Technological characterisation of early Medieval gilded copper hollow pendants (gombiky), from Mikulčice (Moravia) and Prague Castle (Bohemia)

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985912%3A_____%2F20%3A00525550" target="_blank" >RIV/67985912:_____/20:00525550 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/68081758:_____/20:00525550

Result on the web

<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12520-020-01084-4" target="_blank" >https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12520-020-01084-4</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12520-020-01084-4" target="_blank" >10.1007/s12520-020-01084-4</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Technological characterisation of early Medieval gilded copper hollow pendants (gombiky), from Mikulčice (Moravia) and Prague Castle (Bohemia)

Original language description

Gilded copper hollow spherical pendants known as gombiky (s. gombik) were examined to identify the technology of gilding and the material chosen as the substrate. The examined ornaments dating from the ninth and tenth centuries AD were recovered from elite graves of two major political, ecclesiastical and economic centres of the Early Medieval period located in the territory of the present-day Czech Republic: Mikulčice and Prague Castle, major sites of Moravia and Bohemia, respectively. Taking into account the state of degradation and possible bias due to earlier restorations, surface and bulk characterisation of the gilded material has been performed combining optical observation, X-ray radiography, metallography, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS analysis) and focused ion beam (FIB) milling mounted on FEG-SEM. The manufacturing procedure was reproduced by experimental archaeology. A detailed investigation of the gilded artefacts revealed several types of gombik construction involving different mounted elements, including the main body parts and the suspension system elements joined by hard soldering. The different constitutive parts are made with almost pure copper or low-purity copper. The systematic use of fire gilding (mercury amalgam gilding) was documented. Differences in the materials that were used and technical quality show the coexistence of finely produced objects by highly skilled and knowledgeable jewellers alongside more coarsely manufactured imitations. These variations are discussed in terms of different workshops in a possible relationship with their origin of manufacture.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

60102 - Archaeology

Project

Result was created during the realization of more than one project. More information in the Projects tab.

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2020

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

ISSN

1866-9557

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

12

Issue of the periodical within the volume

7

Country of publishing house

DE - GERMANY

Number of pages

22

Pages from-to

145

UT code for WoS article

000545684700002

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85087088452