On the Problem of Dating the Ancient Novogrudok Tiles from the Collection of the State Russian Museum in the Light of Technical and Technological Research

Authors

  • Elena A. Popova Государственный Русский музей Author
  • Sergey V. Sirro State Russian museum Author

Keywords:

tiles, medieval tiled stoves, Novogrudok, X-ray fluorescence analysis, X-ray diffractometry, ceramics, glaze

Abstract

The article focuses on the glazed and terracotta tiles of Ancient Novogrudok from the collection of the State Russian Museum, which were examined using X-ray fluorescence analysis and X-ray diffractometry. The exhibits are made of clay of a similar chemical composition, probably obtained from the same deposit. The ceramic base of only a few tiles contains phosphorus. A green lead glaze on the surface of the tiles includes iron and copper compounds. A total of six tiles contains tin in their glaze. Antimony was detected in the glaze of one tile; the molding of its front plate differs from the technologies used in the creation of other objects from the museum collection. In the glaze of two samples, phosphorus was not identified, unlike the rest of the tiles. The terracotta fragment with the geometric ornament (inventory number DRI–197) has close analogues among Lithuanian tiles. The lead content in the clay of some tiles does not correlate with the time of their creation or the presence of glaze on the front plate.

Author Biographies

  • Elena A. Popova, Государственный Русский музей

    Popova, Elena A. — researcher, Department of Old Russian art. State Russian museum, Inzhenernaia ul., 4, 191186 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation; SPIN-code: 1907-4571; ORCID: 0000-0002-1076-0447; Scopus ID: 59518031100.

  • Sergey V. Sirro, State Russian museum

    Sirro, Sergey V. — deputy general director for inventorisation, preservation and restoration of museum exhibits. State Russian museum, Inzhenernaia ul., 4, 191186 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation; SPIN-code: 2693-7500; ORCID: 0000-0002-1211-4254; Scopus ID: 57223322469.

References

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Published

2025-12-15

Issue

Section

Interdisciplinary Methods in the Research on Cultural Heritage

How to Cite

Popova, E. A., & Sirro, S. V. (2025). On the Problem of Dating the Ancient Novogrudok Tiles from the Collection of the State Russian Museum in the Light of Technical and Technological Research. Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art, 15, 688-699. https://publ.actual-art.org/aptha/article/view/11205

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