Renaissance Enameled Jewelry and 19th century Renaissance Revival: Characterization of Enamel Compositions

ABSTRACTEnamels from European Renaissance enameled gold jewelry and other objects dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and Renaissance style and other objects from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were quantitatively analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry. Differences were observed in the overall compositions, as well as the colorants and opacifiers used, of the Renaissance period and most of the later enamels. Some enamels from as late as the early nineteenth century, however, appeared to be essentially the same as those used during the Renaissance. The differences found in the enamel compositions can provide a set of objective compositional criteria to help distinguish between authentic Renaissance period enameled objects and some later enamels done in the style of the Renaissance.