https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-020-00634-y
Regular Article
Inlaid materials and techniques of an ancient Chinese bronze mirror
1
School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, 710069, Xi’an, China
2
Xi’an Institute of Conservation and Archaeology, 710068, Xi’an, China
3
Chang’an Museum, 710100, Xi’an, China
Received:
2
February
2020
Accepted:
27
July
2020
Published online:
18
August
2020
A bronze mirror was unearthed at Xi’an, China, the capital of the Sui dynasty (581–618 AD). The utilized inlay technique is unique and no similar mirrors have been found in China. This study analyzed the structure and composition of the inlays via digital microscopy, metallography, scanning electron microscopy and energy disperse spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy. The results identified the mirror as a casted high-tin bronze, and each inlaid block included four layers: a mineral base layer (clay and raw lacquer), a gold leaf layer (made of native gold), a pigment layer (malachite and minium) and a glass layer (high-lead glass and sodium-calcium glass). The soda-lime glass is a plant ash glass that likely originated from the Sassanid area. The utilized techniques involved the two crafts of gold pasting (Tie Jin) and pigment filling (Tian Cai). Pigment filling was rarely used in bronze works of the Sui dynasty. This study provides new information on the ancient Chinese bronze mirror-making technology.
© Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
