Yimin Yang

The jade inlays on bronze artifacts were popular in southwest China during the late Bronze Age. However, the identification of the adhesives employed is limited. At the Dayuanzi Cemetery, located in Shizong county, there are many bronze bracelets and decorative buttons inlaid with numerous small malachite beads and/or white agate. In this study, black and white adhesive samples were collected from 18 bronzeware and characterized through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Plant white wax from Chinese tallow tree seeds is also analyzed for comparison. The results reveal that the black adhesives are mainly made of drying oils, and the white adhesives should be a kind of insect white wax, but not traditional Chinese wax. This finding is the earliest chemical evidence of exploiting insect white wax in China. This study provides essential background information and a foundational understanding of bronze decoration craftsmanship and contributes to future preservation and restoration efforts.

Plant fibers are the core raw materials of traditional East Asian handmade papers. For their identification, microscopic observation has been conventionally conducted relying on fiber staining combined with optical microscopy. Comparatively, polarized light microscopy (PLM) has long been underutilized, especially in the study of ancient East Asian paper relics. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the feasibility of PLM in characterizing fiber optical properties and identifying morphological features, which can be used to distinguish bast fibers in traditional Chinese handmade paper production. As a result, the differences in microfibril angle (MFA) and the effects of alkali treatment on the samples suggest that color changes in the sign of elongation (SE) can serve as indicators for fiber evaluation and characterization, though nuance differences await further exploration. Methodologically, the cross-polarized light (CPL) mode detects optical characteristics (SE and Herzog tests), while the single-polarized light (SPL) mode captures morphological details. This combined approach can effectively distinguish different papermaking bast fibers, offering a micro-destructive technique for identifying plant fibers in East Asian handmade papers and fibrous relics in antiquity.

Turquoise glazed wares originating from West Asia offer insights into the history of ceramic technology exchange across Eurasia. Although the imitation of the West Asian turquoise glaze by ancient Chinese potters has been widely discussed, the eastward spread of the turquoise glaze and its contribution to Chinese glaze formulas are less well understood, especially the formula transformation that emerged during the Mongol Empire (the 13th–14th centuries ce ). In this study, four turquoise glazed sherds (9th–14th century ce ) from the Tangchaodun site, Northwest China, were characterized by a combination of μ‐XRF, SEM‐EDS, and Raman spectral mapping analysis. The results fill the gap that different turquoise glazed wares spread to China via the Land Silk Road. Moreover, it is suggested that there are two episodes in which turquoise glazes spread into China. First, western lead–alkali turquoise glaze technology was likely assimilated under Mongol's influence, and subsequently, Chinese potters pioneered the development of local lead‐potash glazes with Chinese traditions during the second half of the 13th century ce . Second, the introduction of the alkali glaze resulted in the innovation of a local potash‐rich type. They both ultimately had a profound impact on the later Fahua glaze.