Ancient Egyptian gold: Archaeology and science in jewellery (3500–1000 BC), 2023
This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qur... more This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qurna, together with a few additional examples of gold pieces that are either well contextualized, or that can be attributed to the Second Intermediate Period and early 18th Dynasty based on their inscriptions. These parallels include objects that are in some way related to king Nubkheperra Intef, notably the first heart-scarab recorded for a king, several pieces bearing the name of Ahhotep, the three gold components of an armband found in the burial of king Kamose, and several pieces from excavations at Qau by G. Brunton.
Scientific research has played an important role in the study of the British Museum's collect... more Scientific research has played an important role in the study of the British Museum's collections for nearly eighty years. A key area of this research has been the history of technological changes in metal use from the earliest times: one current project is the metallurgical study of the Museum's collection of pre-Columbian gold. This project is directed at identifying the gold alloys and the manufacturing and gilding techniques used in the many and diverse cultural groups of South America. Of the manufacturing techniques, the sheet metal construction of Inca figurines and the casting technology of Musica necklace ornaments are highlighted. The exploitation of relatively low gold-content alloys by the pre-Columbian smiths is outlined, and three methods of gilding, depletion gilding, electrochemical replacement gilding and fusion gilding are discussed. -- ICCROM
The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloison... more The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloisonne garnets and garnet cabochons. The compositions of both styles of garnet were investigated using Raman spectroscopy. All of the garnets belong to the same compositional group, the pyralspite series. Of the 19 cloisonne garnets analysed, 18 are pyrope-rich (magnesium-rich) and one is almandine rich (iron-rich). All four of the garnet cabochons analysed are pyrope-rich and very similar in composition to the cloisonne garnets. The presence on the buckle of a single almandine garnet amongst pyrope garnets suggests that this almandine garnet may represent either a later repair, or the contemporary use of garnets from two different geographic sources. Red garnets were commonly used in British Anglo-Saxon jewellery from this time (e.g. the Staffordshire Hoard and the Sutton Hoo ship burial). The slight difference in the compositions of the garnets from the Sutton Hoo jewellery in comparison to those from the Crundale Down buckle, combined with differences in the average metal compositions suggests that the workshops where they were manufactured did not have access to the same sources of raw materials.
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information N... more Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Author: Carradice, IA; La Niece, S. Title Article/Chapter: "The Libyan War and coinage: a new hoard and ...
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2023
This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qur... more This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qurna, together with a few additional examples of gold pieces that are either well contextualized, or that can be attributed to the Second Intermediate Period and early 18th Dynasty based on their inscriptions. These parallels include objects that are in some way related to king Nubkheperra Intef, notably the first heart-scarab recorded for a king, several pieces bearing the name of Ahhotep, the three gold components of an armband found in the burial of king Kamose, and several pieces from excavations at Qau by G. Brunton.
Iran is very rich in metal ores and has had an unbroken tradition of metalworking for at least 70... more Iran is very rich in metal ores and has had an unbroken tradition of metalworking for at least 7000 years. At the end of the second millennium bc a number of regional cultures emerged within Iran, particularly in the north western and western parts of the country and these were particularly proficient in metalworking. Apart from a small number of stray accidental finds, the first occasion on which a significant number of such pieces entered Western collections-including the British Museum-was during the late 1920s. Almost all of these were acquired via the art market and lacked secure excavated provenances. This paper looks at two types of sword that have been scientifically examined with X-radiography, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results indicate that some swords with bronze hilts were certainly cast-on to bronze blades, but although some excavated examples show the casting of bronze hilts onto iron blades, many others circulating on the art market show u...
The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloison... more The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloisonne garnets and garnet cabochons. The compositions of both styles of garnet were investigated using Raman spectroscopy. All of the garnets belong to the same compositional group, the pyralspite series. Of the 19 cloisonne garnets analysed, 18 are pyrope-rich (magnesium-rich) and one is almandine rich (iron-rich). All four of the garnet cabochons analysed are pyrope-rich and very similar in composition to the cloisonne garnets. The presence on the buckle of a single almandine garnet amongst pyrope garnets suggests that this almandine garnet may represent either a later repair, or the contemporary use of garnets from two different geographic sources. Red garnets were commonly used in British Anglo-Saxon jewellery from this time (e.g. the Staffordshire Hoard and the Sutton Hoo ship burial). The slight difference in the compositions of the garnets from the Sutton Hoo jewellery in comparison t...
Ancient Egyptian gold: Archaeology and science in jewellery (3500–1000 BC), 2023
This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qur... more This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qurna, together with a few additional examples of gold pieces that are either well contextualized, or that can be attributed to the Second Intermediate Period and early 18th Dynasty based on their inscriptions. These parallels include objects that are in some way related to king Nubkheperra Intef, notably the first heart-scarab recorded for a king, several pieces bearing the name of Ahhotep, the three gold components of an armband found in the burial of king Kamose, and several pieces from excavations at Qau by G. Brunton.
Scientific research has played an important role in the study of the British Museum's collect... more Scientific research has played an important role in the study of the British Museum's collections for nearly eighty years. A key area of this research has been the history of technological changes in metal use from the earliest times: one current project is the metallurgical study of the Museum's collection of pre-Columbian gold. This project is directed at identifying the gold alloys and the manufacturing and gilding techniques used in the many and diverse cultural groups of South America. Of the manufacturing techniques, the sheet metal construction of Inca figurines and the casting technology of Musica necklace ornaments are highlighted. The exploitation of relatively low gold-content alloys by the pre-Columbian smiths is outlined, and three methods of gilding, depletion gilding, electrochemical replacement gilding and fusion gilding are discussed. -- ICCROM
The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloison... more The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloisonne garnets and garnet cabochons. The compositions of both styles of garnet were investigated using Raman spectroscopy. All of the garnets belong to the same compositional group, the pyralspite series. Of the 19 cloisonne garnets analysed, 18 are pyrope-rich (magnesium-rich) and one is almandine rich (iron-rich). All four of the garnet cabochons analysed are pyrope-rich and very similar in composition to the cloisonne garnets. The presence on the buckle of a single almandine garnet amongst pyrope garnets suggests that this almandine garnet may represent either a later repair, or the contemporary use of garnets from two different geographic sources. Red garnets were commonly used in British Anglo-Saxon jewellery from this time (e.g. the Staffordshire Hoard and the Sutton Hoo ship burial). The slight difference in the compositions of the garnets from the Sutton Hoo jewellery in comparison to those from the Crundale Down buckle, combined with differences in the average metal compositions suggests that the workshops where they were manufactured did not have access to the same sources of raw materials.
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information N... more Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Author: Carradice, IA; La Niece, S. Title Article/Chapter: "The Libyan War and coinage: a new hoard and ...
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2023
This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qur... more This chapter (whole Chapter 9) presents the technological study of the jewellery excavated at Qurna, together with a few additional examples of gold pieces that are either well contextualized, or that can be attributed to the Second Intermediate Period and early 18th Dynasty based on their inscriptions. These parallels include objects that are in some way related to king Nubkheperra Intef, notably the first heart-scarab recorded for a king, several pieces bearing the name of Ahhotep, the three gold components of an armband found in the burial of king Kamose, and several pieces from excavations at Qau by G. Brunton.
Iran is very rich in metal ores and has had an unbroken tradition of metalworking for at least 70... more Iran is very rich in metal ores and has had an unbroken tradition of metalworking for at least 7000 years. At the end of the second millennium bc a number of regional cultures emerged within Iran, particularly in the north western and western parts of the country and these were particularly proficient in metalworking. Apart from a small number of stray accidental finds, the first occasion on which a significant number of such pieces entered Western collections-including the British Museum-was during the late 1920s. Almost all of these were acquired via the art market and lacked secure excavated provenances. This paper looks at two types of sword that have been scientifically examined with X-radiography, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results indicate that some swords with bronze hilts were certainly cast-on to bronze blades, but although some excavated examples show the casting of bronze hilts onto iron blades, many others circulating on the art market show u...
The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloison... more The Crundale Down buckle is a 7 th century Anglo-Saxon silver and gold buckle inlaid with cloisonne garnets and garnet cabochons. The compositions of both styles of garnet were investigated using Raman spectroscopy. All of the garnets belong to the same compositional group, the pyralspite series. Of the 19 cloisonne garnets analysed, 18 are pyrope-rich (magnesium-rich) and one is almandine rich (iron-rich). All four of the garnet cabochons analysed are pyrope-rich and very similar in composition to the cloisonne garnets. The presence on the buckle of a single almandine garnet amongst pyrope garnets suggests that this almandine garnet may represent either a later repair, or the contemporary use of garnets from two different geographic sources. Red garnets were commonly used in British Anglo-Saxon jewellery from this time (e.g. the Staffordshire Hoard and the Sutton Hoo ship burial). The slight difference in the compositions of the garnets from the Sutton Hoo jewellery in comparison t...
The spread of Muslim influence around the Mediterranean in the Medieval period led to increased c... more The spread of Muslim influence around the Mediterranean in the Medieval period led to increased contact with Christian Europe. this paper examines aspects of the manufacturing technology and alloy compositions of the British Museum's collections of copper alloy vessels from the Middle East, looking at evidence of the development of contacts.
Trade and Discovery: The Scientific Study of Artefacts from Post-Medieval Europe and Beyond, Duncan R. Hook and David R. M. Gaimster (eds), Occasional Paper 109, British Museum Press, 1995
Scientific Research in the Field of Asian Art, 2003
Islamic rule extended over a large part of Asia and N Africa and into Spain in the medieval perio... more Islamic rule extended over a large part of Asia and N Africa and into Spain in the medieval period. There is evidence for some continuity from earlier metalworking traditions but also for innovations, notably the introduction of sand casting and the popularity of brass vessels, richly inlaid with silver, gold or copper and a black organic material. The great majority of the vessels are made of brass, with a small group made of high-tin bronze. The evidence for lost-wax casting and piece mould casting as well as that for spinning is examined. This paper summarizes the findings of an analytical and technological study of the British Museum's collections of Islamic copper alloy vessels.
Scientific Research on Ancient Asian Metallurgy, 2012
This paper builds on the research into Islamic metal technology presented at the first Forbes sym... more This paper builds on the research into Islamic metal technology presented at the first Forbes symposium and reviews the published analyses of medieval Islamic copper alloys. The repertoire of copper alloy types used to make vessels between the seventh century and approximately the sixteenth century ce shows remarkable consistency across the regions under Islamic rule in terms of the major alloy compositions, though the trace element picture is much less clear cut. The most pronounced division is between the relatively pure brass vessels made by hammering (sinking or raising) and the more mixed alloys of the items made by casting. Additionally there is a small but distinctive , high-status group of high-tin bronze vessels with approximately 20 wt.% or more tin and a larger group of utilitarian vessels made of copper with only minor levels of other elements. Two groups of objects that are distinguished from the majority of cast copper alloys by their tin and zinc compositions are identified: a group of cast mirrors of the same form as the round mirrors from China but with Arabic inscriptions and a group of sand-cast candlesticks dated to the late thirteenth and fourteenth century.
Sand casting leaves little evidence compared to other casting mould materials. Archaeological dis... more Sand casting leaves little evidence compared to other casting mould materials. Archaeological discoveries of sand casting flasks in the Islamic world date the method to at least as early as the 11th century AD. The history of sand casting in China and Europe is also considered.
Niello is a black material composed of one or more metal sulphides. It contrasts particularly eff... more Niello is a black material composed of one or more metal sulphides. It contrasts particularly effectively with the metal when inlaid or fused into a recessed design in gold or silver, but is also found on bronze and brass. X-ray diffraction analysis of niello from 180 objects spanning the period between the first century A.D. and the present, from Europe and the Middle and Far East, has established that, as a general rule, Roman niello is composed of the sulphide of one metal only, either silver or copper and, furthermore, the niello is usually made of the same metal as that of the object into which it was inlaid. Sulphides made with silver and copper together were introduced at the end of the fifth century, though silver sulphides were still being made, particularly in the areas dominated by Rome. The manufacture of niello of more than one metal represents a technological advance as, unlike the single sulphides, they can be fused into an engraved design without damaging the ...
El Museo Britanico ha comenzado recientemente un programa de estudio cientifico y tecnologico de ... more El Museo Britanico ha comenzado recientemente un programa de estudio cientifico y tecnologico de su coleccion de objetos de orfebreria prehispanica. Para este programa se usa microscopia optica y electronica de barrido, analisis radiograficos y de fluorescencia de rayos X. En este articulo se presentan estudios de caso interesantes que muestran un rango de practicas de orfebreria que incluye dorado, uso de matrices de piedra para la elaboracion de moldes e identificacion de falsificaciones
Metal Plating and Patination. Susan La Niece and Paul Craddock, eds., 1993
A history of the methods used to clad base metal with a thin layer of silver, from the mechanical... more A history of the methods used to clad base metal with a thin layer of silver, from the mechanical methods used at least as early as the 5th century BC to modern electroplating.
Metal Plating and Patination eds Susan La Niece and Paul Craddock, 1993
Scientific investigation of Republican and early Imperial Roman silver plated coin forgeries wit... more Scientific investigation of Republican and early Imperial Roman silver plated coin forgeries with copper and iron cores.
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Author: Zwicker, U.; Oddy, A.; La Niece, S. Editor: La Niece, Susan; Craddock, Paul T. Title Article/Chapter ...
Silver has generally been valued second only to gold from at least as early as 2000BC. A material... more Silver has generally been valued second only to gold from at least as early as 2000BC. A material which is highly prized becomes a status symbol and cheaper imitations find a ready market. Craftsmen very early developed methods of applying thin layers of silver onto base metal as an economical use of precious metal, whether for its decorative effect or, particularly in the case of plated coins, to deceive the customer. Unfortunately, silver plating is less commonly preserved than gold plating, and corrosion at the interface between the silver and base metal may destroy the evidence of how the plating was applied. The situation is complicated because many of the white metal surfaces on pieces labelled as ‘silvered’ are in fact produced by tin, or more rarely, by arsenic. Nevertheless, there are still sufficient surviving examples to indicate that silver plating has a long history during which techniques were developed to give better results and to allow more economical use of the pre...
Provides a detailed description of a late Medieval lyre-shaped cast copper alloy belt buckle foun... more Provides a detailed description of a late Medieval lyre-shaped cast copper alloy belt buckle found at Hillington, Norfolk, and a discussion of its examination by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. Differences in composition between the ...
Three chisels (Fig. 1), excavated by Woolley (1934) in the 1920s from an Early Dynastic III grave... more Three chisels (Fig. 1), excavated by Woolley (1934) in the 1920s from an Early Dynastic III grave at Ur, and now in the British Museum, were believed to be made of solid gold. Recently, however, it was noticed that the gold surface was blistering in places, revealing coppery coloured metal beneath, suggesting that they were gilded. The chisels were from a very rich grave (PG 800), known as “the Queen's Grave”. It is attributed to Queen Pu-abi (in the original excavation report her name was mistakenly transcribed as Shub-ad) and dated to c. 2600 BC. Five chisels U. 10429–33 were found with a gold saw behind a large steatite bowl which contained various copper tools. Part of the material from this grave is now in the British Museum. Other items are in the University Museum, Philadelphia, including two of the gold chisels and the gold saw, and in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad. The purpose of these gold tools has never been fully explained; presumably they were symbolic rather than functional. The two small chisels in the British Museum appear to have had handles and the excavation report lists rings of gold binding (U. 10443) as “probably belonging to their [the gold tools] handles” (Woolley 1934, p. 81). Bitumen and wood handles were found on copper chisels from Ur. The larger chisel is burnished all over and appears not to have been hafted. A small chisel (U.9130) and spearhead (U.9122) from another grave (PG 580) were also examined (Figs. 2 and 4). The tools are here referred to by their Ur excavation numbers, as in Woolley's report. The British Museum Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities registration numbers are given in the concordance below.
... A conservation condition survey was carried out on 3000 copper-alloy objects in the collectio... more ... A conservation condition survey was carried out on 3000 copper-alloy objects in the collection of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities [8] and data were collected relating to inlaid metalwork, patination and pigmented surfaces. ...
... A conservation condition survey was carried out on 3000 copper-alloy objects in the collectio... more ... A conservation condition survey was carried out on 3000 copper-alloy objects in the collection of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities [8] and data were collected relating to inlaid metalwork, patina-tion and pigmented surfaces. ...
Iran is very rich in metal ores and has had an unbroken tradition of metalworking for at least 70... more Iran is very rich in metal ores and has had an unbroken tradition of metalworking for at least 7000 years. At the end of the second millennium bc a number of regional cultures emerged within Iran, particularly in the north western and western parts of the country and these were particularly proficient in metalworking. Apart from a small number of stray accidental finds, the first occasion on which a significant number of such pieces entered Western collections-including the British Museum-was during the late 1920s. Almost all of these were acquired via the art market and lacked secure excavated provenances. This paper looks at two types of sword that have been scientifically examined with X-radiography, X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results indicate that some swords with bronze hilts were certainly cast-on to bronze blades, but although some excavated examples show the casting of bronze hilts onto iron blades, many others circulating on the art market show unmistakable signs of having the corroded iron blades replaced by bronze blades from separate weapons of the same typological class. The results call into question some previous assumptions in the literature about swords of these types and underline the importance of using scientific techniques when analysing pieces purchased from the art market.
Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and Science in Jewellery (3500-1000BC), 2023
In Guerra, M.F., Martinon-Torres, M. and Quirke, S. (eds.) Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and... more In Guerra, M.F., Martinon-Torres, M. and Quirke, S. (eds.) Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and Science in Jewellery (3500-1000BC). McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, pp. 387-410.
Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and Science in Jewellery (3500-1000BC)., 2023
In Guerra, M.F., Martinon-Torres, M. and Quirke, S. (eds.) Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and... more In Guerra, M.F., Martinon-Torres, M. and Quirke, S. (eds.) Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and Science in Jewellery (3500-1000BC). McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, pp. 327-334.
Analytical examination of the heart-scarab (EA7876) belonging to a King Sobekemsaf has produced n... more Analytical examination of the heart-scarab (EA7876) belonging to a King Sobekemsaf has produced new evidence on its production. The heart-scarab, with its unusual inscription containing incomplete hieroglyphs, was acquired from Henry Salt’s collection and entered the British Museum in 1835. It was allegedly found inside the coffin of King Nubkheperre Intef and has been linked to King Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf whose tomb at Thebes was sacked, as evidenced by the robbers’ confessions recorded in the Abbott and Amherst papyri (c.1110 bc). The heart-scarab was examined and analysed by optical microscopy, X-radiography, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine the materials and techniques used in its production. The results are compared with those for other objects in the British Museum belonging to King Nubkh...
Guerra, M.F., Martinon-Torres, M. and Quirke, S. (eds.) Ancient Egyptian Gold: Archaeology and Science in Jewellery (3500-1000BC) McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, 2023
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Papers by Susan La Niece
Close Document Image Close Document Printer Image Print This Document! Conservation Information Network (BCIN). Author: Zwicker, U.; Oddy, A.; La Niece, S. Editor: La Niece, Susan; Craddock, Paul T. Title Article/Chapter ...