Overview of the results

Analytical results of six glass instruments from the Deutsches Museum and comparative case studies

 

OBJECT IDENTIFICATION

ANALYSIS

UV fluorescence

X-ray fluorescence

Network formers

Fluxing agents

Stabilizer

Decolorizers, Impurities

 

Glass harmonica
Inv. No. 7996

Germany ca. 1800

 

yellow (Mn)

Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Potassium, Rubidium, Strontium

Calcium

Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Nickel

 

Händel-Haus, Halle

Glass harmonica, Inv. No. MS-94

Nuremberg, early 19th century

(Haufe 1995)

 

n/a

Aluminum, Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Sodium, Potassium

Calcium, Magnesium

Iron

 

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 

Glass harmonica, Inv. No. 17.2047
England late 18th century

(Newman 1992)

 

n/a

Aluminum, Silicon, Phosphorus, Lead

Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium, Strontium

Calcium, Magnesium

Manganese, Iron, Tin

 

Glasschord, Heinrich M. Fuchs
Inv. No. 45933 

Nuremberg, Germany ca. 1820

 

         

pink

yellow (Mn)

Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Potassium

Calcium

Manganese, Iron, Nickel

green

Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Potassium, Rubidium, Strontium

Calcium

Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Copper, Nickel

colorless (large)

Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Potassium

Calcium

Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Nickel

colorless (small)

yellow (Mn)

Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Potassium, Rubidium, Strontium

Calcium

Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Nickel

 

Glass flute
Inv. No. 58531

around 1860

 

yellow (Mn)

Silicon

Potassium, Rubidium

Calcium

Manganese, Iron,

 

Library of Congress, Washington 

Glass flute, C. Laurent
Paris, early 18th century

(Buechele et al. 2015)

 

Aluminum, Silicon, Phosphorus

Sodium, Potassium, Rubidium

Calcium, Magnesium

Lithium, Boron, Barium, Manganese, Iron, Nickel, Zinc, Zirconium

 

Set of musical glasses
Inv. No. 2003-27T1

Germany around 1900

 

yellowish-green
glass d (Mn?)

Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Potassium, Rubidium, Strontium

Calcium

Manganese, Iron, Nickel

 

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 

Musical glasses, Inv. No. Res. 52.72
F. H. Smith, Baltimore, ca. 1830

(Newman 1997)

 

n/a

Aluminum, Silicon, Lead

Sodium, Potassium,

Calcium

Manganese, Iron

 

Glass trumpet
Inv. No. 65601

early 20th century

 

whitish-blue (Pb)

Silicon, Arsenic / Lead

Potassium, Strontium

Calcium

Iron, Nickel, Zinc

 

Glass harmonica, G. Finkenbeiner
Inv. No. 1988-1 

Waltham, MA, USA 1983

 

Silicon

Calcium

Iron, Nickel

 

Citation: Charlotte Holzer, ‘Findings from Non-destructive Material Analysis on Musical Glass Instruments’, in: Materiality of Musical Instruments. A Virtual Exhibition.