Coloured glass coating of quartz beads before the 13th century: An undocumented sapphire imitation
Publication

Coloured glass coating of quartz beads before the 13th century: An undocumented sapphire imitation

While exploring the treasures of Saint Maurice Abbey, we made a remarkable discovery: two quartz beads covered with a layer of cobalt-coloured glass. These two pearls were observed on an artefact dating from the 13th century, among other gems including sapphires from Sri Lanka. The extreme precision of the knowledge required to produce these gems lies at the crossroads of gemmological, glassmaking and glazing techniques. The full study was recently published in Archaeometry. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/arcm.13100 

Authors

  • Candice Caplan, GGTL Laboratories Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Franck Notari, GGTL Laboratories Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Féodor Blumentritt, GGTL Laboratories Switzerland, Geneva, Switzerland
  • Eric May, Valais, Switzerland

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