Analytical investigation on Renaissance Venetian enamelled glasses from the Louvre collections

Venetian enamelled glass is one of the most significant subjects of the art and technology of Renaissance glassmaking. These items were made in Venice from the second half of the 15th through the 17th centuries and were imitated in other European glassmaking centers during this period and again in Murano during the 19th century. Only a limited number of analyses of these masterpieces have been published up to now.In this paper the non-invasive PIXE–PIGE technique was applied to analyse the glass and enamels of eleven objects from the Louvre collection. The results disclose interesting details on the glassmaking technology and the raw materials and colourants used. The comparison between these data and the recipes in Venetian glassmaking treatises allowed identifying a group of objects corresponding to the genuine Venetian Renaissance production, while some discrepancies were found for other objects, probably being ascribable to a contemporary production outside Venice (façon de Venise) or to a 19th century Muranese manufacture.

► Eleven enamelled glass objects from the Louvre collection were analysed.
► Quantitative chemical analyses of body glass and enamels were performed by PIXE and PIGE methods.
► Results allow genuine Venetian Renaissance objects to be identified.
► Results allow façon de Venise and later enamelled glass objects to be distinguished.