Scientific investigation of the paint and adhesive materials used in the Western Han dynasty polychromy terracotta army,Qingzhou, China |
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Authors: | Shuya Wei Qinglin Ma Manfred Schreiner |
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Institution: | 1. Institute of Natural Sciences and Technology in Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Schillerplatz 3, 1010 Vienna, Austria;2. Chinese Adademy of Cultural Heritage, Gaoyuan Street 2, Chao yang district, Beijing 100029, China |
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Abstract: | A royal tomb of early period of the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C–8 A.D) was excavated by archaeologists in Qingzhou County, Shandong Province in 2006. Over 2000 polychromy terracotta soldiers, horses, chariots, servants etc. were unearthed from the tomb. All the terracotta figures are one quarter or one sixth as large as the livings, most of them were painted with well designed patterns. In order to gain complete information about the materials and techniques used for the polychromy on the terracotta army, five samples from the painted areas were taken. In addition, one sample from the area to adhere one leg to the ploychromy horse body was also obtained. The analytical techniques applied include XRF, FTIR, Py-GC/MS and GC/MS. Chinese purple, cinnabar, lead red and ochre were used as pigments, while animal glue was identified as binding medium and adhesive in the polychromy terracotta army in the Han Dynasty. The results definitely will provide new evidence about the materials and technologies used in Han Dynasty. Especially, the binding medium identified is different in comparison with Qin Shihuang's terracotta army (259–210 BC). |
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Keywords: | Han dynasty Polychromy terracotta army GC/MS Binding medium Animal glue Pigments |
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