Abstract
Two masterpieces of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912 CE), one in gilded brass (incense burner) decorated with cloisonné enamels stylistically attributed to the end of the Kangxi Emperor’s reign, the other in gold (ewer offered by Napoleon III to the Empress as a birthday present), decorated with both cloisonné and painted enamels bearing the mark of the Qianlong Emperor, were non-invasively studied by optical microscopy, Raman microspectroscopy and X-ray microfluorescence spectroscopy (point measurements and mapping) implemented on-site with mobile instruments. The elemental compositions of the metal substrates and enamels are compared. XRF point measurements and mappings support the identification of the coloring phases and elements obtained by Raman microspectroscopy. Attention was paid to the white (opacifier), blue, yellow, green, and red areas. The demonstration of arsenic-based phases (e.g., lead arsenate apatite) in the blue areas of the ewer, free of manganese, proves the use of cobalt imported from Europe. The high level of potassium confirms the use of smalt as the cobalt source. On the other hand, the significant manganese level indicates the use of Asian cobalt ores for the enamels of the incense burner. The very limited use of the lead pyrochlore pigment (European Naples yellow recipes) in the yellow and soft green cloisonné enamels of the Kangxi incense burner, as well as the use of traditional Chinese recipes for other colors (white, turquoise, dark green, red), reinforces the pioneering character of this object in technical terms at the 17th–18th century turn. The low level of lead in the cloisonné enamels of the incense burner may also be related to the use of European recipes. On the contrary, the Qianlong ewer displays all the enameling techniques imported from Europe to obtain a painted decoration of exceptional quality with the use of complex lead pyrochlore pigments, with or without addition of zinc, as well as cassiterite opacifier.
Highlights
We present here the in-depth non-invasive analysis of two masterpieces from the collections of the National Museum of the Château de Fontainebleau (Chinese Museum), constituted by the Emperor Napoleon III and his wife the Empress Eugenie in the second part of the 19th century [54,55,56]
The two objects studied have been selected as representative of the beginning of the introduction of European recipes and of the achievement of the mastering of this new technology, respectively, among the hundred Chinese outstanding artefacts studied [10,42,52,53]
Simultaneous use of cobalt ores from different origins has previously been reported [62]. These findings indicate the use of Asian Mn-rich cobalt in the blue enamel of the incense burner and European As- and Co-rich smalt for the similar enamel of the ewer [62], the potassium amount being much higher in the blue enamel of the ewer (K/Ca net count area ~1–2 for the incense burner vs. 8 for the ewer)
Summary
We present here the in-depth non-invasive analysis of two masterpieces from the collections of the National Museum of the Château de Fontainebleau (Chinese Museum), constituted by the Emperor Napoleon III and his wife the Empress Eugenie in the second part of the 19th century [54,55,56]. The two objects studied have been selected as representative of the beginning of the introduction of European recipes (a gilded brass incense burner decorated with cloisonné enamels and stylistically attributed to the end of the Kangxi’s reign) and of the achievement of the mastering of this new technology (a gold ewer belonging to a set comprising a pair of ewers and a large gold basin with the Qianlong’s reign mark decorated with both painted and cloisonné enamels), respectively, among the hundred Chinese outstanding artefacts studied [10,42,52,53]. Other studies reported in the literature are limited in scope and have been performed on more common objects or sherds [34,35]
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