Study on a silver box unearthed from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618\u2013907) tomb at Xiaolizhuang Site, Henan Province, China

Zhihui Yao,Yuxuan Gong

doi:10.1186/s40494-019-0315-5

Abstract

Over the years, numerous gold and silver artifacts were excavated from tombs of the Tang Dynasty which gave evidence of the sophisticated metalworking techniques at that time. However, very few of them were studied and the manufacturing process was barely known. In this research, the microstructural analyses including microscopy and SEM–EDS were conducted on a delicate silver cosmetics box excavated from a Tang Dynasty tomb of Xiaolizhuang site. The silver artifact is made up of two symmetrical cambered pieces which were fabricated by alternating hammering and annealing. The shape and surface features were further modified through plastic forming. Afterwards, spinning technique was employed to ensure the interior surface is smooth and has consistent thickness. The surface of the silver box is fully decorated with multiple fine engraving including petals, fish-toe circles, flower pattern, twine pattern and the Tang grass pattern. According to the overlapping status of the notches, the patterns were processed in a certain order by using various gravers. The artifact was brought in its final appearance by gilding to form a thin gold film on the surface. These results overall reveal the sophisticated techniques applied in making the artifact and further enhance the understanding of metalworking practices in the Tang Dynasty.

Highlights

Located in Baofeng County, Henan province, Xiaolizhuang site occupies approximately 1000,000 m2 of land and was listed as one of the national protective heritage sites in 2013
The above microstructural analyses revealed that related metalworking techniques were involved in the manufacturing of the silver artifact, including hammering and annealing, plastic forming, engraving and gilding
In ancient times, silver was a precious metal used by early civilization to produce coins, jewelry and ornaments. It is recorded in the history of China that silversmiths of the Tang Dynasty possessed the most sophisticated metalworking skills

Summary

Introduction

Located in Baofeng County, Henan province, Xiaolizhuang site occupies approximately 1000,000 m2 of land and was listed as one of the national protective heritage sites in 2013. In ancient China, the sophistication and the technical skills in metalworking of gold and silver artifacts reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. According to the literatures [14, 15], the various techniques include primarily casting, hammering and annealing, plastic forming, engraving, embossing, granulation, joining techniques and gilding [10, 16, 17]. In general terms, shaping was the basis of metalworking which commonly achieved by utilizing hammering or casting. During the processes of hammering, repeated hammering and annealing were applied to flatten silver metal into desire form [11, 12] and consequent plastic forming was employed to further modify the shape. In addition to hammering, casting was a popular method that involved using a certain mould to form the desired shape of the object. To finalize the artifact, gilding was sometimes applied to leave a shiny appearance

Results

Discussion

Conclusion