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Making a Medieval Stained Glass Window: An archaeometric study of technology and production
Laura W. Adlington
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Medieval stained glass windows are relatively untapped sources of information about medieval technology and production because their architectural context usually prohibits sampling for chemical analysis. This volume presents a comprehensive study of York Minster’s Great East Window (1405-1408), investigating glass-making technology and provenance, and glass-painting craft organisation. Chemical analysis relies upon established methods of elemental and isotope-ratio analysis and development of an in-situ technique, handheld/portable x-ray fluorescence (pXRF). The book also brings together historical documentation, art historical information, and meta-analysis of legacy data. Concepts borrowed from archaeological and pedagogical studies, including chaîne opèratoire, technological choice, apprenticeship and batch theory, and production models from the automobile industry, provide a new lens through which to interpret the data. Findings regard long-term relationships between York Minster and glass suppliers, the level of sophistication exhibited by medieval glassmakers, and detailed insights into the window workshop, including identification of work by different craftsmen.
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Cover
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Title page
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Copyright
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Of Related Interest
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Acknowledgements
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Contents
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List of figures
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List of tables
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Abstract
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1. Introduction
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1.1 The Great East Window of York Minster
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1.1.1 Glass-making technology and acquisition
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1.1.2 The organisation of stained glass window production
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1.2 Challenges in the study of medieval stained glass by materials science methods
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1.2.1 Trace element methodology
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1.2.2 Interference of lead cames
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1.3 Overview
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2. The Great East Window of York Minster
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2.1 York in 1400
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2.2 Construction of the window
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2.3 York Minster Revealed
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2.3.1 Composition, Corrosion and Origins of Medieval Window Glass: The Cardiff-York project
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2.3.1.1 Samples from the project
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2.4 Summary: A window of opportunity
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3. Glass-making in the medieval period
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3.1 Medieval treatises on glass-making
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3.2 The chemical composition of medieval forest glass
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3.2.1 Factors affecting the chemical composition of medieval glass
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3.2.2 Transition to high lime, low alkali (HLLA) glass
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3.3 Colour technology
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3.3.1 Control over the furnace and redox conditions
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3.3.2 Addition of colourants to the melt
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3.3.3 Flashed glass and other composite glasses
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3.4 Possible sources for the GEW glass
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3.5 Regional trends in glass composition: Synthesis of previous analytical work on medieval European glass
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3.6 The GEW and glass-making technology
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4. Medieval glass-painting
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4.1 Medieval treatises on glass-painting
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4.2 Cartoons and glazing tables
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4.3 Medieval craft guilds and glass-painting
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4.4 Workshop practice
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4.5 A multidisciplinary approach
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5. Problems and possibilities: Using handheld pXRF to study medieval stained glass windows
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5.1 An introduction to handheld pXRF
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5.1.1 The basic principles behind XRF analysis
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5.1.2 Handheld (portable) XRF: Practical considerations
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5.1.2.1 The sample material
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5.1.2.2 Instrumental settings
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5.1.2.3 Quantification
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5.1.2.4 Performance, problems and potential
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5.2 Handheld pXRF in archaeology and cultural heritage
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5.2.1 The English Heritage Historic Window Glass project
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5.3 Surface conditions of medieval stained glass
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5.3.1 Composition and corrosion of medieval stained glass
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5.3.2 Decorative details: grisaille and silver stain
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5.3.2.1 Grisaille
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5.3.2.2 Silver stain
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5.4 The interference of lead cames
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5.5 Developing a methodology for the study of medieval stained glass windows by handheld pXRF
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6. Methods
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6.1 Materials and sampling
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6.1.1 Great East Window, York Minster
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6.1.2 The Cardiff-York project: Data and samples
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6.1.2.1 Little Birches Wolseley, Staffordshire
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6.1.2.2 St William Window, York Minster
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6.2 Analytical methods
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6.2.1 Handheld pXRF analyses
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6.2.2 Electron microprobe analyses
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6.2.3 OM and SEM imaging
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6.2.4 Laser ablation ICP-MS analyses
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6.2.5 Isotope ratio analyses
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6.2.6 Development of glass calibration standards
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6.3 Tests for methodological development
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6.3.1 Elements affected by surface conditions
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6.3.2 The interference of lead cames on in situ analysis
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6.4 Identification of glass batches
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6.5 Summary of the research methods
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7. Performance of handheld pXRF in the analysis of medieval stained glass
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7.1 Trace element methodology
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7.1.1 pXRF performance on standards and medieval glass
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7.1.2 Deterioration and the depth of analysis
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7.1.3 Trace elements in medieval forest glass
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7.2 Bypassing the interference of lead cames
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7.2.1 Comparison of in situ and test stand analyses by pXRF
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7.2.2 Analysis of glass at increasing distances
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7.2.3 Comparison of empirical calibrations
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7.2.4 Factors affecting the measured intensity with increased working distance
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7.2.5 Development of an attachment for in situ window analysis, the WindoLyzer 5
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7.2.6 Health & Safety
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7.3 Summary
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8. Chemical characterisation of the Great East Window glass
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8.1 Characterising major glass types
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8.1.1 Identification of original and non-original glass
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8.2 Glass original to the window
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8.2.1 The original white glass
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8.2.1.1 Comparison with Staffordshire glass
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8.2.2 The original blue and red glass
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8.2.2.1 Blue colour: Comparison with Gratuze cobalt ores
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8.2.2.2 Red glass: Comparison with Kunicki-Goldfinger et al. (2014)
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8.2.3 The original green and yellow glass
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8.2.4 The original manganese-coloured glass
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8.2.5 Original HLLA glass?
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8.3 Non-original medieval forest glass
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8.3.1 Non-original white forest glass (potash-lime)
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8.3.2 Non-original coloured forest glass (potash-lime)
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8.3.3 Non-original HLLA glass
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8.4 Summary of the compositional results
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9. Original white glass batches and their distribution in the window
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9.1 Identification of batches using compositional data
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9.1.1 Panel-by-panel identification
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9.1.2 The cross-window approach
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9.1.3 Significance of clusters
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9.2 Distribution of batches across the panels
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9.2.1 Row 1 panels (1e, 1h, 1j)
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9.2.2 Panel 3b
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9.2.3 Panel 10c
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9.2.4 Panel 10e
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9.2.5 Panel 10h
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9.2.6 Panel 15a
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9.2.7 Panel 15b
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9.2.8 Panel 15f
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9.2.9 Panel 15g
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9.2.10 Panel 15h
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9.3 Summary
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10. Recipes and procurement of the GEW glass
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10.1 White glass
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10.1.1 Provenance
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10.1.1.1 Consignments of white glass
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10.1.2 Customer-supplier relationship
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10.2 Coloured glass
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10.2.1 Regional provenance
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10.2.2 Glass-making technology
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10.2.3 Importation of European glass to England
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10.3 HLLA glass
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10.4 Summary
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11. Glass-painting and the organisation of production in John Thornton’s workshop
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11.1 The long-term progress of the glazing project
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11.2 The glazing table as a workspace
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11.3 The division of labour in the production of panels
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11.3.1 Taylorism-Fordism: the assembly line model
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11.3.2 Toyotism: the cellular model
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11.3.3 Panel production
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11.4 Workshop organisation
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11.4.1 The work of John Thornton?
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11.5 Summary
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12. Conclusions
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12.1 Development of a methodology
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12.1.1 The trace element methodology
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12.1.2 The WindoLyzer 5
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12.2 Glass-making and procurement of the glass
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12.3 The organisation of production in Thornton’s workshop
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12.4 A window to the past
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Appendix A. The Great East Window of York Minster: Supplementary materials and sampling
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A.1 The contract for the glazing of the GEW
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A.1.1 James Torre, English version
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A.1.2 Matthew Hutton (English translation)
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A.2 Timeline of the GEW
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A.3 Images and sampling
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Appendix B. Analytical methods: Supplementary information
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B.1 EPMA-WDS channels and crystals
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B.2 Empirical calibrations for the pXRF analyses
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Appendix C. UCL Reference Glasses AD1, AD2 and AD3, based on medieval forest glass compositions
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C.1 Preparation of the standards
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C.2 Elemental analysis by EPMA-WDS and LA-ICP-MS
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C.3 Recommended compositions based on elemental analysis
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Appendix D. Results of the chemical analyses
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Appendix E. Identification of batches
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E.1 Panel 1e
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E.2 Panel 1h
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E.3 Panel 1j
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E.4 Panel 3b
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E.5 Panel 10c
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E.6 Panel 10e
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E.7 Panel 10h
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E.8 Panel 15a
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E.9 Panel 15b
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E.10 Panel 15f
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E.11 Panel 15g
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E.12 Panel 15h
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References
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Back Cover
Citable Link
Published: 2022
Publisher: BAR Publishing
- 9781407358512 (ebook)
- 9781407358505 (paper)
BAR Number: B671