1824.] Analysis of the Metal of the Statue found at Lillebonne. 101 



Article IV. 



Analysis of the Metal of tlie Statue found at Lillebo)ine, near 

 Caudebec, in the Department of the Lower Seine, on an Estate 

 belonging to M. Holley. By M. Vauquelin.* 



M. Vauquelin received a portion of the metal from M. 

 Revers, who described the statue, and a further supply from the 

 proprietor, M. Holley. The whole quantity weighed about 340 

 grains. Its surface had a slight green coat of carbonate of 

 copper, and some traces of gilding still remained. Internally, 

 there were cavities lined with the green carbonate, and several 

 grains of metallic copper were disseminated through the mass. 



By treatment with diluted sulphuric acid, the red-brown 

 colour of the metal assumed at once a purple hue, which as the 

 liquor became clear changed to blue. Consequently the metal 

 did not consist wholly of protoxide of copper, as in that case the 

 acid would not have been coloured. 



Hydrochloric acid was scarcely coloured green by digestion 

 on the residuum ; the solution deposited on cooling crystals of 

 chloride of lead, and a considerable quantity of white proto- 

 muriate of copper. The remainder, which was perfectly metallic, 

 dissolved in nitric acid, leaving a residuum of white oxide of 

 tin. 



The separate analyses of several small portions of the metal 

 gave the proportion of lead always the same, whence M. Vau- 

 quelin concludes that it is uniformly distributed through the 

 whole mass, and not derived from solder, of which he could not 

 discover any indications on the portions sent to him.f He 

 supposes the lead to have been contained in the tin, with which 

 the copper was originally alloyed, and that its proportion to the 

 tin is as 1 : 4, a proportion very different from that employed 

 to form common solder, but nearly the same as is used by the 

 pewterers for their pewter. It may, indeed, be said that the 

 solder of the ancients was not like ours, and that their pewter 

 contained no lead ; but the contrary seems most probable. 



From the preceding experiments the metal appears to consist 

 of peroxide and protoxide of copper, metallic copper, lead, and 

 oxide of tin. 



M. Vauquelin found the proportion of the gold derived from 

 the gilding on the piece he received from M. Holley, to amount 

 to rather more than 1-1 000th part of its weight, a quantity so 

 small that he considers it could not have been applied bv means 

 of mercury, which penetrates to a certain depth into copper, and 

 other metals, when applied to them, and carries a portion of the 



• Extracted from the Annales de Cliimie. 



t M. Labillardiere, who flrtt examined the metal of the statue, attributes the lead to 

 the solder. 



