Assessing glass alteration on-site: exploring the advantages and limitations of handheld XRF spectrometry

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of handheld X-ray fluorescence (HH-XRF) in assessing the potential risk of degradation to large numbers of historical glass objects.

Design/methodology/approach This study used an HH-XRF spectrometer to analyse a selection of historical glass artefacts from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) collection to investigate their chemical composition and establish correlations with their stage of alteration. Various groups of glass objects were tested based on their specific types of degradation, particularly crizzling and pink crizzling.

Findings The results show that analysing the concentration of PbO, CaO and K2O with HH-XRF enables the identification of unstable glass before visible alterations occur.

Practical implications This approach could enable museums to promptly identify glass objects susceptible to corrosion and implement preventive measures before issues escalate, thereby improving their long-term preservation.

Originality/value Conducting non-invasive, on-site assessments of glass objects by analysing their compositions across entire museum collections remains rare and challenging, due to operational restrictions in the galleries, and the frequent impossibility of moving fragile glass objects from the galleries to the laboratory.