*2.1. Artifacts*

The porcelains analyzed are listed in Table 1 and shown in Figures 1–5. They belong to the collections of the Musée du Louvre (Department of Fine Art Objects) in Paris and Musée Chinois at Fontainebleau Castle, which is located close to Paris. Artifacts from the Fontainebleau Chinese Museum were part of the collection of Napoléon III (1808–1873, president of the French Republic from 1848 to 1852 and then emperor up to 1870) and the Empress Eugénie (1826–1920), while some of the artifacts from the Louvre Museum belonged to the collection of Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877), former president of the French Republic. Indeed, following the Universal Exhibitions, the European elites of the second part of the 19th century took a great interest in Chinese and Japanese ceramics and built up collections rich in exceptional pieces. Most of the artifacts studied here were assigned, based on a stylistic examination of their shape and decor, to have been made during the Yongzheng reign (1722–1735) or just afterwards. The corpus studied includes four cups, five plates, one milk pot, one saucer lid, one teapot and three bottles, which were analyzed by Raman microspectrometry. Only the TH457 bottle was also analyzed by portable XRF (pXRF). Some of the artifacts have rather similar counterparts in other museum collections (Table 1). Four artifacts display painted enamel decor with exceptional quality, such as the plates with roosters (TH487, Figure 1) and tigers (R1056, Figure 2) and especially the TH457 (Figure 3), F1371C (Figure 4) and F1341C (Figure 5) bottles. Close-up views of the painted flower-and-bird decor on the TH457 bottle and the flower decor on the F1341C bottle and F1429C teapot display the high sharpness of the drawing without any diffusion of the colors outside the areas delimited by (black) lines. The F1371C bottle shows a technique inspired by *cloisonné* enameled metalware in which the decor is first made by incision in order to avoid diffusion of the colors, somewhat similar to the *sgra*ffi*to* technique.

colors, somewhat similar to the *sgraffito* technique.

TH457 bottle

TH457 bottle

F1371C bottle

F1371C bottle

F1429C teapot

F1429C teapot

F1341C bottle

F1341C bottle

A. Thiers

A. Thiers

Napoléon Emperor Coll.

Napoléon Emperor Coll.

**Artifacts Inventory** 

colors, somewhat similar to the *sgraffito* technique.


**Table 1.** Information about the studied artifacts regarding their collections and time assignments along with special remarks (see [25–27]). colors, somewhat similar to the *sgraffito* technique. **Table 1.** Information about the studied artifacts regarding their collections and time assignments **Table 1.** Information about the studied artifacts regarding their collections and time assignments along with special remarks (see [25–27]). *Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 26 Similar cups at the British Museum

**Number Size Artifacts** 

enameled metalware in which the decor is first made by incision in order to avoid diffusion of the

**Number Collection Artifacts Inventory** 

*Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 27 enameled metalware in which the decor is first made by incision in order to avoid diffusion of the

*Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 27

enameled metalware in which the decor is first made by incision in order to avoid diffusion of the

**Table 1.** Information about the studied artifacts regarding their collections and time assignments

1730/35– 1750/60

1730/35– 1750/60

(1736–1795)

period (1736–1795)

End of Yongzheng period (~1730– 1735)

End of Yongzheng period (~1730– 1735)

D:12

D:12

H:19 D:30

H:19 D:30

H:13 D:12

H:13 D:12

H:30 D:15

H:30 D:15

A:19 Jingdezhen Imperial Factory of Porcelain

A:19 Jingdezhen Imperial Factory of Porcelain

Coll. 1735–1796 H:30.9

Coll. 1735–1796 H:30.9

Fontaine bleau Castle (Musée Chinois)

Fontaine bleau Castle (Musée Chinois) R1025

R1025

TH487 dish

R1025

A. Thiers


**Table 1.** *Cont.* dish 1740–1750 H:3.2 D:23 Coll. 1730–1735 With 2 roosters

R1025 dish H:3.2 D:23 With CFB monogram

D:23

D:23

With CFB monogram With CFB monogram

With CFB monogram

*Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 27

*Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 27

dish 1740–1750 H:3.2

dish 1740–1750 H:3.2

**Figure 1.** The cups and plate analyzed. The remote head with optic fibers connected to the laser source and the spectrometer is shown at the bottom. A laser focusing on the R1041 cup exhibits the high translucency of the porcelain (see Table 1 for details). **Figure 1.** The cups and plate analyzed. The remote head with optic fibers connected to the laser source and the spectrometer is shown at the bottom. A laser focusing on the R1041 cup exhibits the high translucency of the porcelain (see Table 1 for details).

**Figure 2.** The detailed images of the plates and milk pot analyzed (see Table 1 for details).

**Figure 1.** The cups and plate analyzed. The remote head with optic fibers connected to the laser source

translucency of the porcelain (see Table 1 for details).

*Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 27

**Figure 2. Figure 2.** The detailed images of the plates and milk The detailed images of the plates and milk pot analyzed (see Table pot analyzed (see Table 1 for details). 1 for details). *Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 27

**Figure 3.** The detailed images of the TH457 bottle (the neck has undergone a restoration process; see Table 1 for details). **Figure 3.** The detailed images of the TH457 bottle (the neck has undergone a restoration process; see Table 1 for details).

**Figure 4.** The detailed images of the bottle (F1371C; see Table 1 for details).

*Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 27

**Figure 4.** The detailed images of the bottle (F1371C; see Table 1 for details). **Figure 4.** The detailed images of the bottle (F1371C; see Table 1 for details). *Heritage* **2020**, *3* FOR PEER REVIEW 7 of 27

**Figure 5.** The detailed images of the teapot (F1429C, top) and bottle (F1341C, bottom); see Table 1 for details. **Figure 5.** The detailed images of the teapot (F1429C, top) and bottle (F1341C, bottom); see Table 1 for details.

Different grades of the hue were obtained by adding minute dots of color in the TH457 bottle (Figure 3), as also observed in the painted enameled decor of 18th-century French watches [18]. This indicates the use of very small pencils. Consequently, the thickness of the painted enamel decor remains very thin. The technique used appears to be different from the common pottery technique of adjusting the hue of enameled decor by superimposing enamel layers relatively thickly, as is visible for the R1006, R1175, R1025, R1041, R1045 and SN284 artifacts (Figures 1 and 2). The technique used Different grades of the hue were obtained by adding minute dots of color in the TH457 bottle (Figure 3), as also observed in the painted enameled decor of 18th-century French watches [18]. This indicates the use of very small pencils. Consequently, the thickness of the painted enamel decor remains very thin. The technique used appears to be different from the common pottery technique of adjusting the hue of enameled decor by superimposing enamel layers relatively thickly, as is visible for the R1006, R1175, R1025, R1041, R1045 and SN284 artifacts (Figures 1 and 2). The technique used for the F1429C teapot (Figure 5) is an intermediate between the two techniques.

for the F1429C teapot (Figure 5) is an intermediate between the two techniques. An examination of the section of porcelain shards exhibiting similar decor by optical microscopy or of the whole objects by optical coherence tomography studies (OCT) is needed to go further in the description of the enameling technique. An examination of the section of porcelain shards exhibiting similar decor by optical microscopy or of the whole objects by optical coherence tomography studies (OCT) is needed to go further in the description of the enameling technique.

France) was used for the on-site measurements. This setup was composed of an HE532 spectrometer (920 lines/mm grating; resolution ~4 cm−1), a remote optical device called SuperHead (Figure 1) and a 532 nm 300 mW Ventus laser source (Laser Quantum, Fremont, CA, USA), which were connected to each other by optic fibers. The SuperHead incorporates long working distance x50 (surface analyzed: ~10–20 µm2; in-depth: ~5–20 µm) and x200 (surface analyzed: ~1 µm2; in-depth: ~1–2 µm) microscope objectives for the green laser illumination and the collection of scattered light. Details

The high value of the porcelain artifacts made it necessary to conduct the noninvasive Raman

Portable XRF (pXRF) measurements were performed without any contact between the instrument and the artifact using an ELIO instrument (ELIO, XGLab/Bruker, Italy). This setup consisted of a miniature X-ray tube system with a Rh anode (max voltage of 50 kV, max current of 0.2 mA, a 1 mm collimator determining a rather similar surface) and a large-area silicon drift detector (SDD) (50 mm2 active area). Details about the procedure have already been published; it should be

*2.2. Mobile Raman Microspectrometry* 

about the procedures have already been published [13,17,18,20].

*2.3. Mobile X-ray Fluorescence Microspectrometry* 
