The methodology of investigation on red- and black-figured pottery of unknown provenance

Abstract

This contribution is concerned with the archaeometric study of seven red- and black-figured potteries, kindly provided by the Carabinieri Corps for Protection of Cultural Heritage, Cosenza Unit (Calabria, Italy). The study was aimed to establish the authenticity of the archaeological artifacts and for this purpose an analytical approach, based on mineropetrographic and geochemical investigations, was applied. Petrographic analysis (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with EDS microanalysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were carried out with the aim of identifying technological features, microstructure and to obtain information on the technological features of each sample. Finally, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to detect possible surface coatings