Change and Continuity: Networking,Newspaper, Kinships and Twentieth Century Elite Women

This article examines the juncture point between British-(Anglo)-American elite women in the first half of the twentieth century, their female networks and newspapers. It considers the maternal background, reconstructing biological and fictive kinships, to illustrate generational patterns leading to both female barrier-breaking in elite western institutions and clustering in the political and charitable work environments. The paper covers a century of adult female life using a central stem matrikin whose activities can be recovered through press-cuttings which chart change and continuity of values, confidence, identity and self-awareness through the range of kin based networks. It reconsiders the background to the 1970s breakthrough of women in leadership within elite political and charitable western institutions which has previously been considered as a result of effective equal opportunities combatting barriers rooted in male networking patterns. Finally, it reflects on the nature of the press as encountered by, used by and marginalising of elite women during the period.     

Shades of blue – cobalt-copper coloured blue glass from New Kingdom Egypt and the Mycenaean world: a matter of production or colourant source?

Cobalt blue glass has long now been recognised as characterised by a distinct compositional signature within the typical compositional range of Late Bronze Age glass. More recently, a copper-rich variation of cobalt blue glass has been seen throughout Egypt and the Mycenaean world. This paper discusses and defines this glass type based on trace elemental data, examines whether this lighter-shaded cobalt blue glass is a natural or an anthropogenic variant of cobalt blue glass, and identifies its likely production in Egypt. It investigates the role of this type of glass, particularly with regard to the distribution pattern and the significance of its prevalence in the Mycenaean mainland and the Aegean.     

Glass and metal analyses of gold leaf tesserae from 1st to 9th century mosaics. A contribution to technological and chronological knowledge

An archaeometric study was carried out on 40 gold leaf tesserae from mosaics in Italy dated 1st to the 9th century AD. Glass layers and gold leaf were both analysed by X-ray microanalysis. The main aim was the identification of the composition of the glass and of the gold leaf, in order to assess the variations in composition and nature of the tesserae in the examined period.     

Provenance of glass shards in archaeological lime plasters by LA-ICP-MS: implications for the ancient routes from the Gulf of Mexico to Teotihuacan in Central Mexico

We present the chemical characteristics of samples collected from the central courtyard of Teopancazco, a neighbourhood centre in Teotihuacan (Mexico), the most important classic Mesoamerican city. The rhyolitic glass shards used as aggregates have a composition comparable to the glass material sourced from the magmatic system of Altotonga (located along the route to the Gulf Coast). People travelling from the Gulf Coast may have transported the glass shards to Teotihuacan during the Xolalpan phase (350–550 AD). However, the reasons for using glass shards as a construction material remain unknown. These new data confirm the close relationship between inhabitants of Teopancazco and the Gulf Coast already revealed by previous archaeological and archaeometric studies.     

Potash - a key raw material of glass batch for Bohemian glasses from 14th-17th centuries?

The aim of this work is to verify or refute hypothesis of existence of basic/universal glass batch: quartz sand: potash: limestone, at a ratio of 2: 1: 1 used in Bohemian glass production since the middle ages onwards and to simulate the preparation of a potassium glass type with the composition used in medieval Bohemia. The chemical composition of Bohemian glass, which incorporated in the proposed glass batch for glassmaking on a laboratory scale, was evaluated by (a) findings directly related to glassmaking (samples from glasswork in Moldava dating back to the 15th century) and (b) information from publications.Experimentally produced glasses for the present paper were prepared from raw materials such as ash, leached ash, potash, limestone and quartz sand. The plant raw materials (spruce, beech and bracken ashes, raw and refined potash) were treated and prepared by methods similar to the production procedures used in the pre-industrial era.The main contrast was found in the CaO/K₂O weight ratio, which was determined in glasses that were characteristic of given periods. While this ratio was often below 1 in glasses of the 15th century, it reached values above 1 in glasses at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. This result may indicate that the composition of the glass batch had changed.The results of the present study reject the current scholarly work dealing with glass batch composition during the 14th-17th centuries and confirm that glass produced in some Bohemian medieval glassworks could have been melted from a batch that included plant ash, making the use of limestone unnecessary. The traditional suggestion of the exact ratios of raw materials, often cited in historical literature, seems to be impossible. The glassmakers had to react to the variable composition of the raw materials, especially plant ash.     

The palaeo-Christian glass mosaic of St. Prosdocimus (Padova,Italy): archaeometric characterisation of tesserae with antimony- or phosphorus-based opacifiers

The present paper reports the results of archaeometric characterisation of the opaque tesserae, intentionally coloured with antimony- or phosphorus-based opacifiers, coming from one of the two only palaeo-Christian glass mosaics known in the Veneto region (Italy), i.e., the mosaic which decorated the votive chapel of St. Prosdocimus in Padova. In particular, 55 tesserae belonging to glass types “White”, “Blue”, “Yellow”, “Green” and “Brown” are examined here. The multi-methodological approach (SEM-EDS, EMPA, XRPD, imaging spectroscopy coupled, in some cases, with XAS) gave valuable insights into the complexities of palaeo-Christian glass mosaic production technologies. Two main groups are identified, one characterised by glassy matrixes and opacifiers (calcium or lead antimonate) typical of the Roman period and comprising all “White”, “Blue”, and “Yellow” tesserae and some “Green” ones, and the other characterised by glassy matrixes and an opacifier (calcium phosphate) typical of the 6th century AD, composed of “Green” and “Brown” tesserae. This suggests that, during that century there was a gradual change from older to “new” production technologies: although new opacifiers such as calcium phosphate started to be used, the frequent use of antimony-based ones (43/55 samples) supports the hypothesis that their systematic use was extended until the 6th century, although re-using old tesserae cannot be completely excluded. In addition, comparisons with compositional groups already identified in the “gold” tesserae of the same mosaic and tesserae from Ravenna demonstrate that both the same “base compositions” of the glass were used to produce transparent and opaque glass. This evidence, coupled with the results of the historical-artistic study, suggests technological connections between Padova and Ravenna, the capital of Byzantine mosaics in Italy. Micro-structural observations and chemical analyses of the Paduan antimony-based opacified glass demonstrate that different processes and raw materials were used in their production. Both in situ and ex situ crystallisation can be identified for calcium and lead antimonate in Paduan tesserae, whereas the production of tesserae opacified with calcium phosphate generally appears to be highly standardised. Although the opacifiers used in the Paduan tesserae support technological transitions, the colouring elements identified here, i.e., iron and manganese for white, yellow, brown and some green tesserae, cobalt for blue, and copper for blue and green, suggest continuity, because their use is widely testified in the production of both transparent and opaque glass artefacts dating from the Bronze Age until Medieval times, from whichever archaeological site the samples come. Peculiar relationships among the oxidation states of colouring elements, their contents in the glassy matrix, the types of opacifiers used, and the final colour of tesserae were identified. In addition, the correlations of cobalt and/or copper with other elements, together with identification of relics of colouring and “metallic” droplets, allow us to speculate on possible sources and production technologies. Lastly, identification of newly formed crystalline inclusions in tesserae also yields information on kiln temperatures, which ranged between 900 and 1150 °C, a range easily reached in the furnaces of the 6th century AD.     

Interactions between silicate and salt melts in LBA glassmaking

A series of glassmaking experiments have been done to explore the influence, if any, of the presence of alkali chlorides in a typical soda-lime-silica glass batch on the final composition of the glass. The experiments have shown that concentrations of chlorides up to the limit of solubility of chlorine in the melt are actively contributing alkali ions to the glass-forming process, and that at higher chloride concentrations in the batch a separate salt melt forms, known as galle. At equilibrium conditions, the alkali ratio in the galle is different from the initial alkali ratio in the batch and differs from the ratio in the co-existing silicate melt. Significantly, there is full exchange of alkali ions between the two melt systems and the addition of pure potassium chloride to a batch containing pure sodium carbonate (=soda ash) results in the formation of a mixed alkali glass and a mixed alkali galle, with complementary alkali ratios. The alkali earth elements (i.e. calcium and magnesium), in contrast, are not taking part in these ion exchange reactions, and seem not to be affected by chlorides present in the batch. These findings are particularly relevant when comparing analyses of different plant ashes with archaeological glasses; the alkali ion ratios between ash and glass are only likely to be similar when no galle is forming together with the glass melt; in the presence of more than a few weight percent of chlorides in the batch, it is likely that the alkali ratio in the glass will be increasingly shifted away from the total alkali ratio in the batch as the chlorine content increases. While the argument is developed specifically for Late Bronze Age halophytic plant ash glasses, the results are likely to be valid in principle also for any other glasses based on halogen-rich batches and containing more than one alkali metal.     

Microwear Analysis of Retouched Glass Fragments from Fortlet Miñana,Azul, Argentina, 1860–1863

This paper presents the results of a microscopic analysis conducted on supposedly retouched glass fragments that were likely used as tools. The pieces were recovered in a series of excavations performed at the historical site of Fortlet Miñana (1860–1869), a military settlement used during the war against the Indians on the southern border of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The use of glass as raw material in archaeological sites of the historic period has frequently been reported in the Pampas and Patagonian regions. In this paper we present a review of ethnohistoric and ethnographic sources concerning the use of glass side scrapers, end scrapers, and arrowheads by aboriginal groups throughout the world. In order to perform the analysis, the glass fragments from Fortlet Miñana were compared to a series of experimental pieces on which traces of deliberate use on two kinds of raw material, wood and hide, were identified. The experimental approach and the microscopic analysis demonstrate that the retouched glass fragments recovered at Fortlet Miñana were not used as tools. Therefore, we conclude that microscopic analysis is of significant use to all researchers working with materials of this kind.     

营城子汉墓出土玻璃耳珰的化学成分与制作工艺研究

营城子汉墓位于辽宁省大连市甘井子区,是我国东北地区一处重要的大型汉墓群。营城子汉墓出土了一批玻璃耳珰,为探讨其成型工艺及来源,采用超景深显微系统进行了表面形貌观察,初步认为是模铸成型,并经过打磨。采用便携式X射线荧光光谱仪(XRF)进行了化学成分分析,结果显示,它们分属铅钡硅酸盐和钾硅酸盐玻璃系统,一件由Cu²⁺着色,其余主要由Co²⁺着色。其为我国自制,所用钴料来源相同,钴料的锰钴比特征与国产钴土矿的类似。并对营城子汉墓出土玻璃耳珰造型与化学成分体系间的关系进行了分析,对玻璃耳珰制作模式进行了初步探讨,进一步加深了对我国古代玻璃耳珰制作与传播的认识。     

故宫藏清代挂屏镶嵌玻璃饰件的科学分析

清代镶嵌器物数量巨大且种类繁多,玻璃是其中一种重要的镶嵌材料。为探讨清代镶嵌玻璃饰件的成分特征和加工工艺,本工作采用微区X射线荧光能谱、扫描电子显微镜、显微共聚焦拉曼光谱、激光诱导击穿光谱等方法,对故宫馆藏清代紫檀木边嵌玉石楼阁挂屏上的6件镶嵌玻璃饰件进行了初步分析,结果表明:6件玻璃饰件属于K₂O-CaO-SiO₂体系,以石英岩引入SiO₂作玻璃基体,硝石作助熔剂引入K₂O,CaO有方解石和萤石两个主要来源;深蓝色玻璃着色元素为钴,浅蓝色玻璃着色元素为铜,蓝绿色玻璃为铜和铁共同着色,4件玻璃饰件乳浊剂均为CaF₂;黄色玻璃以铅锡黄为着色剂并乳浊剂。通过显微形貌观察结合档案记载,认为镶嵌玻璃饰件是在熔制好的玻璃块上经过二次加工而成,加工工艺采用了中国古代传统的治玉工艺。研究结果可为清代镶嵌工艺及玻璃制作工艺的研究提供佐证。