Characterization of cobalt pigments found in traditional Valencian ceramics by means of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry.

Abstract In this work, a comparison of the performances of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) and portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry for the characterization of cobalt blue pigments used in the decoration of Valencian ceramics is presented. Qualitative data on the elemental composition of the blue pigments obtained using both techniques show a good agreement. Moreover, the results clearly illustrate that potters utilized different kinds of cobalt pigments in different historical periods. While both techniques seem suitable for the proposed task, they show different strengths and weaknesses. Portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry is a cheaper…