Neorenaissance/Neobaroque stained glass windows from Madrid: a characterisation study on some panels signed by the Maumejean Fréres company Manuel García-Heras a, *, Noemí Carmona b , Cristina Gil c , María Angeles Villegas a a CENIM, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Metalúrgicas, CSIC, Avda, Gregorio del Amo, 8, 28040 Madrid, Spain b Fraunhofer-Institut für Silicatforschung ISC, Würzburg, Bronnbach Branch, Bronnbach, 28, 97877 Wertheim, Germany c Fundación Centro Nacional del Vidrio, Real Fábrica de Cristales, P° Pocillo, 1, 40100 La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia), Spain Received 30 July 2003; accepted 20 December 2004 Abstract This paper reports results derived from a chemico-physical characterisation study undertaken on an important ensamble of early 20th century stained glass windows from Madrid and signed by the prestigious and well-known Maumejean Fréres company. The study is part of an on-going project of restoration and conservation carried out by the National Glass Centre Foundation (FCNV, La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia, Spain). The basic aim of the research was to assess their current state of conservation and to study the degree of damage suffered throughout the last century by different materials employed in their production, namely colourless and coloured glasses, grisailles, lead cames, and putties used to fix glass pieces into the lead cames. Selected samples from these materials were characterised through optical microscopy (OM), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX), VIS spectrophotometry, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). As a general rule, most of them presented an acceptable state of conservation, without any of the known degradation phenomena of more ancient stained glasses (e.g. Medieval, Renaissance, etc.). However, some remarkable alter- ations were observed. Important deposits of soot and dirt particles coming from a polluted urban environment were detected, producing a slow blackening of the panels. Resulting data have been useful to design and optimise a combined conservation and restoration strategy in the recovery of this valuable legacy of early 20th century stained glass windows from Madrid. © 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved. Keywords: Stained glass windows; Restoration; Weathering; Historic glass; Cultural heritage 1. Research aims Preventive conservation studies on stained glass windows have been commonly focused on well-known Medieval ensambles from cathedrals and other religious and civil build- ings from all over Europe. In most cases, they have been con- centrated on the analysis of glass and the so-called grisailles, a type of vitrifiable painting coloured by transition metal ions [1–4]. However, despite the large number of stained glass win- dows from 19th and 20th centuries, little attention has been paid to these ensembles in cultural heritage publications. In addition, secondary but not less important elements (e.g. lead cames, putties used to fix glasses into the lead came network, or mortars), which also form part of the whole stained glass windows, have been often omitted [5]. The main objective of this study was to investigate the cur- rent state of conservation of several stained glass windows from the beginning of the 20th century located in two civil buildings of downtown Madrid and signed by the prestigious Maumejean Fréres company. The study is part of an on-going project of restoration and conservation undertaken in both buildings as a consequence of future extension of the Fine Arts Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Madrid. In meeting this objective, a basic aim of the research was also to assess the degree of damage suffered throughout the last century by each type of material employed for manufacturing these windows. The resulting data will be useful to design a combined strat- egy, which will integrate cleaning, restoration, and preven- * Corresponding author. E-mail address: mgheras@cenim.csic.es (M. García-Heras). Journal of Cultural Heritage 6 (2005) 91–98 http://france.elsevier.com/direct/CULHER/ 1296-2074/$ - see front matter © 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.culher.2004.12.001