Ceramics from the Alcazar Palace in Seville (Spain) dated between the 11th and 15th centuries: Compositions, technological features and degradation processes

Blue‐on‐blue (‘berettino’) sherds have appeared in numerous production and consumption archaeological excavations in Lisbon and other archaeological sites in Portugal (dated from the mid‐16th century to the beginning of the 17th century). The abundance of this interesting faience led us to compare it with similar pottery from other well‐known production centres in Italy, namely Liguria (Savona and Albisola), Spain (the Triana kilns) and the Low Countries. Differences in the diffraction patterns of the sherds' pastes from the four countries were observed. In most samples, cobalt blue silicate (cobalt olivine) was identified in the dark blue or light blue glazes through the use of micro‐Raman spectroscopy and diffuse reflectance spectra. A remarkable difference in the calcite contents of the Lisbon and Seville pottery sherds was observed, in accordance with previous observations of high calcite contents of Seville ceramics. A comparison was also made for all of the blue‐on‐blue sherds studied here with many other 16th–17th century sherds from Lisbon using bivariate plots of K/Si versus Ca/Si. Lisbon and Seville pottery behave very differently, whereas sherds from Italy and the Low Countries occupy intermediate positions.

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“…; Garofano et al . ). Other studies of sherds of Sevillian origin also exhibit the CaCO 3 signature (Vieira Ferreira et al .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Garofano et al . ). The imitation of the Italian ‘ berettino ’ in the Sevillian workshops is well documented (Jimenez de Haro et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Portuguese Blue‐on‐Blue 16th–17th Century Pottery

et al. 2018

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“…Cross‐sections of the glazes were prepared. Optical microscopy (OM) and SEM‐EDX analyses were carried out with the laboratory equipment used in previous investigations . No quantitative analysis has been carried out by SEM‐EDX.…”

Section: Experimental Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eastern influences had reached the Iberian Peninsula during the Arabic period and induced technological and cultural changes. The chemistries of 11th to 15th century ceramics from the Alcazar Palace have recently been explored using shards found during archaeological excavations. In the 16th century, after 1492, the year that Granada was defeated by the Catholic Monarchs and that Columbus made his journey, Seville became one of the largest cities of the Renaissance because of the trade monopoly with America.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technological evolution of ceramic glazes in the renaissance: In situ analysis of tiles in the Alcazar (Seville, Spain)

Viguerie

Robador²,

Castaing

et al. 2018

J Am Ceram Soc

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The Alcazar Palace (Seville, Spain) is famous for its ceramic decorations; 16th century wall tiles of different typologies have been analyzed in order to relate the manufacturing process of their colored glazes to the evolving technologies of the Renaissance. Chemical and mineralogical compositions have been determined in situ by nondestructive X‐ray fluorescence and X‐ray diffraction on arista ceramics in the Cenador de Carlos Quinto, and majolica ceramics in the Palacio Gotico and the Royal oratory. The arista style belongs to the local Hispano‐Moresque ceramic tradition. Majolica tiles have the complex microstructures of glazes from Italy. The two types are clearly differentiated by their typology, morphology (curved vs flat surface), and also microstructure (single vs multi‐layers), glaze chemistry, and use of different coloring agents. Moreover, we found different glaze chemistries in the investigated majolicas, which correspond to different artists and/or practices.

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“…The comparison between Type 1 and Type 2 pastes with the diffractogram of Palença clay, as collected from the clay source, presented in Figure , curve (ii), allows us to say that all those ceramic pastes had the same clay, the Palença clay; however, in some cases (Type 1), the firing of the ceramics production was made at ~950°C and for a long time, enabling the formation of high quantities of anorthite. In other cases, the firing temperature did not reach 850°C, so muscovite and calcium carbonate remained unmodified in the ceramic body.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An archaeometric study of a Late Neolithic cup and coeval and Chalcolithic ceramic sherds found in the São Paulo Cave, Almada, Portugal

Ferreira

Barros

Machado

et al. 2019

J Raman Spectroscopy

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A detailed archaeometric study of a Late Neolithic cup found in the São Paulo Cave, Almada, Portugal, has been made, which, according to its unique decorative characteristics, may have had a ceremonial and symbolic utilization. Other 23 sherds, collected around the cup, dated early and late Chalcolithic periods, have also been studied. The conjugation of the information provided by the Raman, X‐ray diffraction, and X‐ray fluorescence emission experiments for the locally collected cup, sherds, and clays, with emphasis on the analysis of the ceramic bodies, allowed the characterization of the artefacts. In the reddish, brownish, or black parts of the surface of the cup, haematite, magnetite, and carbon black pigments were identified, whereas in the whitish parts, quartz was the most common mineral. Three main groups could be identified in the ceramic bodies, although all were made with the use of locally collected clays. In the first group, where the Neolithic cup is included, the potters used Miocene clays, most probably from the Palença clay sources, which were fired at a high temperature of about 950°C. The second group was also produced with raw materials of Miocene origin but the firing temperature was much lower, around 800°C, as revealed by the existing amount of muscovite. The third group, with clays of a Pliocene origin, exhibited a much lower content of calcium carbonate, as evaluated by the R index ([SiO2 + Al2O3 + K2O]/CaO), considered as ceramic raw material or a geological source indicator. These clays contain high amounts of kaolinite, muscovite, quartz, microcline, and anatase.

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Ceramics from the Alcazar Palace in Seville (Spain) dated between the 11th and 15th centuries: Compositions, technological features and degradation processes

Cited by 18 publications

References 58 publications

Portuguese Blue‐on‐Blue 16th–17th Century Pottery

Portuguese Blue‐on‐Blue 16th–17th Century Pottery

Technological evolution of ceramic glazes in the renaissance: In situ analysis of tiles in the Alcazar (Seville, Spain)

An archaeometric study of a Late Neolithic cup and coeval and Chalcolithic ceramic sherds found in the São Paulo Cave, Almada, Portugal

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