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Nondestructive Analysis of Dragonfly Eye Beads from the Warring States Period, Excavated from a Chu Tomb at the Shenmingpu Site, Henan Province, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2013

Yimin Yang ,
Lihua Wang ,
Shuya Wei ,
Guoding Song ,
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer ,
Tiqiao Xiao ,
Jian Zhu  and
Changsui Wang
Yimin Yang
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Human Evolution, IVPP, Beijing, China Department of Scientific History and Archaeometry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Lihua Wang
Affiliation:
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Shuya Wei
Affiliation:
Institute for Natural Sciences and Technologies in Arts, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria
Guoding Song
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Human Evolution, IVPP, Beijing, China Department of Scientific History and Archaeometry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI, USA
Tiqiao Xiao
Affiliation:
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Jian Zhu
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Human Evolution, IVPP, Beijing, China Department of Scientific History and Archaeometry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Changsui Wang*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Human Evolution, IVPP, Beijing, China Department of Scientific History and Archaeometry, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Dragonfly eye beads are considered to be the earliest types of glass objects in China, and in the past have been considered as evidence of culture interaction or trade between West and East Asia. In this article, synchrotron radiation microcomputed tomography and μ-probe energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence were used to determine the chemical composition, microstructure, and manufacturing technology of four dragonfly eye beads, excavated from a Chu tomb at the Shenmingpu site, Henan Province, China, dated stylistically to the Middle and Late Warring State Period (475 bc–221 bc). First, a nondestructive method was used to differentiate the material types including faience (glazed quartz), frit, glazed pottery (clay ceramic), and glass. Three beads were identified as faience and one bead as glazed pottery. The glaze recipe includes quartz, saltpeter, plant ash, and various copper, and is classified as belonging to the K2O-CaO-SiO2 glass system, which indicates that these beads were not imported from the West. Based on computed tomography slices, the manufacturing technology of the faience eye beads appears to include the use of an inner core, molding technology, and the direct application glazing method. These manufacturing features are consistent with the techniques used in China during this same time period for bronze mold-casting, proto-porcelain, and glass.

Keywords

dragonfly eye beadsfaienceancient Chinese glassEDXRFSR-μCT
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 335 - 343
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2013

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