The Origin of 18th–19th Century Tin‐Glazed Pottery from Lorraine, France

Abstract

Forty‐eight tin‐glazed ceramic fragments (faiences) from Lorraine, found in excavations or pertaining to objects in collections, were subjected to X‐ray fluorescence analysis to determine the bulk, major, minor and trace element compositions. Sixteen superficially clay layers from the surroundings of Lunéville and Saint‐Clément were also analysed. The faiences are, with four exceptions, MgO rich. The combination of stylistic and chemical arguments allowed the recognition of 28 objects that were attributable to the important faience manufactory of Jacques II Chambrette in Lunéville. This reference group was used to test the provenance of high‐Mg faiences from private collections. The latter are not from the manufactory of Le Bois d'Épense/Les Islettes as commonly assumed, but most probably belong to Lunéville and Saint‐Clément. According to archival sources, the potters mixed three clays for the pastes. Some prospected clays are MgO rich due to the presence of dolomite and other Mg‐bearing minerals, but not as high as the faiences, a fact that can be explained by the sampling of de‐carbonatized layers.

Archaeometric Analyses of European 18th–20th Century White Earthenware—A Review

“…For a dolomitic paste, the appearance of firing minerals such as diopside, gehlenite, and plagioclase as well as the reorganization of the microstructure will therefore require a temperature of 100 • C less than in the case of a calcitic paste-a significant thermal, fuel, and financial advantage. It may be recalled that French and German faïence factories located on Triassic terrains used routinely dolomitic; i.e., magnesian marls [69,70]. temperatures.…”

Chemical and Mechanical Characterisation of White Earthenware Glazes from the Johnston‐Vieillard Manufactory (France, 19th Century)

“…White earthenware was in competition with tin-glazed earthenware, whose production was decreasing. One of the key attributes of the white earthenware compared to the tin-opacified glazed ceramic (Bajnóczi et al 2014;Métreau and Rosen 2014;Maggetti et al 2015) is the hardness of its glaze (Brongniart 1844). In the 19th century, the improvement of the glazes' hardness is be attributed in particular to the significant presence of boron content (Salvétat 1857;Deck 1887;Monod 1890;Bourry 1897).…”

Beautiful Forms and Compositions Are Not Made by Chance: Exploring the Efficacy of Portable X-Ray Fluorescence to Sort and Source English Lead Glazed Ceramics

“…Nevertheless, there is an ever growing body of archaeological projects and scholarly literature using material science technology and techniques to characterize or "fingerprint" artifacts from the archaeological record including ceramic artifacts and assemblages (Maggetti 2012;Maggetti et al 2014;Papadopoulou et al 2007). Though the literature on historic fabric and glaze analysis is not as extensive as that involving prehistoric artifacts, several studies using French faience, i.e.…”

“…Though the literature on historic fabric and glaze analysis is not as extensive as that involving prehistoric artifacts, several studies using French faience, i.e. (Maggetti 2012;Maggetti et al 2014). In an effort to distinguish between pottery workshops, Maggetti, Rosen and Serneels (2014 utilized both X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffractometric techniques to the study of French faience samples of sherds.…”