Technological investigations of an early 3rd century enamel-decorated drinking horn handle from Maudžiorai cemetery in western Lithuania

ENThe aim of this paper is to combine several instrumental analysis methods (scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), optical microscopy and radiography) for a comprehensive investigation of the enamel-decorated drinking horn handle found in Maudžiorai cemetery in western Lithuania. The drinking horn is completed by a beaker-shaped terminal. The drinking horn handle is made of tin rich copper alloy, overlaid with silver and decorated with red, white and black enamel using champlevé enamelling. All the details are of a high quality and correspond to the most up-to-date style of the time. The results of the research include assessment of artefact survival, analysis of the elemental composition of the copper alloy and enamel, description of the technology involved in the production, including silver-coating, and the evaluation of the archaeological context of this exceptional artefact. The overall results of the instrumental analysis methods and the assessment of the archaeological material allow the enamelled handle of the drinking horn under study to be analysed both in the light of the technology employed by the barbarian enamelling centres of northern and eastern Europe and in the context of its uniqueness in the eastern Baltic Sea region. The complex research on the piece highlights both the ability of jewellers of the first half of the 3rd century CE to master the complex techniques of champlevé enamelling and silver-coating. Keywords: Drinking horn handle; Champlevé enamelling; Silver-coating; Corrosion; SEM-EDX; FT-IR; Western Lithuania. [From the publication]

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