Synthesis, properties and uses of chromium-based pigments from the Manufacture de Sèvres

Abstract Chromium (Cr) is at the origin of a wide variety of coloration (green, pink and brown) in porcelain glazes from the French Manufacture de Sevres. This element was introduced for the first time at the factory in 1804, just a few years after its discovery by Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin. Pigments for glazes were developed at the laboratory of the factory, leading to a palette of 76 references. While the synthesis protocol and the nature of the precursors of these pigments are kept in laboratory notebooks, the products have never been fully studied. In this work, the pigments composed of Cr were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy (XANES). The analyses reveal the presence of common crystalline phases, and open new perspectives for the synthesis of pigments containing chromium at the Manufacture de Sevres.