Composition of Diverse Glass Material from the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Dubrovnik, Croatia

diverse assemblage of medieval and post-medieval glass from the Cathedral of the Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Sixty samples, comprised of various vessels, lamps,
beads, and window glass (oculi), and dated between the 12th and 18th century, were analysed with
simultaneous PIGE-PIXE methods. The results show that most items were made with the ash of
halophytic plants harvested in the Levant, but these can be divided into several compositional subtypes, among which white and common glass are the most numerous. Most glasses can be attributed
to the north Italian or Levantine workshops; however, a few analysed samples are of the mixed-alkali
type, façon de Venise, and Mesopotamian Type I glass. Furthermore, a few distinct samples were made
with purer soda sources.
The findings corroborate Dubrovnik’s strong cultural and economic links with the Venetian glassmaking
tradition and underline the influence and preference of the Mediterranean seafaring trade routes over
the continental European ones; an unsurprising fact, considering the status of the Dubrovnik Republic
as a stronghold of maritime trade in the period.