Catalogue of 45 reference Raman spectra of minerals concerning research in art history or archaeology, especially on corroded metals and coloured glass

Small catalogues of reference Raman spectra of interest for analysing geomaterials or biomaterials of relevance to art history or archaeology are gradually being published by different research groups. However, except for some older catalogues, they are all concerned primarily with pigments, whether inorganic or organic. Here we present for the first time a catalogue of Raman spectra of minerals that may be found in corroded metal artworks or artefacts. At the same time we include some inorganic pigments that may be found in or on stained glass. Most of the minerals analysed came from the Gallery of Mineralogy at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle and most were verified by X-ray diffraction in order to augment the confidence in the mineral identity (which is not the case with many other catalogues). A number of problems encountered with mineral terminology are discussed. Comments are made on the spectra where appropriate. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.