Firing temperature determination of some18th century Transylvanian stove tiles using spectroscopic techniques

[Display omitted] •Three fragments of some 18th Century Saxon tiles obtained from the Sibiu (Romania) have been studied by Raman, FTIR, EDX and XRF spectroscopy.•A lead-rich aluminosilicate was found to have been used as the glaze.•An analysis of the band components of the vibrational spectra indicates that the firing temperature of the ceramic tiles is in good agreement.•The ceramic tiles stove is the expression of authentic artistic sense, the transposition of popular beliefs into symbols. Three Transylvanian fragments of some 18th century Saxon tiles obtained from excavations in the Central Railway Station Square in Sibiu (Romania) have been studied by Raman microscopy, FTIR, SEM-EDX and XRF techniques. A lead-rich aluminosilicate was found to have been used as enamel/glaze for the tile fragments. An analysis of the band components of the Raman spectra of the enamel of one fragment in the 400−1200 cm−1 spectral region indicates that their processing temperature was in the 600−800 °C range, in good agreement with the temperature obtained from FTIR spectra of the other two tile fragments.