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Characteristics of the raw materials of glazed tile bodies in the southern area of the Bao'ensi site, Nanjing, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2022

Weijuan Zhao
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Dan Zhao
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Bo Wu
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Bo Li
Affiliation:
School of Physics and Microelectronics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Baohua Zhou
Affiliation:
Nanjing Research Institute of Archaeology, Nanjing 210001, China
Jianfeng Cui
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Museology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Qinlong Chen*
Affiliation:
School of History, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China

Abstract

The Nanjing Bao'ensi site is the largest and highest-ranking royal temple from the Ming Dynasty, and it is famous for its full-body glass pagoda. In this study, the glazed tiles excavated from the southern area of the Bao'ensi site were selected and analysed using X-ray diffraction, thermal dilation and energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence to determine their phase composition, firing temperature and chemical composition. The glazed tile bodies of the Bao'ensi site consist mainly of quartz and mullite, although some samples contain trace amounts of other minerals. All of the body samples were fired to the same temperature range (i.e. 1000–1100°C). The firing temperature combined with the phase composition indicate that the raw materials and firing process of the glazed tile body samples have similarities, but there are certain differences. The source of the raw materials for a portion of the glazed tile bodies is Dangtu, Anhui, whilst the source of the raw materials for the remaining materials remains to be discovered.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

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Footnotes

Associate Editor: M. Dondi

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