Early medieval glass smoothers as a manifestation of the spread of Christianity in Mainland Europe

0557893 - ARÚ 2023 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Ježek, Martin - Zavřel, Jan
Early medieval glass smoothers as a manifestation of the spread of Christianity in Mainland Europe.
Praehistorische Zeitschrift. Roč. 97, č. 1 (2022), s. 324-343. ISSN 0079-4848. E-ISSN 1613-0804
Institutional support: RVO:67985912
Keywords : Middle Ages * glass smoother * precious metal * mural painting * gilding * burial
OECD category: Archaeology
Impact factor: 0.6, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.1515/pz-2022-2033

Archaeology has been attempting to explain the purpose of medieval hemispherical artefacts called glass smoothers, found in much of Europe, for a century and a half. The oldest and most widespread opinion considers them to be tools designed for the care of clothing. This article presents the results of SEM observations of the surface of selected specimens. The identification of streaks of non-ferrous, especially precious metals, shows that they were intended for another purpose. After discussing the anthropological contexts, including burial finds, the authors conclude that glass smoothers were developed and primarily intended for gilding murals with metal leaves. The inertness of glass to mercury also made it possible to use these artefacts in another method of gilding – amalgamation. It was the contact with precious metal that justified the transformation of a glass smoother on the occasion of a funeral from a working tool into an object with symbolic value. Therefore, the occurrence of glass smoothers in graves cannot be associated with the activities of the deceased individual.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0331775