Abstract
A mid fourteenth-century Spanish ciborium began to show signs of corrosion while on display in a closed case. The ciborium is made of gilded copper and champlevé enamel. The corrosion was found to be associated with a certain color of enamel. The enamel in the portions that evidence corrosion is itself much deteriorated. Though now a dull green-blue, it appears that it was once bright blue. Analysis shows that the deteriorated glass contains cobalt, which is probably the colorant. This enamel is a high potassium, low lead glass which is known to be unstable. Decomposition of this glass followed by leaching of components during a period of elevated relative humidity and temperature could account for the corrosion of the object. A fifteenth-century Spanish silver-gilt reliquary was found to have similarly deteriorated blue glass.
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