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Liritzis I, Cazottes S, Douillard T, Véron M, Roqué-Rosell J, Marini C, Das PP, Gomez-Perez A, Galanis AS, Nicolopoulos S, Manti P, Yang J, Zhang X. Nano-microcrystals revealed on Tang dynasty gilded bronze using advanced TEM-SEM and synchrotron methods. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:15758-15769. [PMID: 39109408 DOI: 10.1039/d4nr02030h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
Over the years, numerous gold and silver artifacts have been excavated from the tombs of the Tang dynasty, which give evidence of the sophisticated metalworking techniques at that time. Few of the artifacts were thoroughly studied and their manufacturing processes were barely known. The present investigation concerns a metal headgear from a newly excavated tomb of a female in Xi'an of the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), using advanced techniques in a complementary way, especially performing a detailed analysis of the corrosion products and alloying processes. The combined state-of-the-art methods and instrumentation used for the corrosion study included spectroscopy, diffraction, electron microscopy, synchrotron and their versions for specific measurements and sample preparation. The investigated headgear metal consists of a copper-based core, which is gilded by a thin gold layer, consisting of an Au-Hg alloy with a thin layer of about 400 nm. The technique used for shaping and hammered embellishments led to the creation of nanosized grains on the side that would eventually be the interior of the headgear. It was gilded using the mercury-amalgamation process, and the liquid diffusion caused the development of intermetallic compounds. This is the first recorded instance of these nano-scale and eutectic phases being observed on objects from an archaeological context. The crystallographic analysis offered valuable insights into the formation of needle-like malachite crystals growing on a layer of cuprite found on the surface of the corroded piece. The results highlight that the artisans utilized advanced methods in the creation of funerary items during the Tang dynasty.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ioannis Liritzis
- Laboratory of Yellow River Cultural Heritage, Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation Center on Yellow River Civilization, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, Minglun Road 85, China.
- Alma Mater Europaea (AMEU) - ECM, Slovenska Ulica 17, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Sophie Cazottes
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, CNRS, MATEIS, UMR 5510, 69621, 20 Avenue Albert Einstein, Villeurbanne Cedex 69621, France
| | - Thierry Douillard
- Univ Lyon, INSA Lyon, CNRS, MATEIS, UMR 5510, 69621, 20 Avenue Albert Einstein, Villeurbanne Cedex 69621, France
| | - Muriel Véron
- SIMAP Laboratory, CNRS-Grenoble INP, BP 46 101 rue de la Physique, 38402 Saint Martin d'Hères, France
| | | | - Carlo Marini
- ALBA Synchrotron Light Source & Univ. of Barcelona, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | - Panagiota Manti
- Department of Environment, Ionian University, Zakynthos, Greece
| | - Junchang Yang
- Research Centre of Material Science and Archaeology, Institute of Culture and Heritage, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Xiangyu Zhang
- Xi'an Institute of Conservation and Archaeology, 710068, Xi'an, China
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Loboda AY, Kolobylina NN, Tereshchenko EY, Murasheva VV, Shevtsov AO, Vasilev AL, Retivov VM, Kashkarov PK, Yatsishina EB. Study of the Gilding Technology of the “Idol” from the 10th Century Mound “Chernaya Mogila” (“Black Grave”). CRYSTALLOGR REP+ 2018. [DOI: 10.1134/s1063774518060214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Angelini E, Batmaz A, de Caro T, Faraldi F, Grassini S, Ingo GM, Riccucci C. The role of surface analysis in the strategies for conservation of metallic artefacts from the Mediterranean Basin. SURF INTERFACE ANAL 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/sia.5512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- E. Angelini
- Department of Applied Science and Technology; Politecnico di Torino; Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24 10129 Torino Italy
| | - A. Batmaz
- Department of Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology; Ege University; TR 35100 Bornova İzmir Turkey
| | - T. de Caro
- Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials; Italian National Research Council; 00016 Monterotondo Scalo Roma Italy
| | - F. Faraldi
- Department of Applied Science and Technology; Politecnico di Torino; Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24 10129 Torino Italy
| | - S. Grassini
- Department of Applied Science and Technology; Politecnico di Torino; Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24 10129 Torino Italy
| | - G. M. Ingo
- Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials; Italian National Research Council; 00016 Monterotondo Scalo Roma Italy
| | - C. Riccucci
- Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials; Italian National Research Council; 00016 Monterotondo Scalo Roma Italy
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Figueiredo E, Araújo M, Silva R, Senna-Martinez J, Inês Vaz J. Characterisation of Late Bronze Age large size shield nails by EDXRF, micro-EDXRF and X-ray digital radiography. Appl Radiat Isot 2011; 69:1205-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2011] [Revised: 04/26/2011] [Accepted: 04/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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