First spectroscopic analysis of lead glazes of Belgian tile panels

Identifying the manufacturer of historical wall tiles is often based on visual inspection by an expert. This is a subjective and time-consuming approach, as it can only be performed on sight by few experts. In this work, it is evaluated whether Raman and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy can create a chemical fingerprint to discriminate the tile manufacturers based on their provenance. Using both analytical techniques and combining this with chemometrical analysis, different historical Belgian tile manufacturers are characterized. We were successful in discriminating the brown from the white glazes, as well as for discriminating most Belgian tile manufacturers based on their origin. For the latter, only the results of the white glazes were used. The results show that both Raman and XRF parameters are important markers, which is underlining the significance of their combined use and opens perspectives for their non-destructive use to distinguish the tile manufacturers, in situ. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.