Characterization of Castellani nineteenth-century gold jewellery by in situ micro-XRF spectroscopy

Abstract

The material characterization of nineteenth-century artifacts is of great interest, due both to the breakthrough technological advances and to the unprecedented spread of forgeries of antiquities which took place in that period. However, this type of artifacts has been largely overlooked in the past. In this paper we present the compositional analysis of gold jewels by the Castellani, one of the most important families of goldsmiths in nineteenth-century Europe. The use of a portable micro-XRF spectrometer, specifically developed for jewellery analysis at the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (Seville), allowed us to analyse, in a completely non-invasive way, the alloys, joining techniques and surface treatments of the jewels of the Castellani collection at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome. The addition to the spectrometer of a second X-rays detector with a zinc filter allowed us to check the possible presence of low amounts of cadmium, a metal added to gold soldering only from the nineteenth century and often used in authenticity studies. Moreover, the relative intensities of the Au X-ray lines were studied in order to check non-invasively the presence of surface enrichments in gold.

Prehistoric and Early Roman Period Goldwork from Northwestern Iberia: An Analytical Study of Artefacts from the Archaeological and Historical Museum of A Coruña

“…To date, comparison with results obtained using other techniques does not require the modification of interpretations based on analytical information obtained with XRF [7,8,12,59]. However, the study of enrichment phenomena and other surface alterations, through the combined use of analytical techniques or the comparison between the intensity of spectral lines [59][60][61][62], constitutes an objective for the future.…”

“…Carrying out analytical sampling with smaller beam sizes, using techniques such as SEM-EDX, SEM-XRF or micro-XRF, will allow progress to be made in these areas. At the same time, and as we have already pointed out, the study of surface enrichment and other alterations, through the combined use of analytical techniques or the intensity of spectral lines [59][60][61][62], constitutes an objective for the future. In the collection at hand, it is also an important challenge to explain the presence of several fractured pieces, which in some cases, such as the Elviña fragment, seem to be due to amortisation processes prior to deposition.…”

2023 atomic spectrometry update – a review of advances in X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and its special applications

“…The elemental composition of gold jewels produced by the Castellani, an important family of goldsmiths in 19th century Europe, was characterised 86 using a portable μXRF spectrometer specifically developed for jewellery analysis . The μXRF spectrometry system was equipped with polycapillary optics and focussed the primary X-ray beam down to 30 μm.…”

In situ measurements using hand-held XRF spectrometers: a tutorial review

“…Jewellery 20 To identify the precious metal content of articles offered for sale or recycling Items can be designed with multiple pieces for which a sampling strategy is important 12 Lead (Pb) in paint 21 Remediation of painted surfaces on older buildings to avoid toxicity and environmental hazards A statutory requirement in some countries as part of the house purchase process 13 Paintings of historic interest 22,23 Identify pigments to characterise the artist's palette (e.g., for authentication purposes) and identify areas of restoration Raman spectroscopy oen used as well and sometimes instead of hand-held XRF because of its ability to identify specic pigment types rather than just the elemental content may have a more limited understanding of the XRF technique and the requirements for reliable analytical measurements.…”