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A STUDY OF GLASS TESSERAE FROM MOSAICS IN THE MONASTERIES OF DAPHNI AND HOSIOS LOUKAS (GREECE)
Author(s) -
ARLETTI R.,
FIORI C.,
VANDINI M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
archaeometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-4754
pISSN - 0003-813X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4754.2009.00504.x
Subject(s) - electron microprobe , mosaic , homogeneous , byzantine architecture , mineralogy , chemical composition , inductively coupled plasma , microprobe , geology , archaeology , materials science , chemistry , geography , plasma , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
In this work 51 glass mosaic tesserae from decorations of the two Greek monasteries of Daphni and Hosios Loukas were analysed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, electron microprobe analysis and X‐ray powder diffraction. On the basis of the chemical analyses, after discrimination between the tesserae of the original decorations and those from other periods, it was possible to outline the distinctive traits of Byzantine mosaic tesserae. In both the monasteries, the original mosaics were decorated with tesserae produced with plant ash based glass, either of the typical composition or a mixture with natron type glass. The samples from the Hosios Loukas decorations show a more homogeneous composition compared with those from Daphni. The major differences among the original samples are due to the presence of opacifiers and colourants.