Wugan Luo

Leather material found on a 6th B.C. Chinese bronze sword: a technical study.

During July to November, 2006, an important archaeological excavation was conducted in Yun country, Hubei province, southern China. Chinese archaeologists found some remnant of leather materials, covered with red pigments, on a 6th century B.C. Chinese bronze sword. To understand the technology/ies that may have been utilized for manufacturing the leathers, a combined of Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR and XRF was thus applied to the remnant of leather materials. Raman analyses showed that red pigment on the leather was cinnabar (HgS). FT-IR and XRF analyses indicated that the content of some elements, such as Ca (existing as CaCO3) and Fe (existing as Fe2O3), were much higher than those in the surrounding grave soil. The results inferred an application of lime depilation and retting, and the Fe-Al compound salt as tanning agent. And it was furthermore implicated that the Fe-Al salt tanning technique had been developed in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period of China.

New insights into the role of Mn and Fe in coloring origin of blue decorations of blue-and-white porcelains by XANES spectroscopy

Blue and white porcelain is one of the most valuable ancient ceramics varieties in ancient China. It is well known for its beautiful blue decorations. However, the origin of its blue color has not been very clear till now. In this research, two blue and white porcelains from Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province were selected and Mn and Fe K-edge XANES spectra were recorded from blue decorations with or without transparent glaze. Results showed that Mn K-edge XANES features were almost identical between different samples while that of iron changed. The above findings indicated the positive role of iron in the variation of blue decorations. As for manganese, although more system researches were need, its negative role on the variations of the tone of blue decorations was obtained. On the other hand, the paper also revealed the XAFS results will be affect by the glaze layer above the pigment. These findings provided us more information to understand the coloring origin of blue decorations of blue-and-white porcelain by means of XANES spectroscopy.

The features as a county of Chu State: chemical and metallurgical characteristics of the bronze artifacts from the Bayilu site

Twenty bronze samples from the Bayilu site (Nanyang City, Henan Province) were analyzed and compared to contemporaneous bronze artifacts. This study attempts to find out metallurgical and isotopic characteristics of the Bayilu bronzes. The results suggest the bronze artifacts are Cu-Sn-Pb alloys. Most of the bronzes were cast without secondary processing. Five samples were forged and annealed after casting, and three samples might be annealed and forged. Lead isotope data of the samples display a large range. High amount of Ag and Sb may be a trace elemental signature of the Bayilu bronzes. The major elements, the manufacture process, the lead isotope ratios, and the trace elements all have diversities. Compared to contemporary bronze artifacts, some of the samples show characteristics of the bronzes of Chu State. It indicates Shen County might be involved in the political and economic system of Chu State. It is also possible that some of the Bayilu bronzes are imported from somewhere outside Chu State. Combined with the historical background of Shen County, the diversity of the bronzes may be a signature as a border county.

The bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site and the political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain: an application of lead isotope analysis

Lead isotope ratios of 15 Chinese bronze artifacts from the Yejiashan site (Suizhou City, Hubei Province) were analyzed and compared with copper ores across China. This study attempts to provide a new perspective to discuss the role that Zeng State played among all the vassal states in the early Zhou dynasty (ca. 1046–977 BC). The political presence of the Zhou dynasty in the middle Yangtze Plain is another main content of this paper. The lead isotopic characteristics of Chinese bronze artifacts between different historical periods are also in the scope of the study. By comparison, the lead isotopic ratios of the tested bronzes and copper deposits in the north Jiangxi Province show numerous overlaps. It indicates that the tested bronzes might have a single ore source, and this source was in the south of the Zhou dynasty. Combined with history and archaeological records, it is highly likely that the middle Yangtze Plain might be a part of the Zhou dynasty since the very beginning. Moreover, Zeng State might have a great influence in the ancient middle Yangtze Plain, and the nobles of Zeng State might even have authority to supervise certain area extending to Jiujiang. As lead isotopes of the bronzes appear to show a clear relation to chronology, the change of lead isotope patterns across times may further serve to distinguish the bronzes of the Western Zhou dynasty from the late Shang ones.

Sourcing copper ores for production of bronzes excavated at Shuangyantang, a Western Zhou (1046-771 BC) site in Chongqing (Southwest China): evidence from lead isotope analysis

Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and lead isotope analyses were applied to 12 Western Zhou (1046–771 bc) bronzes unearthed from the Shuangyantang site in Wushan County, Chongqing (southwest China), to investigate their chemical compositions and possible mineral source(s). The results showed that (1) the investigated bronzes were mostly bronzes with low, common lead and (2) their lead isotopic values almost all fall into a relatively narrow range, suggesting possibly the use of raw materials from a common copper mine. The comparison between lead isotopic values for Shuangyantang bronzes and those already published for copper mines and other bronzes produced and used about at the same times leads us to believe that the Shuangyantang bronzes probably used the same copper ores as used in bronzes from the Peng and Jin states in Shanxi Province. However, it would not be possible at this point to come up with a clear idea of where exactly these copper ores may come from. Candidate copper mines might be the Tonglvshan mines in Hubei Province, the Zhongtiaoshan mines in Shanxi Province, or the Dajing copper mines in Inner Mongolia.

The Nondestructive Identification of Printing Pigments in Bank Notes Issued by Yantai XiGongshun, the Republic of China

Two kinds of bank note issued by YanTai XiGongShun, the Republic of China, are collected by Laboratory of Printing History, School of Printing and Packaging Engineering, Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication. The colors on these bank notes are bright and the patterns and signs can be easily recognized. All bank notes are of the elongated shape, and are printed with bank name, par value, circulation area, anti-counterfeiting characters and decorative pictures in the front of the bank notes. The two colors on these bank notes were analyzed using laser Raman microscopy, and the results showed that the red, blue and green pigments are cinnabar, Lapis lazuli, respectively.