Spall
- A small fragment of a fragile art work with jagged edges.
- “Small fragments of glass, pottery, stone or other brittle object with a sharp or ragged edge (AAT 2004).”
- “An irregular sized chip or fragment from a ceramic, masonry, stone, or ore surface.’ ‘Spalling, or breaking up, of the surfaces are often induced by freeze-thaw action, corrosion, or salt formation (MFA Boston 2013).”
- “Defect in repeatedly fired clay materials where outer layers shrink and peel away—most often occurs in kiln hot-face when refractories are repeatedly fired beyond their rated temperature (Ceramic Arts Daily 2014).”
Related Terms[edit | edit source]
Synonyms in English[edit | edit source]
flake/flaking (Note: refer to flaking definition.)
"exfoliation and scaling" (MFA Boston 2013)
Translation (Homepage n.d.)
| Language | Translation |
|---|---|
| Arabic | شظية |
| English | spall |
| French | Le Morceau |
| German | splitt |
| Italian | frammento |
| Portuguese | Lascar |
| Russian | обломок |
| Spanish | fragmento |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 碎片 |
Discussion
In climates where stone or ceramic items rest outside and are exposed to the elements on a regular basis (i.e. buildings that have gargoyles on their roofs or ceramic pots for plants), they are more at risk for spalling. “Freeze-thaw cycles can result in spalling, or delamination of the stone surface, eventually leaving no more than a shapeless mass in a relatively short amount of time (Encyclopedia Britannica Online 2015).”
This can also happen with ceramics where there is a “defect in repeatedly fired clay materials where outer layers shrink and peel away—most often occurs in kiln hot-face when refractories are repeatedly fired beyond their rated temperature (Ceramic Arts Daily 2014).”
References[edit | edit source]
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, s. v. "art conservation and restoration", accessed March 23, 2015, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/36477/art-conservation-and-restoration/225802/Stone-sculpture.
Homepage. Google Translate. Accessed March 19, 2015. https://translate.google.com/?hl=en.
MFA Boston. "Spall." CAMEO. Last modified July 24, 2013. Accessed March 22, 2015. http://cameo.mfa.org/wiki/Spall.
Ovoid jar decorated with scale pattern in red. Photograph. MFA Boston. April 20, 2013. Accessed March 22, 2015. http://cameo.mfa.org/images/thumb/8/81/Image3_802414.jpg/180px-Image3_802414.jpg
“Spall.” In Art & Architecture Thesaurus. J. Paul Getty Trust, 2004. Accessed March 22, 2015. http://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?find=spall&logic=AND¬e=&english=N&prev_page=1&subjectid=300343517
"Spalling." In Glossary. Ceramic Arts Daily, 2014. Last modified 2007-2014. Accessed March 22, 2015. http://ceramicartsdaily.org/glossary/spalling/.
CPaine (talk) 22:22, 28 March 2015 (CDT) *Note: photo added before the rest of my additions
