AVS 61st International Symposium & Exhibition
    Conservation Studies of Heritage Materials Focus Topic Thursday Sessions
       Session CS-ThA

Paper CS-ThA10
The Right Snuff? A Technical Study of Two Snuff Boxes from the Winterthur Museum Collection

Thursday, November 13, 2014, 5:20 pm, Room 313

Session: Conservation Studies of Heritage Materials 2
Presenter: Marlene Yandrisevits, Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation
Authors: M. Yandrisevits, Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation
J.L. Mass, Winterthur Museum Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory
C. O'Grady, Winterthur Museum Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory
C. Matsen, Winterthur Museum Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory
E. Torok, Winterthur/ University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation
Correspondent: Click to Email
The nasal inhalation of snuff tobacco stored in vanity boxes was a fashionable custom among the colonial European elite. From the late 18th to the early 19th century, small decorative enameled boxes were manufactured in England to supply a bourgeois demand for stylish, but less expensive, imitative snuff boxes. The utilization of traditional materials and techniques for later 19th/ early 20th century repair and revival fabrication of enameled boxes introduces a serious challenge in distinguishing the original from the copy or the heavily restored. This study examines two enameled boxes at the Winterthur Museum with the goal to contribute technical data to provenance and dating discussions. Ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence surface examination, x-radiography, energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, microRaman spectroscopy, cross-sectional microscopy with visible and UV illumination, scanning electron microscopy – energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy/ back-scattered electron imaging, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry were used to characterize the composition and stratigraphy of the materials comprising the boxes, followed by comparison to period materials and techniques reported in historical sources and to the findings of previous research. As characterized in this study, aluminosilicates were inferred as the enamel network forming agent combined with lead arsenate and tin oxide opacifiers and potash flux on both boxes, with soda flux additionally on one box. Enamel colorants were metal-based (including iron oxides in red, pink and purple overglazes; colloidal gold in pink and purple overglazes; cobalt oxides/ glass in blue and green overglazes; and Pb-Sb-Sn oxides in yellow and green overglazes). Findings suggest that, while significant titanium-containing restoration overpaint and synthetic coatings are present on both boxes, the enamel and mount materials of one box are consistent with the early production. The majority of materials on the other are also consistent with the early stage of enameled snuff box production in England, with the possible exceptions of chromium-based green enamels, iron oxide pink and purple enamels, and brass-based imitation gilding in localized areas which may represent an early restoration campaign. The materials identified on both boxes are consistent with the findings of previous analyses, excluding a yellow colorant identified in previous research as Naples yellow (Pb(SbO3)2/ Pb3(Sb3O4)2) now detected in this study and recharacterized as a related Pb-Sn-Sb triple oxide (Pb2(SnSb)O6), which may suggest further research towards a reliable dating scheme.