Mineralogical and chemical characterization of the Medicean glass mosaic tesserae and mortars of the Grotta del Buontalenti, Giardino di Boboli, Firenze

The Grotta of Buontalenti (GB) was built at the end of the 1500s during the Medicean period. One of the rooms that constitutes the Grotta is decorated with mosaics composed of tesserae of stained glass. The GB underwent several restorations, which took place between the end of the 1700s and 1980s, which are poorly described and documented, leading to some uncertainties about the extent and phase(s) of restorations of the mosaics. The original tesserae and mortars of the GB were analysed for their mineralogical and chemical composition. Results indicate that glass tesserae have a common sodic base composition. Cluster analyses, however, performed considering the glass base composition (i.e. SiO2, K2O, Na2O, MgO, CaO, and Al2O3), identify three groups of samples: A, B, and C. A and B are characterised by chromophores such as Se and Cr suggesting a recent age (50-150 years) of the tesserae. On the contrary, chromophores (Fe, Mn, Cu, Co) and opacifiers (mainly SnO2, Pb2Sb2O7, Ca2Sb2O7) of the third group (C) indicate a preparation procedure known since ancient times. Based on their mineralogy and petrography, four different types of mortars were recognised. The mortars cannot be precisely dated. However, by matching their composition with that of the glass tesserae, it can be concluded that one type of mortar may be of the Medicean period, whereas the others are relatively recent, probably of this century. This evidence, in accordance with historical data, points to a Medicean age of group C tesserae. Restorations of the GB involved partial substitution of the mortars whereas the glass tesserae were largely recycled with limited addition of new materials. © 2000 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS.