The size, shape, and application techniques of gold leaf in fourteenth-and fifteenth-century gold ground panel paintings attributed to artists working in Florence, Siena, and Fabriano was directly visualized using in situ scanning macro X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (MA-XRF). The resulting gold (Au) Lα (9.712 keV) element distribution maps are of sufficient spatial resolution to enable an accurate and reproducible measurement of the shape and size of individual gold leaves. The resulting leaf measurements are discussed in the context of historical guild regulations, in particular, the 1403 reforms to the statutes of the Florentine Guild of Doctors and Apothecaries (Arte dei medici e speziale), which standardized the dimensions of gold leaf produced in Florence. The dimensions of the gold leaf from Florentine paintings created before and after the 1403 reforms were compared to each other as well as to gold ground paintings created in Siena and Fabriano. The results revealed the gold leaf squares in fourteenth-century Florentine and Sienese panels had side lengths averaging about 8 cm. In contrast, the gold leaf squares used in the fifteenth-century Florentine and Sienese paintings were smaller, with side lengths measuring about 7 cm. In addition, the degree of overlap between adjacent gold leaves was also measured. The amount of overlap was found to vary between artists, and the degree of overlap was consistent within the oeuvre of a specific artist. Taken together, these results suggest that the dimensions of the gold leaves found in panel paintings relate to the place of production on the Italian peninsula and the period in which they were created, while the degree of overlap relates to the individual hand of a gilder or artist/ workshop.

S The glazes and bodies of fifteen Persian ceramic objects datable to c. A.D. 1300 were analysed by X‐ray fluorescent and optical emission spectroscopyin order to test the veracity of parts of Abū'l‐Qāsim's treatise on pottery manufacture. The results showed that the bodies of these pots were closely akin to so‐called Egyptian faience, and it is suggested on the basis of textual evidence that this body was used in Persia before the Seljuq period to imitate Chinese pottery, and may have been developed either from beads or glass.

In the first column (Artist), the name "Masaccio" was on the incorrect line. It should be on the line below. In the second column (Title, owner, accession no.), the accession number for "Coronation of the Virgin" was incorrect. It should be 77.PB.92. The correct version of Table 1 is reproduced here.

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