https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04776-7
Regular Article
Glass artefacts conservation: finding materials and methods for glass vessels’ reconstruction
1
Kriterion s.n.c., Castenaso, Bologna, Italy
2
Department of Cultural Heritage, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
3
Department of Industrial Chemistry, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Received:
2
November
2023
Accepted:
5
December
2023
Published online:
4
January
2024
This paper will address art glass conservation, focusing on the search for the best products and methods to be employed in glass vessels’ reconstruction, including case studies. In 2000, an archaeological site was found in Padua (Northern Italy) where the Santa Chiara in Cella Nova Monastery once stood (1325–1797), and thousands of Renaissance artefacts came to light. Thanks to a collaboration between the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per l’Area Metropolitana di Venezia e le Province di Belluno, Padova e Treviso and the University of Bologna, a huge conservative project started. The conservative intervention on the precious glass vessels became the starting point of a research on the best products to be employed in their reconstruction. More than for other materials, an analytical approach is necessary while dealing with glass: commonly employed techniques need to be adapted to suit features of every object, and new ones must be examined. Furthermore, testing and comparing well known products to most recent ones or to ones developed for other purposes is essential. In this study, an acrylic resin and four epoxy resins were tested, the latter both pure and added with three different colouring agents. Accelerated ageing tests were run to find out the products most resistant to discolouration through time. The results were compared with practical application’s tests to select the best combination of products and techniques. Finally, the intervention on two glass vessels, coming from Santa Chiara Monastery, is presented briefly.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
