Evidence for local,regional and interregional exchange networks on Failaka: Some remarks on late Islamic pottery from Kharaib al-Dasht

The site of Kharaib al-Dasht, located on the northern coast of Failaka, is a late Islamic settlement with an extensive fishing infrastructure. It has been excavated since 2013 by the Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission. The ceramic assemblage collected so far exceeds 18,000 fragments. The sherds underwent technological and typological analyses, which demonstrated a wide diversity of local common kitchen wares, consistent with the needs of households specialised in fishing. A considerable percentage of imported vessels was brought to Failaka from the Arabian Gulf and Persia, though Far Eastern luxury tableware was also attested. This paper demonstrates the socioeconomic role of Kharaib al-Dasht in the context of trade exchange on the microregional (Kuwait) and macroregional (the Gulf, South and Eastern Asia) scales in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.     

The Chemical Composition and Production Area of Early Western Zhou Proto‐Porcelain Unearthed from Yejiashan Cemetery,Suizhou, China

The bodies and glazes of 27 early Western Zhou proto‐porcelain samples from Yejiashan cemetery, Hubei Province, were analysed using LA‐ICP–AES, SEM, XRD, a thermal expansion instrument and other analytical methods. The results indicated that the bodies of all samples were characterized by high silicon and low aluminium, and were made with porcelain stone raw materials found in the south of China. The glazes are typical of high‐temperature calcium glazes of the CaO (MgO) – K₂O (Na₂O) – Al₂O₃ – SiO₂ series, with relatively high Mn and P content, which was probably caused by the addition of plant ashes. The physical properties and phase compositions of Yejiashan proto‐porcelain show that firing processes were still in the early stages of development in ancient China. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that Yejiashan proto‐porcelain might have come from the Deqing area, in Zhejiang Province. These results provide new archaeological evidence for research on issues related to material flow in the Western Zhou dynasty.     

Tracing the origin of Chinese early white porcelain in the late sixth century—evidence from Xing kiln

As the criterion used by archaeologists for determining early white porcelain is quite ambiguous, the origin of Chinese white porcelain remains a point of disagreement. In this study, we systematically investigate 61 typical Xing porcelains of the late Northern dynasties to the early Sui dynasty (550–600 CE) using spectrophotometer, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and analyze the differences between early white porcelain and celadon of Xing kiln in terms of their whiteness and raw materials characteristic. The results show that early white porcelain is a new type of ware that differs from celadon, which can be distinguished by whiteness, with a whiteness greater than 8% being early white porcelain and a whiteness less than 8% being celadon. It is assumed that the ancient potters created the whiter wares based on celadon by improving the glaze and selecting new raw materials for the body, but the production of this type of ware was short lived and subsequently refined in the Sui dynasty (581–618 CE) owing to the limited improvement in whiteness.     

提升出水瓷器脱盐效率的方法研究

研究了几种在传统浸泡法的基础上提高出水瓷器脱盐效率的方法,电导率测试结果、XRF检测结果以及硝酸银定性分析结果表明,这几种方法均可以在一定程度上提高瓷器脱盐效率,压缩传统浸泡脱盐法所需的时间。     

江西纪年墓出土明代景德镇民窑青花瓷研究

本文在对江西各地出土的116件明代景德镇纪年青花瓷标本进行器物形制、胎质釉色、装饰纹样分析的基础上,提出民窑可按照其自身发展大致分为早、中、晚三期。     

新发现的古代瓷器铭文款识考辨

文章对" 色瓶"、" 公用"等几款新发现的古代瓷器铭文作了分析和考证,为中国瓷器发展史补充了珍贵的资料。     

西夏语“头项”词义考

以往学界认为有关西夏汉文文献中的"头项"意为"头领、首领",也是西夏的一种军事组织,这一认识并不准确。传世汉文西夏文献中的"头项"乃是"头绪、种类"等义,而西夏文文献中的"头项"则是"事宜、事项"的意思,可以用作"同位语"。同一常用词在夏汉文本中词义的不对等,说明西夏语在词义衍生的思维模式层面与汉语是不一致的。     

“长江口二号”沉船出水青花瓷中的污染物研究

位于长江入海口的“长江口二号”清代沉船是中国目前发现的保存最为完整的古代木制沉船之一，已于2022年11月完成整体打捞。在进行水下考古调查时，沉船出水的部分青花瓷出现的病害现象引起了考古工作者的关注，特别是裂纹中黑色污染物及表面铁锈状污染物对文物的外观产生了很大影响。本工作选取了三件具有典型被污染特征的青花瓷标本作为代表，使用能量色散X射线荧光分析(EDXRF)、光学显微镜(OM)、X射线衍射分析(XRD)、拉曼光谱分析(Raman)和扫描电子显微镜-能谱分析(SEM-EDS)等方法，对污染物进行了研究，探讨了其形成原因以及环境的影响作用，并对其潜在危害进行了分析。研究表明，污染物主要以方解石、菱铁矿等碳酸盐以及铁的氧化物、氢氧化物和硫化物为主。长期处于河口淤泥中的还原性环境是导致菱铁矿和亚稳的铁硫化物形成的原因，船体中铁质构件腐蚀对局部环境的污染是重要的影响因素，这也反映出被污染的青花瓷所处位置和环境的特殊性。出水的部分青花瓷釉中裂纹的形态表明其形成是由物理撞击造成，而釉中硅灰石晶体的选择性腐蚀会导致腐蚀坑的形成，裂纹和腐蚀坑均为外部污染物进入釉层内部提供了通道，导致瓷器劣化。出水后...     

Peck-Marked Vessels from the San José Market Street Chinatown: A Study of Distribution and Significance

Ceramic bowls and plates with Chinese characters pecked into their surfaces are documented on almost every nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Chinatown site in California. Typically, these vessels are said to bear marks of ownership, and further analysis has been uncommon. Given the socio-political atmosphere surrounding Chinese immigration and labor during this time period, as well as the cultural relevance of this marking practice, it is the author's belief that this explanation is incomplete. Through analysis of archaeological materials from the Market Street Chinatown in San José, California, this paper explores the possibility that Chinese immigrants were using and hybridizing the familiar Chinese cultural practice of marking vessels to aid in creating an environment within the Chinatown that was both more comfortable and more livable.     

再论“张昂监造”贡瓷的烧造年代——兼与李放先生商榷

1997年底,江西省文物考古研究所在景德镇湖田窑豪猪岭宋代地层发掘出土了一块外底刻有“迪功郎浮梁县丞臣张昂措置监造”铭的青瓷瓶底。对这块瓶底刻铭的考证,关系宋代景德镇湖田窑的贡瓷地位与年代问题。本文从这块刻铭瓶底的出土地层及其共存遗物、历史文献中有关张昂的史料记载、宋代官制中关于迪功郎官阶的设置、关于县丞职位的设置等方面对张昂以迪功郎官阶出任浮梁县丞一职的时代展开全面探讨,得出张昂在景德镇监造贡瓷的时代约在北宋政和六年(1116)至重和元年(1119)短短三年之内的结论。