Porcelain analysis and its role in the forensic attribution of ceramic specimens

Abstract

"The material for this book arose from the author's research into porcelains over many years, as a collector in appreciation of their artistic beauty, as an analytical chemist in the scientific interrogation of their body paste, enamel pigments and glaze compositions, and as a ceramic historian in the assessment of their manufactory foundations and their correlation with available documentation relating to their recipes and formulations. A discussion of the role of analysis in the framework of a holistic assessment of artworks and specifically the composition of porcelain, namely hard paste, soft paste, phosphatic, bone china and magnesian, is followed by its growth from its beginnings in China to its importation into Europe in the 16th Century. A survey of European porcelain manufactories in the 17th and 18th Centuries is followed by a description of the raw materials, minerals and recipes for porcelain manufacture and details of the chemistry of the high temperature firing processes involved therein. The historical backgrounds to several important European factories are considered, highlighting the imperfections in the written record that have been perpetuated through the ages. The analytical chemical information derived from the interrogation of specimens, from fragments, shards or perfect finished items, is reviewed and operational protocols established for the identification of a factory output from the data presented. Several case studies are examined in detail across several porcelain manufactories to indicate the role adopted by modern analytical science, with information provided at the quantitative elemental oxide and qualitative molecular spectroscopic levels, where applicable. The attribution of a specimen to a particular factory is either supported thereby or in some cases a potential reassessment of an earlier attribution is indicated. Overall, the information provided by analytical chemical data is seen to be extremely useful for porcelain identification and for its potential attribution in the context of a holistic forensic evaluation of hitherto unknown porcelain exemplars of questionable factory origins." Provided by publisher.

Contents

1. Introduction -- 2. Chinese Porcelains and their Early European Competitors -- 3. Establishing the Historical Baseline Chronology for European Porcelains -- 4. Types of Porcelain and Their Elemental Oxide Compositions -- 5. Analytical Science and Case Studies of Porcelains -- 6. Case Studies I: Analytical Data Which Have Materially Contributed Towards the Factory Attribution of Porcelain Specimens -- 7. Case Studies II: Analytical Data Which Have Revealed That Significant Revision Is Required to the Perceived Historical Knowledge of Porcelain Factories (Part A) -- 8. Case Studies III: Analytical Data Which Have Revealed That a Significant Revision is Required to the Historical Knowledge of Porcelain Manufactories (Part B) -- 9. Challenges for Analytical Science (Case Studies IV) -- 10. A Forensic Holistic Conundrum : An Ongoing Controversy -- 11. The Answer Lies in the Glaze! -- 12. Assessment of the Role of Chemical Analysis in the Holistic Attribution of Porcelains to Factory Sources, Their Characterisation and the Evaluation of Their Chronology -- Appendices. Appendix I: Lady Charlotte Guest/Schreiber (1812-1895) -- Appendix II: The "Bearded Tulip" : Who Was "De Junic" and Can Analysis Unravel the Mystery Surrounding this Artist? -- Appendix III: Retailers of Porcelain: A Source of Uncertainty for Analytical Attribution? -- Appendix IV: The Importance of Establishing the Correct Chronology for Factory Operations in a Holistic Forensic Analytical Approach. Example: The Swansea and Nantgarw Manufactories,1814-1820 -- Appendix V: Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett---Coutts of Highgate, 1814-1906 -- Appendix VI: American Porcelain Manufactories -- Appendix VII :Curiosities in Ceramics Compositions Exposed by Chemical Analysis -- Appendix VIII: Knowledge Transfer in the Age of Enlightenment -- Appendix IX: Ancient Pigments Nomenclature Confusion: An Analytical Challenge -- Appendix X: The Tek Sing Treasure -- Appendix XI: The Ehrenfriede von Tschirnhaus (1651-1708) and Johann Bottger (1682-1717) Controversy -- Appendix XII: The Re-Creation of Nantgarw Porcelain -- Appendix XIII: Armorial Services in English and Welsh Porcelains -- Glossary -- Selected Bibliography -- Index.