. Archival research was also integral in interpreting these results, and the discovery of previously undocumented restoration demonstrates the challenges in studying manufacture of objects that were excavated and collected in a time when treatment was not as well documented as it is today. The results of this study show that a variety of different techniques were used to shape the gold objects, and unlike previous research, the gold smiths at Ur did not appear to favor mechanical attachment methods over soldering and often employed both methods on a single object. Furthermore, both casting and working methods were used at the site. The flat sheet gold objects appear to have been worked, and there is also a variety of shaping methods that were used, including hammers and possibly a rolling or rocking method. The latter is suggested based on the presence of elongated marks visible in the x-ray radiographs and found on most of the diadems/fillets from the site.