Yan Liu , Gaowen Xie , Xuyang Zhao , Juan Ji , James Lin , Ruiliang Liu , Donglin Du , Junchang Yang
{"title":"Cultural exchange and technical artistry: Gold ornaments found in pre-imperial Qin Tomb at Ta’erpo, Shaanxi","authors":"Yan Liu , Gaowen Xie , Xuyang Zhao , Juan Ji , James Lin , Ruiliang Liu , Donglin Du , Junchang Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.ara.2024.100572","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current study investigates the use of precious metals, aesthetic taste, manufacturing techniques, and craftworking practices in the pre-imperial Qin period before the unification of China, focusing on an interdisciplinary study of gold ornaments discovered at the Ta’erpo cemetery in Xianyang, dating to the 4th-3rd centuries BCE. Employing multi-spectral analytical methods, including 3D Digital Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), we conducted non-invasive analyses and technological study of a selection of gold artefacts. The results reveal the mastery of sophisticated techniques, including granulation and filigree, which were rarely seen in central China prior to the 2nd century BCE. These delicate decorative techniques required precision, skill and deep understanding of gold metalworking, which demonstrated a high level of technological competence among Qin craftsmen. The investigated ornaments were crafted from very pure gold with content reaching up to 99.62 wt% gold, a rarity among early Chinese gold artefacts. Examining pre-imperial Qin goldwork within a broader Eurasian context reveals that these innovative artistic styles and decorative techniques were originally intertwined with wider influences from the Hellenistic world and the central Asian steppes. This research enriches the understanding of ancient civilization's interconnectedness and the ability of local goldsmith to adapt and integrate foreign influences into their own artistic traditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51847,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Research in Asia","volume":"41 ","pages":"Article 100572"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeological Research in Asia","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352226724000734","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHAEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The current study investigates the use of precious metals, aesthetic taste, manufacturing techniques, and craftworking practices in the pre-imperial Qin period before the unification of China, focusing on an interdisciplinary study of gold ornaments discovered at the Ta’erpo cemetery in Xianyang, dating to the 4th-3rd centuries BCE. Employing multi-spectral analytical methods, including 3D Digital Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), we conducted non-invasive analyses and technological study of a selection of gold artefacts. The results reveal the mastery of sophisticated techniques, including granulation and filigree, which were rarely seen in central China prior to the 2nd century BCE. These delicate decorative techniques required precision, skill and deep understanding of gold metalworking, which demonstrated a high level of technological competence among Qin craftsmen. The investigated ornaments were crafted from very pure gold with content reaching up to 99.62 wt% gold, a rarity among early Chinese gold artefacts. Examining pre-imperial Qin goldwork within a broader Eurasian context reveals that these innovative artistic styles and decorative techniques were originally intertwined with wider influences from the Hellenistic world and the central Asian steppes. This research enriches the understanding of ancient civilization's interconnectedness and the ability of local goldsmith to adapt and integrate foreign influences into their own artistic traditions.
期刊介绍:
Archaeological Research in Asia presents high quality scholarly research conducted in between the Bosporus and the Pacific on a broad range of archaeological subjects of importance to audiences across Asia and around the world. The journal covers the traditional components of archaeology: placing events and patterns in time and space; analysis of past lifeways; and explanations for cultural processes and change. To this end, the publication will highlight theoretical and methodological advances in studying the past, present new data, and detail patterns that reshape our understanding of it. Archaeological Research in Asia publishes work on the full temporal range of archaeological inquiry from the earliest human presence in Asia with a special emphasis on time periods under-represented in other venues. Journal contributions are of three kinds: articles, case reports and short communications. Full length articles should present synthetic treatments, novel analyses, or theoretical approaches to unresolved issues. Case reports present basic data on subjects that are of broad interest because they represent key sites, sequences, and subjects that figure prominently, or should figure prominently, in how scholars both inside and outside Asia understand the archaeology of cultural and biological change through time. Short communications present new findings (e.g., radiocarbon dates) that are important to the extent that they reaffirm or change the way scholars in Asia and around the world think about Asian cultural or biological history.