Ulrike Sophie Von Levetzow´s Jewels Collection: Identification and Restoration
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | International Journal of Conservation Science |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://ijcs.ro/public/IJCS-22-27_Hanus.pdf |
| Keywords | Bohemian garnet; Jewel; Inclusion; Raman spectroscopy; UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy; XRF |
| Description | The precious jewels collection of Ulrike von Levetzow was thoroughly studied and restored The collection consists of a multi-row necklace, paired bracelets, a ring, two earrings and a belt buckle stored in an original etui. Besides the high quality of manufacturing of all pieces, the main value consists in used materials. The collection was made of 469 pieces of unusually big Bohemian garnets (chrome pyropes), which were bigger than 8 mm. Usually, Bohemian garnets are smaller than 3mm. Moreover, the jewels were made of high purity gold (up to 22.5 carats) which was revealed by XRF analyses. The collection was deeply investigated The gemmological survey was comprised of a study of inclusions and a refractive index, Raman and UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy. All of the methods confirmed that the whole collection was made of Bohemian garnets from the Trebivlice area Central Bohemian Uplands. In pursuance of the restoration, it was necessary to make 7 new beads. First of all, we were searching for the most expedient technique to make new beads because the original manufacturing techniques are not known, or the tools were lost. Subsequently, many ways of drilling and cutting of garnets were tried and the best one was used for making of new beads. Of course, the etui was restored, as well. |