Abstract
At the Rathgen-Research Laboratory at Berlin about 1000 bronze egyptian statuettes from the 7th century B.C. to the roman period have been analyzed by means of atomic absorption spectrometry. The elements which have been determined quantitatively are copper, tin, lead, zinc, iron, nickel, silver, antimony and arsenic. The amounts of the main elements (Cu, Sn, Pb), as well as of the trace elements vary considerably : Copper is found from 65 to 100 %, tin from 0 to 15 %, lead between 0 to 30 %. By that an origin from different workshops and periods is highly probable. By means of a cluster analysis it was found that certain images of egyptian gods (Hathor, Min) all are made from the same alloy. Other images of more essential gods (Osiris, Isis) are made from different alloys which form quite distinct groups in the cluster analysis. Differences of alloys used in upper, middle and lower Egypt exist if the localization because of stilistic features is correct. A temporal variation of the alloys is indicated by an increase of lead in later objects.
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