The research of burning ancient Chinese lead-barium glass by using mineral raw materials

Abstract

Chinese ancient lead-barium glass has drawn lots of scholars’ attentions to its peculiar composition and mysterious technology. In the absence of exact historical documents about lead-barium glass-making, it is extremely difficult to study the origin and development of this kind of glass. In order to clarify the raw material adopted in glass-making process, a series of simulation experiments was conducted to produce lead-barium glass under varying mineral conditions. According to the results of the experiments and comparative analysis of archaeological samples and natural mineral raw materials, such as barite and witherite, it is possible to come to the conclusion that ancient Chinese craftsmen could only use witherite as barium-containing material to make the lead-barium glass. Moreover, the existence of barium carbonate ore in China was the most fundamental internal factor of the origin of lead-barium glass from the viewpoint of mineral resources. A better understanding of raw material of this ancient glass and improved identification of the product of lead-barium glass in the Chinese ancient society will aid in the recovery and analysis of glass artifacts and further efforts to reconstruct this mysterious technology.