Historical glasses are a valuable part of cultural heritage. Through many ages glasses have been exposed to burial and atmospheric conditions: water, sunlight, wind, temperature changes, biological activity, human devastation (restorations, hard cleaning procedures, vandalism), and from the beginning of 20th century a strong environmental pollution. These damaging factors caused irreversible changes in the glass structure and corroded both the bulk and surface of glass. This work describes glass deterioration, explains corrosion mechanisms and introduces analytical methods used in scientific research oriented to attain the knowledge for better conservation strategies. The present work also includes literature references on weathering mechanisms, state of conservation, surface features of historical glasses from Roman to modern ones and focuses on advanced analytical methods ( e.g., secondary ion mass spectrometry SIMS, atomic force microscopy AFM, proton induced X-ray emission PIXE, proton induced gamma-ray emission PIGE, Laser induced breakdown spectrometry LIBS, etc.) Additionally, some aspects connected with preventive conservation and the application of two kinds of sensors (environmental optical sensors and sensors to control glass corrosion) will be addressed.

The authors wish to acknowledge the financing support of the bilateral project CSIC-PAN ref. 2006PL0011 and the Programme Consolider Ingenio 2010 ref. TCP CSD2007-00058.

Peer reviewed