Archaeometric studies on a Pompeian blue glass fragment from Regio I, Insula 14 for the characterization of glassmaking technology

A Pompeian glass sample found in Reg. I, Insula 14, during the 1950’s Pompeii excavation was examined by Raman and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The analyzed specimen was selected based on its intense blue color and its well-preserved aspect. The purpose of the work was the chemical characterization of Pompeii’s glass in correlation to the actual knowledge of Roman glassmaking technology from the Mediterranean area. The results suggested that the Pompeii’s glass was a soda-lime-silica glass, but with a higher calcium content that, given the low content of lead, was used to stabilize the glass. The sample was in origin produced most likely as non-decolorized primary raw materials from eastern Mediterranean sites. Moreover, the intense blue color was related to the use mainly of cobalt, present in a weighty amount, and likely used as important coloring agents in the ancient secondary glass-making workshop.

Mineral diagnostics: SEM-EDS Monte Carlo strategy for optimised measurements of ultrathin fragments in Cultural Heritage studies

The availability of minute quantities of sampling material is often an issue in the context of cultural heritage and archaeology due, for instance, to the value of the sample, its uniqueness or the small amount of residual material which testify the original form of the art to be restored. In this context, electron-excited energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) performed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has proven to be a primary methodology for analysing minute quantities of material thanks to its morphological and micro-analytical capability. However, when dealing with micro- and sub-micrometre specimens, as can be the case in ultrathin glass and metal fragments, several effects resulting from the physics and operational settings of the measurement must be considered to avoid quantification errors. In this paper, a detailed study of the effects of micro- and nanometric-sized glass and gold-alloy fragments on SEM-EDS microanalysis is presented. Monte Carlo simulations of different kinds of elongated glass fragment, with a square section and a thickness of 0.1 to 10 µm, and of some gold alloys demonstrated a strong influence in terms of the fragment size and operational conditions (beam energy, detector position, etc.). This work can be used to devise an appropriate and optimised measurement strategy.

The Fragment of Enameled Glass Vessel from the Bolgar Excavation (Russia)

This paper is devoted to the interdisciplinary study of an enameled glass fragment found in the excavation of the Bolgar fortified settlement (Russia). The artifact comes from excavation site CLXXII of the so-called aristocratic district of the city. A comparison to a collection of Islamic drinking glasses from the Nasser Khalili collection shows the identity of the enamel pattern decor. The artifact was investigated by a series of analytical methods: scanning optical and electron microscopy (OSEM) and optical emission spectral analysis (OES). The results of the OES studies revealed that the basis is soda-lime glass. OSEM determined that different enamel colors were obtained from lapis lazuli, nepheline, diopside, bone ash, hematite, and lead-tin additive. Comparison of element’s concentrations with data of the Brill catalog of archaeological glass made it possible to identify the Bulgarian fragment as Egyptian glass produced in the late 13th – early 14th centuries.

Use of medical sodium hyaluronate gel in surgical removal of a glass intraocular foreign body

A 38-year-old healthy man presented to our department of ophthalmology after sustaining an ocular injury in a glass explosion more than 10 days prior. A glass intraocular foreign body (IOFB) was found in the left eye. During surgical removal of the IOFB, medical sodium hyaluronate gel was used to detach the IOFB from the retina; this avoided damage to the retina and made it easier for the surgeons to grasp the glass fragment. Multiple surgical instruments have been developed to help remove IOFBs; however, many optic hospitals have limited surgical instruments, thus increasing the difficulty of the operation. The application of sodium hyaluronate gel, a widely used agent, may be a new technique in IOFB surgery.

Video-based Stained Glass

This paper presents a method to generate stained-glass animation from video inputs. The method initially segments an input video volume into several regions considered as fragments of glass by mean-shift segmentation. However, the segmentation predominantly results in over-segmentation, causing several tiny segments in a highly textured area. In practice, assembling significantly tiny or large glass fragments is avoided to ensure architectural stability in stained glass manufacturing. Therefore, we use low-frequency components in the segmentation to prevent over-segmentation and subdivide segmented regions that are oversized. The subdividing must be coherent between adjacent frames to prevent temporal artefacts, such as flickering and the shower door effect. To temporally subdivide regions coherently, we obtain a panoramic image from the segmented regions in input frames, subdivide it using a weighted Voronoi diagram, and thereafter project the subdivided regions onto the input frames. To render stained glass fragment for each coherent region, we determine the optimal match glass fragment for the region from a dataset consisting of real stained-glass fragment images and transfer its color and texture to the region. Finally, applying lead came at the boundary of the regions in each frame yields temporally coherent stained-glass animation.

Experimental Study and Theoretical Verification of Explosion-Proof Performance of Insulated Glass

Building glass fragment in a blast-related environment is the main cause of casualties. In order to analyze the explosion-proof performance of insulated glass quantitatively in conventional buildings, the explosion experiment under different shock wave loads was carried out on the insulated glass, the pressure sensor was used to collect the overpressure value of the explosion shock wave, and the high-speed camera was used to record the breaking process of glass. The broken state of the insulated glass and the critical overpressure value of the broken state under different working conditions were obtained. And the theoretical calculation method based on the equivalent static load was used to verify the critical overpressure value of the insulated glass. The research showed that the fragments scattered toward the center of the explosion source when the layer of the insulated glass face to the explosion wave front was broken, and the fragments mainly scattered in the direction of the shock wave propagation when it was completely broken. The theoretical calculation method based on the equivalent static load could be used to evaluate the explosion-proof performance of the insulated glass.

Forensic float glass fragment analysis using single-pulse laser ablation inductively coupled plasma time of flight mass spectrometry

A proof-of-concept for a novel Single-Pulse-LA-ICP-TOFMS based method is shown for the forensic investigation of float glass fragments.

Antiquity, Exoticism, and Nature in Gold “Lotus and Dragon-fly” Comb with Cyprian Glass Fragment

In this paper, I aim to reconstruct the life of Ornamental Comb, with emphasis on its materiality. I argue that the centerpiece of ancient glass, framed in Art Nouveau ornamentation, transforms into a modern jewel in accordance with avant-garde notions of looking to the past to create something new. Finally, I will contend that decorative art objects, like the CMA’s Ornamental Comb, disrupt the perceived hierarchy between what is deemed “high” and “low” art at the fin-de-siècle.