The Spectral and Technology Studies of Faience Beads Unearthed in Hubei Province During Warring States Period
HE Yan1, TAO Ran1, YANG Ming-xing1, 2*
1. Gemmological Institute，China University of Geosciences （Wuhan），Wuhan 430074，China
2. Gemstone Testing Center, China University of Geosciences （Wuhan）, Wuhan 430074，China
Abstract：Faience is a glass-like material composed of quartz, fusing and coloring agents. It is one of the earliest artificial materials, first appearing in West Asia 5 000 years ago and is usually made into beads. After being introduced to Central China via the Grassland Silk Road, the Faience beads grew in popularity there during the Western and Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Chinese ancient people learned and kept improving the manufacturing technology of faience beads for hundreds of years. This article selected the faience beads of the warring states period excavated from Zenghou Yi tomb and Xiongjiazhong tomb in Hubei province for testing. Various methods were used to determine the spectroscopy characteristic and manufacturing technology of the samples, including conventional gemological tests, microscopic imaging, Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS). The results revealed that the brown faience beads of the Zenghou Yi tomb differed from the blue and green faience beads of the Xiongjiazhong tomb in their composition. The boundary between the glaze and main body, porosity and fragmentation of the beads could be seen in the microscopic image. In addition, there is a small amorphous part on the glaze layer of the bead from the Xiongjiazhong tomb. LRS was used on the blue glaze layer of the beads from the Xiongjiazhong tomb and the spectrum's composite. 128, 207, 362, 468, 692, 797, and 1 188 cm-1 were the characteristic peaks of quartz, and 979 cm-1 was the characteristic peak of calcium phosphate. The formation of calcium phosphate may be due to the plant ashes in the fusing agent. The peaks at 590 and 1 066 cm-1 were related to CuSiO3·H2O. 3 346 and 3 435 cm-1 were characteristic peaks of water. The results of SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-MS showed that there were more impurity substances in the material of the faience beads from Zenghou Yi tomb, and they had a higher content of S element, which indicated the glaze layer might use copper sulfide ores. Meanwhile, the material of the faience beads from the Xiongjiazhong tomb was pure, and the main body was composed of a large number of pure quartz sands, with white quartz weathered layer on the surface. It can be indicated that the faience beads from Zenghou Yi and Xiongjiazhong tombs were not from the same production center, and the manufacturing technology of the latter was advanced. There could be multiple production centers of faience beads in China during the Warring States period.
何 琰，陶 然，杨明星. 战国时期湖北出土费昂斯珠谱学特征及工艺技术研究[J]. 光谱学与光谱分析, 2023, 43(12): 3700-3709.
HE Yan, TAO Ran, YANG Ming-xing. The Spectral and Technology Studies of Faience Beads Unearthed in Hubei Province During Warring States Period. SPECTROSCOPY AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS, 2023, 43(12): 3700-3709.
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