How the Master in Umbria/Italy during the Reinassance period generated and used nanoparticles in art fabrication

Lustre was one of the most sophisticated techniques for the decoration of majolicas during the Reinassance period. Lustre consists of a thin metallic film containing silver, copper and other substances like iron oxide and cinnabar applied in a reducing atmosphere on a previously glazed ceramic. In this way, beautiful iridescent reflections of different colours (in particular gold and ruby-red) are obtained. The characterization and the sudy of lustre decorated majolicas is of great interest for archaeologists, but also offers possibilities for producing pottery wit outstanding decoration today, following ancient examples, since nowdays Italian artisans are interested in the reproduction of the ancient recipes and procedures. Moreover, it can even suggest new procedures for obtaining uniform thin metallic films for technological applications. A study has been carried out on ancient lustre layers using numerous different analytical techniques such as XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM-EDX-SAED, ETAAS, ICP-OES, UV-Vis reflectance spectroscopy and SAXS. Lustre films were shown to be formed by copper and silver clusters of nanometric dimension. The colour and the properties of the lustre film depend on the elemental composition of the impasto applied to the ceramic surface as well as on other factors like the metallic nanocluster dimension, the firing conditions, the underlying composition and the procedure used.