Studying the Source of Raw Material and Glaze Formula of Sky Green “Ru-type Ware” and Ru Kuan Ware by EDXRF

Abstract

“Ru-type ware” and unglazed firing bodies were unearthed from the Qingliang Temple Kiln in Baofeng County in the Henan province of China in 2014; the excavation site was close to the central firing area of the ancient Ru Kuan Kiln. Ru-type ware has several similar characteristics to Ru Kuan ware. Here, four samples of unglazed firing bodies, 10 samples of sky green Ru-type wares, and seven samples of sky green Ru Kuan wares were selected. The chemical compositions of 16 elements in body and glaze were measured by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), and multivariate statistical analysis was conducted to determine the classification relations between Ru-type and Ru Kuan wares. Results indicate that the source of raw material and glaze formula of sky green Ru-type are different from Ru Kuan wares. For the sky green Ru-type ware, the raw materials for body is concentrated, and the glaze formula is stable, which conforms to the characteristics of official celadon.