A conservation assessment on metallic elements from Spanish Medieval stained glass windows

This paper is focused on the analysis of some metallic materials (lead cames and iron supporting elements) from Spanish Medieval stained glass windows of the Monastery of Pedralbes (Barcelona) and the Cathedral of Seville. The main goal of the research was to assess their current state of conservation by studying processes of decay and corrosion due to weathering. The samples were characterised through metallographic examinations, conventional wet chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray microanalyses (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The degree of deterioration has proved to be stronger in iron elements than in lead ones, providing data that are useful for future restoration and conservation of such historical materials and for approaching technological aspects of ancient production processes. © 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.