Analysis and Research on the Pigments of Mural Painting Layer in the SanHuang Temple
YAN Hai-hong1, ZHANG Xin-rui2, ZHANG Qun-xi3, SUN Feng1*, DONG Wen-qiang4
1. School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest University, Xi'an 710127, China
2. Institute of Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
3. Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an 710061, China
4. Institute of Culture and Heritage，Northwestern Polytechnical University，Xi'an 710072，China
Abstract SanHuang Temple is located in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, and houses three ancient emperors: Fuxi, Shennong, and Huangdi. The walls were originally painted with exquisite murals. It is the product of integrating ancient Chinese traditional medicine and Confucianism, which has great art and academic research value. However, SanHuang Temple has experienced wind and rain in natural preservation, and its status is precarious. To identify and analyze the materials for the construction of murals in the SanHuang Temple and to provide a scientific basis for the acquisition of the original information of the murals and subsequent protection and restoration, the tiny pigment samples taken from the SanHuang Temple were analyzed by comprehensive analysis methods such as the ultra-depth-of-field microscope, scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction analyzer (XRD), micro-laser Raman. The results show that the red pigments include lead, cinnabar and hematite, and the main colour components of black stains are carbon black mixed with Prussian blue. The blue tint is synthetic ultramarine blue, the green pigment is a mixture of Paris green and titanium dioxide, and the main component of the pigment base layer is dihydrate gypsum. The scientific and technological analysis of mural production materials shows that the SanHuang Temple's murals have been historically restored. The restoration age is relatively late, and there was the use of mixed pigments in the restoration, among which the mixed use of carbon black and Prussian blue is the first time to be found in the mural, which provides a basis for the research on the production materials and repair history of the SanHuang Temple murals in Shaanxi Province, and provides scientific and technological support for the later mural protection, restoration and restoration display, which has critical cultural relics protection significance.
Corresponding Authors:
SUN Feng
E-mail: sunfeng@nwu.edu.cn
Cite this article:
YAN Hai-hong,ZHANG Xin-rui,ZHANG Qun-xi, et al. Analysis and Research on the Pigments of Mural Painting Layer in the SanHuang Temple[J]. SPECTROSCOPY AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS, 2024, 44(07): 1889-1895.
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