1. Context

Beyond their aesthetic value, the objects and works of art that make up our cultural heritage contain a myriad of historical information about the societies that preceded us. They tell us about the everyday, artistic or industrial knowledge and technical practices of past societies, based on diverse and often sophisticated physico-chemical processes. They also provide information on exchanges and trade relations between civilizations, as well as on population migrations. In addition to stylistic and historical approaches, physico-chemical analysis methods are playing an increasingly important role in the study of these materials. The two articles [P 3 780] and [P 3 781] provide an excellent overview of these studies, and...