Tracing Medieval and Renaissance Alabaster Works of Art Back to Quarries: A Multi‐Isotope (Sr,S, O) Approach |
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Authors: | W. Kloppmann L. Leroux P. Bromblet C. Guerrot E. Proust A. H. Cooper N. Worley S.‐A. Smeds H. Bengtsson |
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Affiliation: | 1. BRGM, Laboratory Division, Isotopes Unit, , F‐45060 Orléans cedex 2, France;2. LRMH, USR3224 (MCC, CNRS, MNHN), , F‐77420 Champs sur Marne, France;3. CICRP, , F‐13003 Marseille, France;4. British Geological Survey, , Nottingham, NG12 5GG UK;5. Formerly British Gypsum Ltd, , Leicestershire, LE12 6HX UK;6. Sveriges geologiska unders?kning, Geological Survey of Sweden, , SE‐751 28 Uppsala, Sweden;7. Upplandsmuseet (Uppland Museum), , SE‐753 10 Uppsala, Sweden |
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Abstract: | Multi‐isotope fingerprinting (sulphur, oxygen and strontium isotopes) has been tested to study the provenances of medieval and Renaissance French and Swedish alabaster works of art. Isotope signatures of historical English, French and Spanish alabaster source quarries or areas are revealed to be highly specific, with a strong intra‐group homogeneity and strong inter‐group contrasts, especially for Sr and S isotopes. The chosen combination of isotope tracers is a good basis for forensic work on alabaster provenance, allowing verification of hypotheses about historical trade routes as well as identification of fakes and their origin. The applied analytical techniques of continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CF–IRMS) and thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) only require micro‐samples in the low‐milligram range, thus minimizing the impact on the works of art. |
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Keywords: | Alabaster Provenance Sculpture Multi‐Isotope Tracing Forensics Sulphur Oxygen Strontium Isotopes |
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