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Chemical and Isotopic Analysis in the Investigation of Glazes from Northern China and the Middle East, 7Th-14Th Centuries AD

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Chemical and Isotopic Analysis in the Investigation of Glazes from Northern China and the Middle East, 7Th-14Th Centuries AD Shen, Jingyi (2017) Chemical and isotopic analysis in the investigation of glazes from Northern China and the Middle East, 7th-14th centuries AD. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. Access from the University of Nottingham repository: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/48201/1/Jingyi%20Shen%20thesis%20corrected.pdf Copyright and reuse: The Nottingham ePrints service makes this work by researchers of the University of Nottingham available open access under the following conditions. This article is made available under the University of Nottingham End User licence and may be reused according to the conditions of the licence. For more details see: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/end_user_agreement.pdf For more information, please contact [email protected] UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM Chemical and isotopic analysis in the investigation of glazes from Northern China and the Middle East, 7th-14th centuries AD by Jingyi Shen BSc, MA March 2017 Thesis submitted to The University of Nottingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy i ii Abstract Both Chinese and Islamic glazed ceramics played a significant role in the history of ancient ceramic production. Moreover, it was innovation in glazes that made the Chinese and Islamic ceramics constantly innovative in various categories with different manufacturing techniques. This study applies chemical and isotopic analyses to investigate the manufacturing techniques and provenances of different types of glazes from Northern China and the Middle East, and extends the use of Sr isotopic analysis to investigate raw materials and glaze recipes used to making lime/alkaline glazes in Northern China and the Middle East for the first time. By chemical compositions of the lead glazes, the glazing techniques used to produce Chinese Tang Sancai lead glazes and splashed lead glazes from the Middle East have been identified. The mixture of lead oxide plus quartz/quartz sand was used for making both Chinese Tang Sancai glazes and Islamic splashed lead glazes. Besides, for the Chinese lead glazes, the trace element and lead isotopic analyses of them have been effective in grouping glazes made in different production kiln sites, and hence associating the Tang Sancai wares excavated from archaeological sites of unknown origin with their production centres. Furthermore, by comparing the lead isotopic ratios of Islamic lead glazes and those of lead ore deposits, the possible sources of lead used for making lead glazes can be determined, although more than one source was suggested due to the overlap of Pb isotopic ratios of different lead ore sources in some cases. This study is the first time that Sr isotopic analysis has been applied to the lime/alkaline glazes from Northern China and the Middle East. It has revealed that Sr isotopic compositions of lime/alkaline glazes from Northern China and the Middle East have been very effective in providing information on the glaze recipes and characteristics of raw materials used for I making them. Based on Sr isotopic compositions, the case study of Nothern Chinese lime glaze has identified that the Yaozhou celadon glaze was probably produced by local ‘Fuping glaze stone’ combined with botanic ash. Besides, the case study of the Middle East alkaline glaze has suggested that the Raqqa ware glaze was probably made by ‘Cenozoic sand’ containing a certain content of limestone grains and feldspar and that botanic ash was used as a flux. Keywords: Tang Sancai lead glaze, Islamic splashed lead glaze, Yaozhou celadon glaze, Raqqa ware glaze, Northern China, the Middle East, chemical composition analysis, Pb isotopic analysis, Sr isotopic analysis II Acknowledgement I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Julian Henderson, for his guidance, understanding, support and encouragement during my PhD study. His great supervision and constant passion for archaeological research has enlightened my research and will benefit my future career in archaeology undoubtedly. I think that my PhD study went so well was because Professor Henderson always gives the helpful instruction whenever I need it. My sincere thanks also extend to Dr Jane Evans of the NERC Isotope Geosciences and Dr Simon Chenery of the Analytical Geochemical Laboratories in British Geological Survey, for their professional guidance and endless patience during my laboratory training in lead and strontium analysis, trace element analysis, and preparation of my sample. They also gave me academic suggestions and comments on my research. I would also like to thank Dr Edward Faber at the Department of Archaeology for his support and assistance during the EPMA- WDS analysis. The ceramic samples analysed in this project came from some museums and institutes, and each one was extremely helpful. Sincerely thanks to: Department of Cultural Heritage, the Northwest University, China; Xi’an City Institute of Archaeology, China; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK. I am also grateful for NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory, British Geological Survey for funding Professor Julian Henderson and Doctor Jane Evans to carry out this PhD training project for me on the lead and strontium analysis, and special gratitude is also given the University of Nottingham for funding me to fulfil my dream to study ceramics as a PhD student. III I also appropriate all my friends and the members of the Department of Archaeology who have supported me and helped me a lot in both academic and life. Finally, I would like to express my thanks and love to my parent, for their endless love and support for me during my PhD study aboard. I am also indebted to my beloved husband JI- Peng Wang, for his tireless support and caring. IV Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................. I Acknowledgement .............................................................................................. III Table of Contents ................................................................................................. V Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aims, objectives and research questions ...................................................................... 6 1.3 The research subjects and thesis structure .................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 The Introduction to glazed ceramics from Northern China and the Middle East ......................................................................................................... 10 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 10 2.2 The introduction to Chinese lead glazed ceramics ..................................................... 11 2.2.1 Chinese lead glazed ceramics ...................................................................................... 11 2.2.2 Tang Sancai wares ....................................................................................................... 14 2.2.3 Introduction to Chinese sites where the Tang Sancai lead glazes in this study were excavated ............................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.4 Previous scientific studies of Tang Sancai wares ........................................................ 23 2.3 Islamic glazed ceramics from the Middle East ........................................................... 26 2.3.1 Islamic glazed ceramics ............................................................................................... 26 2.3.2 Coloured monochrome-glazed wares ........................................................................... 31 2.3.3 Lead-glazed splashed ceramics .................................................................................... 32 2.3.4 Introduction to archaeological sites of Syria and Iraq where the Islamic glazes in this study were excavated from ................................................................................................... 34 2.3.5 Previous scientific studies of glazes from Al-Raqqa, Kish and Hira ........................... 40 2.4 The introduction to green stoneware of Northern China ............................................ 42 2.4.1 The brief history of green stoneware of Northern China ............................................. 42 2.4.2 Introduction to the Yaozhou Kiln complex .................................................................. 45 2.4.3 The archaeology of Yaozhou Kiln complex ................................................................ 55 V 2.4.4 Historical records and scientific studies of Yaozhou celadon wares and their production techniques ........................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3 Methodology and previous work ....................................................... 63 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 63 3.2 Major and minor chemical composition analysis ....................................................... 63 3.2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 63 3.2.2 Sample preparation
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