Frühbyzantinische Kreuzdiskurse des 6. und 7. Jahrhunderts und ihre Rezeption in Konstantinopel, Kappadokien und im Westen

The paper establishes connections between funerary art in the Eastern (Cappadocia) and the Western Mediterranean (Lombard kingdom in Northern Italy) during the seventh century. Jewelry pendants and gemstone decorations are also covered. The similarities of the image concepts suggest common design principles, with the cross as a symbol of the Son of Man when God returns on Judgment Day (Mt 24, 30). As celestial signs in the midst of stars and planets, these forms of the cross, which may also have influenced the Baiuvarian and Alemannic gold-leaf crosses, have a cosmic character. Under the sign of the concentric cross, according to Mt 24, 31, the angels gather together the elect (Christians) from the four directions of the world.

BECOMING ΚΛΕΙΝΟΣ IN CRETE AND MAGNA GRAECIA: DIONYSIAC MYSTERIES AND MATURATION RITUALS REVISITED

This article reconsiders the historical and typological relation between Greek maturation rituals and Greek mystery religion. Particular attention is given to the word κλεινός (‘illustrious’) and its ritual uses in two roughly contemporary Late Classical sources: an Orphic-Bacchic funerary gold leaf from Hipponion in Magna Graecia and Ephorus’ account of a Cretan pederastic age-transition rite. In both contexts, κλεινός marks an elevated status conferred by initiation. (This usage finds antecedents in Alcman's Partheneia.) Without positing direct development between puberty rites and mysteries, the article argues on the basis of shared vocabulary and other ritual elements that age-transitions influenced the ideology of mystery cults. It is further claimed that puberty rites and mysteries performed similar functions in their respective social contexts, despite obvious differences of prestige and visibility. Age-transition rites have been analysed in Bourdieu's terms as ‘rites of institution’, in which young elites were publicly affirmed in civic roles: private mysteries can be described in analogous but opposed terms as rites of ‘counter-institution’, in which familiar ritual language and symbols of elite status were used to construct an alternative ‘imagined community’ of mystery initiates.

Gold leaf electrochemical sensors: applications and nanostructure modification

A gold leaf sensor with structure modification enabling on-site identification of types of bullet from gunshot residues.

Does substrate colour affect the visual appearance of gilded medieval sculptures? Part II: SEM–EDX observations on gold leaf samples taken from medieval wooden sculptures

In the previous paper (Part I), the colorimetry and interferometric microscopy measurements on modern gold leaf models have revealed that the visual appearance of a gilded surface, both burnished and unburnished, depends strongly on the substrate type, surface roughness and texture, but not on the colour of the substrate. In this second part, we investigate the materials compositions and technical specifications of medieval gold leaf through combining literature sources and materials analysis such as scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDX) on samples taken from gilded wooden sculptures. Our study shows that the late medieval gold leaf has a high purity of about 23.7 carat and has an average thickness of 160 nm (with a peak value of 138 nm), purer and thicker than the modern gold leaves studies in Part I. Supportive Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) measurements on gilded models confirms the accuracy and reliability of the SEM–EDX observations on the medieval gold leaf samples. We additionally present observations of a rarely recorded special variant of medieval gold leaf—“fine reinforced gold leaf”. Combined with the findings from Part I, we conclude that light penetrating the medieval gold leaf and reflected from the gilding substrate could not be a significant, or even perceptible contribution to the visual appearance of the gilding. We argue that the misconception surrounding the correlation between the substrate colour and the gilded surface appearance can be attributed to the historical development of gilding and polychromy technologies.

Does substrate colour affect the visual appearance of gilded medieval sculptures? Part I: colorimetry and interferometric microscopy of gilded models

In the history of medieval gilding, a common view has been circulated for centuries that the substrate colour can influence the visual appearance of a gilded surface. In order to fully understand the correlation between the gilding substrate and the colour appearance of the gold leaf laid above, in this paper (Part I) analytical techniques such as colorimetry and interferometric microscopy are implemented on models made from modern gold leaves. This study demonstrates that the substrate colour is not perceptible for gold leaf of at least 100 nm thickness, however the surface burnishing can greatly alter the visual appearance of a gold surface, and the quality of the burnishing is dependent on the substrate materials. Additionally, surface roughness and texture of the substrate can play supplementary roles, which can be visually observed through digital microscopy and quantified through interferometric microscopy. The findings in this paper will form the basis for the study of gold leaf samples taken from medieval European gilded sculptures in Part II.

Does substrate colour affect the visual appearance of gilded medieval sculptures? Part I: Colorimetry and interferometric microscopy of gilded models

In the history of medieval gilding, a common view has been circulated for centuries that the substrate colour can influence the visual appearance of a gilded surface. In order to fully understand the correlation between the gilding substrate and the colour appearance of the gold leaf laid above, in this paper (Part I) analytical techniques such as colorimetry and interferometric microscopy are implemented on models made from modern gold leaves. This study demonstrates that the substrate colour is not perceptible for gold leaf of at least 100 nm thickness, however the surface burnishing can greatly alter the visual appearance of a gold surface, and the quality of the burnishing is dependent on the substrate materials. Additionally, surface roughness and texture of the substrate can play supplementary roles, which can be visually observed through digital microscopy and quantified through interferometric microscopy. The findings in this paper will form the basis for the study of gold leaf samples taken from medieval European gilded sculptures in Part II.

Does substrate colour affect the visual appearance of gilded medieval sculptures?Part II: SEM-EDX observations on gold leaf samples taken from medieval wooden sculptures

In the previous paper (Part I), the colorimetry and interferometric microscopy measurements on modern gold leaf models have revealed that the visual appearance of a gilded surface, both burnished and unburnished, depends strongly on the substrate type, surface roughness and texture, but not on the colour of the substrate. In this second part, we investigate the materials compositions and technical specifications of medieval gold leaf through combining literature sources and materials analysis such as scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) on samples taken from gilded wooden sculptures. Our study shows that the late medieval gold leaf has a high purity of about 23.7 carat and has an average thickness of 160 nm (with a peak value of 138 nm), purer and thicker than the modern gold leaves studies in Part I. Supportive Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) measurements on gilded models confirms the accuracy and reliability of the SEM-EDX observations on the medieval gold leaf samples. We additionally present observations of a rarely recorded special variant of medieval gold leaf – “fine reinforced gold leaf”. Combined with the findings from Part I, we conclude that light penetrating the medieval gold leaf and reflected from the gilding substrate could not be a significant, or even perceptible contribution to the visual appearance of the gilding. We argue that the misconception surrounding the correlation between the substrate colour and the gilded surface appearance can be attributed to the historical development of gilding and polychromy technologies.