Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and Provenance
Two Venetian types of swords coming from the “Luigi Marzoli” Arms Museum in Brescia were characterized in this study, to understand their manufacturing process and to gather information about their provenance. Both the blades and the hilts components are analyzed using a multi-methodological approac...
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/3/69 |
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| author | Carolina Mori Giorgia Ghiara Paolo De Montis Paolo Piccardo Giacomo D. Gatta Stefano Pierpaolo Trasatti |
| author_facet | Carolina Mori Giorgia Ghiara Paolo De Montis Paolo Piccardo Giacomo D. Gatta Stefano Pierpaolo Trasatti |
| author_sort | Carolina Mori |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Two Venetian types of swords coming from the “Luigi Marzoli” Arms Museum in Brescia were characterized in this study, to understand their manufacturing process and to gather information about their provenance. Both the blades and the hilts components are analyzed using a multi-methodological approach, to describe possible differences in the metallurgical features that involved classical metallographic and spectroscopic techniques. Microstructural results indicate a complex process for the manufacturing of the blades, by hot-forging, confirmed by a sequence of different microstructures even on the same sample. Furthermore, an interesting and unusual manufacturing technique is used on one of the pommels, which consists of two hemispheres connected by copper joints. Hypothesis about the ironmaking and the provenience of raw materials are obtained by the features and composition of the inclusions. It is suggested that there is the use of both a direct and an indirect process on the swords. It is likely that the minerals used to obtain iron and copper of the swords come from the mines of the Brescia and Bergamo territories. All the hypotheses are consistent with the historical documents of the time that also give information on the diffusion of such swords in the Brescia area. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:37:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-97614c5db52a46d191a8003aeb0247e6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-9408 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:37:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage |
| spelling | doaj.art-97614c5db52a46d191a8003aeb0247e62023-11-22T13:19:34ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082021-07-01431269128310.3390/heritage4030069Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and ProvenanceCarolina Mori0Giorgia Ghiara1Paolo De Montis2Paolo Piccardo3Giacomo D. Gatta4Stefano Pierpaolo Trasatti5Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy (ESP), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry (DCCI), Università degli Studi di Genova, 16146 Genova, ItalyAccademia di San Marciano, 10143 Torino, ItalyDepartment of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry (DCCI), Università degli Studi di Genova, 16146 Genova, ItalyDepartment of Earth Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyDepartment of Environmental Sciences and Policy (ESP), Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, ItalyTwo Venetian types of swords coming from the “Luigi Marzoli” Arms Museum in Brescia were characterized in this study, to understand their manufacturing process and to gather information about their provenance. Both the blades and the hilts components are analyzed using a multi-methodological approach, to describe possible differences in the metallurgical features that involved classical metallographic and spectroscopic techniques. Microstructural results indicate a complex process for the manufacturing of the blades, by hot-forging, confirmed by a sequence of different microstructures even on the same sample. Furthermore, an interesting and unusual manufacturing technique is used on one of the pommels, which consists of two hemispheres connected by copper joints. Hypothesis about the ironmaking and the provenience of raw materials are obtained by the features and composition of the inclusions. It is suggested that there is the use of both a direct and an indirect process on the swords. It is likely that the minerals used to obtain iron and copper of the swords come from the mines of the Brescia and Bergamo territories. All the hypotheses are consistent with the historical documents of the time that also give information on the diffusion of such swords in the Brescia area.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/3/69Venetian type swordsmetallographycopper jointsinclusionsEPMA-WDS |
| spellingShingle | Carolina Mori Giorgia Ghiara Paolo De Montis Paolo Piccardo Giacomo D. Gatta Stefano Pierpaolo Trasatti Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and Provenance Heritage Venetian type swords metallography copper joints inclusions EPMA-WDS |
| title | Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and Provenance |
| title_full | Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and Provenance |
| title_fullStr | Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and Provenance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and Provenance |
| title_short | Archaeometallurgical Analyses on Two Renaissance Swords from the “Luigi Marzoli” Museum in Brescia: Manufacturing and Provenance |
| title_sort | archaeometallurgical analyses on two renaissance swords from the luigi marzoli museum in brescia manufacturing and provenance |
| topic | Venetian type swords metallography copper joints inclusions EPMA-WDS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/4/3/69 |
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