Decorative Glasses Essay -- Art

Abstract. Glasses have been used as decorative objects in Thailand for several hundred years. Decorative glasses can generally be seen as architectural components in old styled palaces and Buddhist objects. There were various colors ranging from transparent to amber, blue, green and red with different shades among glass of different colors. Fragments of archaeological glass samples were characterized for the first time using Raman microscopy with the aim of obtaining information that would lead to identification of the glass samples by means of laser scattering. The samples were also investigated using other techniques, such as particle induced X-ray emission spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope operated with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. They were mostly lead-silica based glasses. The colors resulted from metal ions. The difference in chemical composition was confirmed by Raman signature spectra. Introduction Human have used glassed decorating for centuries. History of glasses as creative arts was determined partly by technical advances in glass manufacturing and decoration, and partly by human taste and fashion. Glasses, one of the oldest artificial materials known to man, those of all types differ widely according to their chemical compositions and physical properties [1]. Glass consists of a three-dimensional Si-O network that covalent bonded Si4+ atoms connect with non-covalent bonded ones (stretching or bending) and every oxygen ion connect with two tetrahedral (bridging). Modification of the glass structure is affected by decreasing the number of Si-O bridges and the connectivity of the network [2]. There are many kinds of archaeological glass found in Thailand, such as decorative glass,... ... of an archaeological glass where found in Thailand, is mostly lead-silica based glasses. Their colors resulted from metal ions. It can be suggested that the considerable content of the fluxing lead, as well as the presence of iron and copper, can be mostly observed in the samples. The presence of gold and tin was observed only in the red colored glass. Dark blue colored glass affected mainly from cobalt that influenced by copper. Dark green ones were colored principally from copper which influenced by iron. The difference in chemical compositions of the glass samples was confirmed by Raman signature spectra. Non-destructive techniques based on Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy proved to be very useful. They offer opportunities for novel applications and prospects for new directions in archaeological science research in Thailand.