Metallic artefact

Tissot I, Abrantes LM (2007) Electrochemical techniques to produce and characterize protective systems on cultural silver artefacts, Metal 07, Book 3 - Use of Electrochemical Techniques in Metal Conservation, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 62-67. 

Duncan et al. (1990) have noted the use of brass powders as metallic pigments on Japanese artefacts. Metallic bronze of a grey colour has recently been found on three paintings o f Pemgino, one from the National Gallery, London and two in Florence elemental analysis showed this alloy to contain a ratio of tin to copper of 1 2 which in dry ground powder form appears grey. 

Martin, G. (2000) Stasis in complex artefacts, in Technological Innovation as an Evolutionary Process, ed. Ziman, J. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) p. 90. Marzke. O.T. (editor) (1955) Impurities and Imperfections (American Society for Metals, Cleveland, Ohio). 

In this chapter we have largely relied on computational chemistry, in particular on density-functional theory. Quantum mechanical calculations of a macroscopic piece of metal with various species adsorbed on it are as yet impossible, but it is possible to obtain realistic results on simplified systems. One approach is to simulate the metal by a cluster of 3-30 atoms on which the molecule adsorbs and then describe all the involved orbitals. Many calculations have been performed on this basis with many useful results. Obviously, the cluster must be sufficiently large that the results do not represent an artefact of the particular cluster size chosen, which can be verified by varying the cluster size. 

Ancient artisans were able to confer special colourings to their artefacts by applying particular techniques and treatments, which were lost in later centuries. They were also able to give copper based alloys the appearance of precious metals. Some of these special methods have been discovered and identified on ancient objects. The most famous of these alloys in Roman times was certainly Corinthian bronze, a copper alloy containing small amounts of precious metals, which acquired a purple-black or blue-black patination... 

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is a widespread analytical technique for the study of surfaces in materials science. Mostly used for elemental analyses and depth profiling, it is particularly relevant for many different fields of research including cultural heritage studies. Reviews of its use for the study of ancient glasses or metal artefacts already exist in the literature [Spoto 2000, Darque-Ceretti and Aucouturier 2004, Dowsett and Adriaens 2004, Adriens and Dowsett 2006, Anderle et al. 2006, McPhail 2006], but as only elemental information is obtained, these studies are limited to inorganic materials. 

Edwards, R. (1998). The effects of changes in groundwater geochemistry on the survival of buried metal artefacts. In Preserving Archaeological Remains In-Situ, ed. Corfield, M., Hinton, P., Nixon, T., Pollard, A.M., Museum of London Archaeology Service, London, pp. 86-92. 

The early history of metallic zinc itself has been reviewed in some detail by Craddock (1990). Although a number of artefacts from the classical world have been reported as being made from zinc, the one which has excited most... 

Walker, C., Hancock, R.G.V., Aufreiter, S., Latta, M.A. and Garrad. C. (1999). Chronological markers Chemical analysis of copper-based trade metal artefacts from Petun sites in southern Ontario, Canada. In Metals in Antiquity, ed. Young, S.M.M., Pollard, A.M., Budd, P. and Ixer, R.A., BAR International Series 792, Archaeopress, Oxford, pp. 317-325. 

Glascock, M.D., Spalding, T. G., Biers, J. C., and Corman, M.F. (1984). Analysis of copper-based metallic artefacts by prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis. Archaeometry 26 96-103. 

Spoto, G., Ciliberto, E., Allen, G. C., et al. (2000). Chemical and structural properties of ancient metallic artefacts multitechnique approach to study of early bronzes. British Corrosion Journal 35 43 17. 

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