A multianalytical approach for the study of relief polychrome glazed ceramics (France, 19th century)

Abstract

During the second half of the 19th century, the production of ceramic pieces decorated with relief polychrome glazes occupied a prominent place in French factories of white earthenware. It is through the example of the Vieillard and Co Manufactory (Bordeaux, France, 19th century) that we will approach the technical study of this ceramic decoration process. A corpus of seven fragments of glazed earthenware from archaeological excavations, that took place in the waste dumps of the Vieillard and Co manufactory, has been studied. A multianalytical study (SEM-EDS, PIXE-PIGE, and hyperspectral imaging) was carried out in order to characterize both the clay support and the colored glazes. A second part of this research concerns the development of optical techniques based on reflectance spectra and hyperspectral imaging. This non-invasive method is intended to characterize colored glazes and more specifically, to identify the type of pigments used. All the data obtained made it possible to better understand the nature of the decoration chromogens and thus, to establish the color palette of the artists who produced this type of decorative objects. Therefore, one of the aims is to build a preliminary database established on hyperspectral imaging, which will then be used when studying ceramic objects that can not be sampled.