The glass of Nogara (Verona): a “window” on production technology of mid-Medieval times in Northern Italy

Silvestri, Alberta; Marcante, Alessandra

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.014

Cited by 42 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A particular increase in colourant elements such as lead and copper has been noted from the seventh to eighth centuries, for example in the assemblage from the Crypta Balbi in Rome, and this has been attributed to an increase in glass recycling [39]–[41]. Similar compositional characteristics in glass vessels from northern Italy have been attributed to the inclusion of mosaic tesserae in the assemblage of recycled glass [42], and the probable use of tesserae as colourants has been documented from Lorsch, Germany [43]. Given the evidence for the use of mosaic tesserae as raw materials in the workshops of San Vincenzo, it is likely that the enhanced concentrations of colourant elements seen in Groups 1 and 2 reflect the addition of tesserae into the melting pot.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Composition, Production and Procurement of Glass at San Vincenzo al Volturno: An Early Medieval Monastic Complex in Southern Italy

Schibille

Freestone

2013

PLoS ONE

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136 glasses from the ninth-century monastery of San Vincenzo and its workshops have been analysed by electron microprobe in order to situate the assemblage within the first millennium CE glass making tradition. The majority of the glass compositions can be paralleled by Roman glass from the first to third centuries, with very few samples consistent with later compositional groups. Colours for trailed decoration on vessels, for vessel bodies and for sheet glass for windows were largely produced by melting the glass tesserae from old Roman mosaics. Some weakly-coloured transparent glass was obtained by re-melting Roman window glass, while some was produced by melting and mixing of tesserae, excluding the strongly coloured cobalt blues. Our data suggest that to feed the needs of the glass workshop, the bulk of the glass was removed as tesserae and windows from a large Roman building. This is consistent with a historical account according to which the granite columns of the monastic church were spolia from a Roman temple in the region. The purported shortage of natron from Egypt does not appear to explain the dependency of San Vincenzo on old Roman glass. Rather, the absence of contemporary primary glass may reflect the downturn in long-distance trade in the later first millennium C.E., and the role of patronage in the “ritual economy” founded upon donations and gift-giving of the time.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Composition, Production and Procurement of Glass at San Vincenzo al Volturno: An Early Medieval Monastic Complex in Southern Italy

Schibille

Freestone

2013

PLoS ONE

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“…The probe was composed of an Elan DRC-e mass spectrometer coupled with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser source (Quantel Brilliant). The detailed analytical conditions used, and the precision, accuracy and detection limits of EMPA and LA-ICP-MS are given in Silvestri and Marcante (2011), as the present samples were analysed in the same run and subjected to the same analytical protocol. The precision and accuracy of both sets of data were calculated by comparisons with measurements on the international reference standard Corning glass B, under the same analytical conditions as the glass tesserae.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The palaeo-Christian glass mosaic of St. Prosdocimus (Padova, Italy): archaeometric characterisation of ‘gold’ tesserae

Silvestri¹,

Tonietto²,

Molin³

2011

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“…An average of 6 random analytical points was performed on each sample, and mean and standard deviation were calculated on specific compositional groups. Details of analytical conditions and detection limits for EPMA are reported in [20].…”

Section: Techniques and Analytical Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological and archaeometric study of the glass finds from the ancient harbour of Classe (Ravenna- Italy): new evidence

et al. 2015

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Introduction: The present study focuses on Late-Roman/Early Medieval glass found in the productive area within the ancient harbour of Classe near Ravenna, one of the most important trade centres between the 5 th and 8 th centuries AD of the Northern Adriatic area. Aims of the study were the identification of the main glass compositions and their contextualisation in Late-Antique groups; the identification of provenance of raw glass, and, consequently, of commercial routes; the extent, if any, of recycling glass cullet, as an alternative to the import of fresh raw glass; the identification of possible connections between archaeological typology and glass chemical composition.Results: 32 glassworking wastes and 25 drinking vessel fragments for a total amount of 57 fragments were devoted to chemical analysis in XRF and EPMA. All the analysed fragments are silica-soda lime glasses, produced with natron as a flux, and are compositionally similar to Late-Antique groups HIMT, Série 3.2 and Levantine1. Raw glass chunks, glassworking wastes and objects of comparable compositions are identified into HIMT and Série 3.2 groups, while the Levantine 1 group includes only objects and glassworking wastes. Systematic comparisons between Classe and Aquileia, the two most important Late-Antique archaeological sites of North-Eastern Italy, were also carried out, and the same compositional groups were identified, although Série 3.2 in the Classe assemblage is more represented. Sr and Nd isotopic analysis confirmed that the composition of the three glasses derive from coastal sands of the Syro-Palestinian and Egyptian shore, with a slight shift in comparison to the published data. Little evidence of recycling was identified in the assemblage. Conclusions:In the 5 th century, a secondary glass workshop devoted to the shaping of glass vessels starting from raw glass chunks and, possibly, glass cullet, was active in the area of the harbour. Raw glass of HIMT and Série 3.2 was imported from the Levant and Egypt. Comparisons between Classe and Aquileia show that during the Late Antiquity these sites seem to be supplied of raw glass by the same trade routes. In addition, some connections between types and chemical compositions were highlighted.

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The glass of Nogara (Verona): a “window” on production technology of mid-Medieval times in Northern Italy

Cited by 42 publications

References 23 publications

Composition, Production and Procurement of Glass at San Vincenzo al Volturno: An Early Medieval Monastic Complex in Southern Italy

Composition, Production and Procurement of Glass at San Vincenzo al Volturno: An Early Medieval Monastic Complex in Southern Italy

The palaeo-Christian glass mosaic of St. Prosdocimus (Padova, Italy): archaeometric characterisation of ‘gold’ tesserae

Archaeological and archaeometric study of the glass finds from the ancient harbour of Classe (Ravenna- Italy): new evidence

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