Artificial patination in Early Iron Age Europe: an analytical case study of a unique bronze artefact

Direct evidence for the intentional patination of metal objects is difficult to ascertain and therefore studies concerning this technique are controversial. Only a couple of objects with artificially patinated surfaces have been positively identified, ranging in date from the early 2nd millennium BC to Roman and medieval times. In this paper a skillfully crafted and coloured Early Iron Age bronze axe belonging to the Villanova culture of ancient Italy was selected for examination. Optical microscopy and multiple mineralogical analyses of the surface of this object demonstrate that it was patinated deliberately by a thermal treatment technology (thermal patination). So far, this Iron Age axe is the oldest European object where this technology had been applied.