EVALUATION OF GLAZE AND BODY COMPOSITION IN ANCIENT IRANIAN POTTERY

Abstract

Several samples of pottery sherds owned by the Islamic Arts section of the National museum of Iran excavated in Ray, Neishabur and Kahn – the area around northeast and the central part of Iran – were analyzed in order to establish their chemical compositions. In Van de Graaff Laboratory at the AEOI, qualitative analyses of the sherds were performed using a 2 MeV proton beam. The fragments which dated back to the period between the 9th and the 13th centuries, were analyzed using the PIXE method. The results of the concentrations of the component elements such as Ti , Mn , Fe , Co , Ni , Cu , Zn , Ba and Pb are presented and discussed. The results confirm the effect of the iron content of clay, it's firing conditions such as firing temperature, oxidation and reduction on the color of clay. In addition the dependence of glaze color with the various elemental concentration is established.