Mémoire
| Résumé : | Historical studies and scientific investigations of colouration techniques on copper alloy artefacts are reviewed in this paper and are exploited in order to create an analytical model of these techniques. Elementary methods allow the identification of the artefact colour due to the alloy by determining its com- position. Plating (gilding, silvering, tinning, etc.) does not necessarily require destructive analyses to be identified. Nevertheless a metallographic approach and SEM imaging are suggested in order to determine the « chaîne opératoire » of these techniques, especially for depletion gilding and silvering. Both elementary and structural analyses must be envisaged in order to study the colourations by chemical surface treatment (intentional patina). |
