Colours of the Tijomel ceramic manufacture (1941-1992): characterisation of a set of ceramic colourants and glazed tiles from Decormel Materials Catalogue

Mathilda Coutinho; Silvia Pereira; Andreia Ruivo; Silvia Bottura-Scardina; João Pedro  Veiga; Catarina Geraldes; Milene Gil; Joana Shearman

doi:10.14568/cp32258

Authors

Mathilda Coutinho Laboratório HERCULES — Herança Cultural, Estudos e Salvaguarda, IN2PAST — Laboratório Associado para a Investigação e Inovação em Património, Artes, Sustentabilidade e Território, CityUMacau Chair in Sustainable Heritage and IFAA, Universidade de Évora, Palácio do Vimioso, 7000-654 Évora, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3802-1363
Silvia Pereira Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), Av. do Brasil 101, 1700-075 Lisboa, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3070-743X
Andreia Ruivo VICARTE – Research Unit Glass and Ceramic for the Arts, FCT - Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica 2825-097 Caparica, Portugal; Departamento de Conservação e Restauro, FCT - Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica 825-097 Caparica, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3360-724X
Silvia Bottura-Scardina Laboratório HERCULES — Herança Cultural, Estudos e Salvaguarda, IN2PAST — Laboratório Associado para a Investigação e Inovação em Património, Artes, Sustentabilidade e Território, CityUMacau Chair in Sustainable Heritage and IFAA, Universidade de Évora, Palácio do Vimioso, 7000-654 Évora, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3566-5921
João Pedro Veiga VICARTE – Research Unit Glass and Ceramic for the Arts, FCT - Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica 2825-097 Caparica, Portugal; Departamento de Conservação e Restauro, FCT - Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica 825-097 Caparica, Portugal; CENIMAT/i3N, FCT - Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica 825-097 Caparica, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5324-1586
Catarina Geraldes Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), Av. do Brasil 101, 1700-075 Lisboa, Portugal; VICARTE – Research Unit Glass and Ceramic for the Arts, FCT - Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Campus da Caparica 2825-097 Caparica, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1648-3620
Milene Gil Laboratório HERCULES — Herança Cultural, Estudos e Salvaguarda, IN2PAST — Laboratório Associado para a Investigação e Inovação em Património, Artes, Sustentabilidade e Território, CityUMacau Chair in Sustainable Heritage and IFAA, Universidade de Évora, Palácio do Vimioso, 7000-654 Évora, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5779-2630
Joana Shearman Freelancer conservator-restorer

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14568/cp32258

Keywords:

Azulejos, Colourants, Pigments, Ceramics

Abstract

Tijomel was considered one of the most modern ceramic manufacturers in the Iberian Peninsula in the mid-20th century. Located at Caxarias (Ourém, Portugal), this manufacturer produced diverse ceramic-based architectural materials, from common clay bricks to sophisticated modernist azulejos. Recently members of the family of the former Tijomel Manufacture owners retrieved a collection of 33 raw materials, mostly ceramic colourants. In this study, the chemical characterisation of these ceramic colourants was performed and compared with an azulejos commercial catalogue of the same manufacturer entitled Decormel Catalogue. The recovered raw materials and azulejos were investigated using a multi-analytical approach comprising h-EDXRF and μ-XRD to obtain their elemental and mineralogical composition and HSI and colourimetry to analyse their optical properties. Results provided a glimpse of the wide variety of ceramic colourants used in mid-20th century and showed that Tijomel combined the use of traditional azulejo colourants with more recent compositions.

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