The Fragment of Enameled Glass Vessel from the Bolgar Excavation (Russia)

Abstract

This paper is devoted to the interdisciplinary study of an enameled glass fragment found in the excavation of the Bolgar fortified settlement (Russia). The artifact comes from excavation site CLXXII of the so-called aristocratic district of the city. A comparison to a collection of Islamic drinking glasses from the Nasser Khalili collection shows the identity of the enamel pattern decor. The artifact was investigated by a series of analytical methods: scanning optical and electron microscopy (OSEM) and optical emission spectral analysis (OES). The results of the OES studies revealed that the basis is soda-lime glass. OSEM determined that different enamel colors were obtained from lapis lazuli, nepheline, diopside, bone ash, hematite, and lead-tin additive. Comparison of element’s concentrations with data of the Brill catalog of archaeological glass made it possible to identify the Bulgarian fragment as Egyptian glass produced in the late 13th – early 14th centuries.