The Tang Dynasty lasted from 618 to 907 AD and is considered to have
been a golden age in Chinese history, with a large number of archaeological
sites producing a wide range of cultural artefacts, particularly high quality
polychrome pottery. Previous studies have identified many of the pigments used
in this pottery, as minerals such as cinnabar, apatite and malachite, but the
nature of the agent used to bind these pigments has remained unclear.
In a paper published in the Chinese Science Bulletin on 18 April
2013, Yan HogTao and An JingJing of the College of Chemistry and Materials
Science at Northwest University, Zhou Tie of the Key Scientific Research Base
of Ancient Polychrome Pottery Conservation at the State Administration for Cultural Heritage and Museum of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Terracotta Army and Li
YuHu of the Engineering Research Center of Historical Cultural Heritage
Conservation at Shaanxi Normal University describe the results of a study
designed to identify the binding agent in Tang Dynasty polychrome pottery.
An example of polychrome pottery of the Tang Dynasty. Yan
et al. (2013).
Yan et al. collected
polychrome layers from pottery fragments from the collection of the Research
Center of Historical Cultural Heritage Conservation at Shaanxi Normal University,
then extracted proteins from these using ultrasonic baths and centrifuging.
These protein samples were then analysed by mass spectrometry, and compared to
results from model samples used by mixing cinnabar, azurite, malachite and
apatite with egg and animal derived glues.
The results for the Tang Dynasty specimens produced a close match
with the animal glue derived model samples, leading Yan et al. to conclude that the Tang Dynasty potters were most likely
using an animal based glue as a binding agent for pigments in their work. This
is consistent with pigments used in pottery from a number of other periods in
China, suggesting that there has been a long and consistent preference for such
agents in Chinese art.
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