Study on elemental features of Longquan celadon at Fengdongyan kiln site in Yuan and Ming Dynasties by EDXRF

Abstract

The energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) is used to determine the chemical compositions of Longquan celadon body and glaze at Fengdongyan kiln in Yuan and Ming Dynasties. In order to analyze the elemental features in different cultural periods, 196 typical Longquan celadon shards are selected including the Early Yuan (EY), the Middle and Late Yuan (MLY), the Early Ming (EM) and the Middle Ming (MM) periods. The results indicate that the contents of K2O, CaO, TiO2 and Fe2O3 for celadon body and glaze are various in different cultural periods. The b values b=RO/(RO+R2O), RO represents for alkali-earth metal elements and R2O stands for alkali metal elements) show that the glazes of Longquan celadon in Yuan and Ming Dynasties belong to the category of calcium-alkali glaze. The principal component analysis (PCA) exhibits that the raw materials used for body and glaze in four periods have the inheritance relation. The only difference is that the raw materials for glaze in MM period were similar to those in EM period. The producing and firing technology of Longquan celadon had reached a higher level in the Early Ming Dynasty.