Ancient Bronze Research Articles

Provenance study on ‘Big bronze drums’: a method to investigate the ancient bronze industry of Guangxi, Southwest China from Han to Tang dynasty (around 200 BC–900 AC)

Previous provenance studies on bronze drums mainly focused on ore sources, yet ignored the significance of big bronze drum casting, which represents the highest level of bronze manufacturing techniques, as an important part of the bronze industry of a frontier region under the specific historical background. This paper, for the first time, not only presented the analytical results of the composition and the microstructure of 50 new samples from big bronze drums, but also compared their lead isotope to the published data of 196 samples from 7 types of bronze drum, as well as 112 ore samples from Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou Province and Vietnam. In addition, this paper introduced the casting tradition of bronze drums through both of composition analysis and metallographic examination. The comparison of lead isotope between the above 7 types and 4 regions indicated that there existed a very close relation among the bronze drums, and the local metal ore sources were generally employed to cast drums according to the convenient principles as well as the sphere of tribal influence. Nonetheless, both exchange and communication existed.

The Dozdaqi Area; Establishment of Bronze Age in the North of Urmia Lake

The Dozdaqi Area; Establishment of Bronze Age in the North of Urmia Lake

Forgeries of Ancient Chinese Bronze from Middle Ages

Forgeries of Ancient Chinese Bronze from Middle Ages

The Most Ancient Tin Bronzes in the North-Western Caucasus. New Data

The Most Ancient Tin Bronzes in the North-Western Caucasus. New Data

The significance of Gegu yaolun 格古要論 – a 14th century antiquarian guide for the development of China’s knowledge and material culture

Gegu yaolun 格古要論 or The Essential Criteria of Antiques by Cao Zhao 曹昭 (pseudonym Cao Mingzhong 曹明仲) is one of the oldest compendia regarding works of art and antiques to be created in China. The author of this book, published in 1388, was an ardent collector and researcher. The translation of Cao Zhao’s text into English was first made in 1971 by Sir Percival David who, in addition to the basic content, also included facsimiles from 1388 and comments from later editions considered lost in the European circles. The whole appeared under the title: Chinese Connoisseurship. The Ko Ku Yao Lun. The Essential Criteria of Antiquities. Sir Percival, in the Introduction to his work, described the intricate history of his own studies on Gegu yaolun, indicating at the same time the dates of subsequent editions of the mysterious book and the authors of extensions and additions. The completion of the book is very important as it tells us about the authority of the original textbook, which is the starting point for further research on collecting in China. The original text written by Cao Zhao was first published in 1387 in Nanjing. It consisted of three juans (chapters), one of which was later quoted in Siku Quanshu 四庫全書 (1773–1782) – the Complete books of the Four Storehouses. The entire text considered thirteen subjects, such as: ancient bronze vessels, painting, calligraphy, rubbings of model inscriptions engraved on stone steles, ancient musical instruments, ink stones, unusual stones (zhuqi 珍奇, or jades, agates, pearls, rhino horn and ivory), metal objects, faience and porcelain, textiles, unusual wooden items and strange stones.

Firing structures from the Copper Age site of Frigento

Between 2016 and 2018, during the road construction works from Lioni to Grottaminarda, excavation campaigns were carried out in the locality of Mefite in the territory of Frigento. Archaeological investigations revealed a prehistoric settlement, including a necropolis, dating between the Ancient Eneolithic and the beginning of the Ancient Bronze Age. Settlement features consisted of huts, fire structures and 7 pit-graves. The fire structures were located both near the huts and the funerary area where it is worth to mention a fireplace structure made of clay sub-circular in shape and with a diameter of around 2 meters located at a depth of 20-25 centimeters; it was situated in the north west area of one of the graves. Charcoal concentrations were all around the structure where fragments of animal bones and ceramics and also lithic findings were found. Such a structure, characterized by a huge concentration of reddish orange fire clay, was used repeatedly. The proto-historic ceramics in relation with this fireplace goes back to the first phase of Ancient Eneolithic. It is similar to Early and Middle Bronze Age structures from Emilia Romagna and other sites in northern and southern Italy. Based on these comparisons, our structure could be considered as one of the most ancient fireplace structure or food preparation. However, outside and connected to it, two elliptic post-holes (30-40 cm diameter and 20 cm deep) and two circular post-holes (10 centimeters diameter and 10 deep) were found. All of them were probably wooden supports for cooking and smoking food. At the beginning the fire structure was built for a social and multifunctional use but later,when the area became a necropolis, it probably acquired a religious value. The archeometrical analysis demonstrate the use of local clay for the construction of the plate, whose surface reached maximum 500 °C.

The significance of Gegu yaolun 格古要論 – a 14th century antiquarian guide for the development of China’s knowledge and material culture

Gegu yaolun 格古要論 or The Essential Criteria of Antiques by Cao Zhao 曹昭 (pseudonym Cao Mingzhong 曹明仲) is one of the oldest compendia regarding works of art and antiques to be created in China. The author of this book, published in 1388, was an ardent collector and researcher. The translation of Cao Zhao’s text into English was first made in 1971 by Sir Percival David who, in addition to the basic content, also included facsimiles from 1388 and comments from later editions considered lost in the European circles. The whole appeared under the title: Chinese Connoisseurship. The Ko Ku Yao Lun. The Essential Criteria of Antiquities. Sir Percival, in the Introduction to his work, described the intricate history of his own studies on Gegu yaolun, indicating at the same time the dates of subsequent editions of the mysterious book and the authors of extensions and additions. The completion of the book is very important as it tells us about the authority of the original textbook, which is the starting point for further research on collecting in China. The original text written by Cao Zhao was first published in 1387 in Nanjing. It consisted of three juans (chapters), one of which was later quoted in Siku Quanshu 四庫全書 (1773–1782) – the Complete books of the Four Storehouses. The entire text considered thirteen subjects, such as: ancient bronze vessels, painting, calligraphy, rubbings of model inscriptions engraved on stone steles, ancient musical instruments, ink stones, unusual stones (zhuqi 珍奇, or jades, agates, pearls, rhino horn and ivory), metal objects, faience and porcelain, textiles, unusual wooden items and strange stones.

Depth-Resolved Analysis of Double-Layered Cultural Heritage Artifacts by Pulsed Thermography

In this work, an experimental method based on the use of pulsed thermography is proposed for the depth-resolved characterization of double-layered structures of cultural heritage items. A quantitative evaluation of the inspected features was achieved by comparing thermographic data with theoretical predictions provided by specifically developed theoretical models for the analysis of the thermographic signal. In this respect, thermographic models for both optically opaque and semi-transparent materials were employed to analyze the results obtained in copper alloys and paper-based original artworks, respectively. Thermographic inspections aimed at establishing the procedure adopted for the application of insertions in ancient bronze statues are presented. Finally, the evaluation of the depth position of graphical features buried beneath leaves of historical books is proposed.

Limits and perspectives of archaeometric analysis of archaeological metals: A focus on the electrochemistry for studying ancient bronze coins

This review aims to collect the recent literature about the archaeometric analysis on ancient metals focusing on the electrochemical techniques: the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the voltammetry of immobilized microparticles (VIMP) method. A special look will be given to the analysis of bronze coins, very common finds in the archaeological contests. It will be discussed the importance of the characterization analysis and the archaeometric research to solve archaeological questions. In this regard, the studies about the potentialities of EIS and VIMP for dating these objects will be examined , highlighting the state of the art in the application of electrochemical techniques in the archaeometric field.

Distinguishability between ancient and modern leaded tin bronzes by the composition of their lead inclusions

ABSTRACT The composition of lead inclusions in modern and ancient leaded tin bronzes was studied by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) in Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Lattice parameter of lead inclusions in all bronzes was smaller than the lattice parameter of pure lead. This determination indicates that lead inclusions in bronzes are nothing else but Pb–Sn solid solutions. Tin concentration in lead inclusions in modern bronzes was not less than 3 at% in accordance with the Pb–Sn phase diagram, tin concentration in lead inclusions of ancient bronzes was as low as 1 at%. This difference enables a distinction between ancient bronze artefacts and modern products including the most sophisticated fakes. On the other hand, our work demonstrates that the generally accepted Pb–Sn phase diagram corresponds to an incomplete equilibrium state and only after centuries-long aging at ambient temperatures does the Pb–Sn solid solution reach real equilibrium.

Photonic, Low-Friction and Antimicrobial Applications for an Ancient Icosahedral/Quasicrystalline Nano-composite Bronze Alloy

The recent discovery of an ancient mirror bronze alloy comprising of nano-quasicrystalline features is pursued further in this article. We have reported new evidence that indicates that two or more types of quasicrystalline phases may be present in the alloy along with hints of a glassy phase. The finding opens the possibilities of various new uses for this alloy. The distribution of the various phases and their morphological patterns that result from the solidification sequence of the alloy are suggestive of unique photonic applications such as optical gratings and optical cloaking. Low-friction applications at a high pair velocity are also possible with this alloy based on the modulus and the surface texture. The wear rate of many quasicrystalline phase containing alloys is low because of their minimal strain-rate softening tendencies. Based on the nano-crystal distribution and compared to known alloys, the use of the alloy is also contemplated for contact-surface antimicrobial uses. We have also reported findings of the possible evidence of an icosahedral structure even after some of the tin is “boiled” away leaving behind a copper-tin-zinc variation of the original alloy. New high-resolution electron microscope lattice imaging microstructures and diffraction patterns of the original mirror alloy have been discussed. A solidification sequence that can preserve the icosahedral features across the atomic stacking scale, the nanometer scale of the crystals and the micrometer scale of cells/dendrites has been proposed. Regardless, there is the difficulty of completely characterizing all phases in this complex mirror alloy by electron microscopy methods alone. X-ray diffraction, fracture surface analysis, thermal transformation analysis, ellipsometric and optical imaging methods are also employed for the characterization. The microstructures are compared with patterns of similar Fibonacci analogs in flowers and petals.

La couleur des bronzes antiques : recherches récentes

Les effets de polychromie recherchés par les bronziers antiques reposaient essentiellement sur des techniques propres au travail du métal et non sur les pratiques picturales adoptées à la même époque par les sculpteurs sur pierre et par les coroplathes. Leur palette, liée à des incrustations et à des placages de métaux purs ou alliés, était donc limitée, même si l’une des sources de couleurs supplémentaires venait des yeux rapportés des statues. Les Anciens recherchaient l’éclat et la brillance du métal. Pour préserver la teinte métallique originelle des bronzes, proche d’un or plus ou moins rosé, et ralentir le processus d’altération du bronze, ils traitaient les épidermes à l’aide de substances bitumineuses ou de poix qui, paradoxalement, assombrissaient progressivement les statues. Cet assombrissement est probablement à l’origine d’un changement de goût, qui expliquerait peut-être l’apparition, avant la fin de l’époque hellénistique, de patines artificielles intentionnellement sombres, dont certaines ont été étudiées au C2RMF.

Бронзовое оружие раннего железного века из коллекции находок, собранных А. Г. фон Шренком в 1840-х годах в Прииртышье

Purpose. The article introduces single findings of bronze armament objects that were gathered in the course of an expeditionary journey during 1840–1843 on the territory of the Irtysh region (within the limits of southern steppe regions of Western Siberia, Altai Steppes and Eastern Kazakhstan) by a famous Russian scientist, botanist, officer of Saint Petersburg Botanical Gardens Alexander Gustav von Schrenck. Results. The archaeological objects gathered by the explorer are presently stored in the collection of the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of RAS in Saint Petersburg. They include various objects of armament and accessories of horse harness. The archaeological objects considered in the article are armament objects of close and hand-to-hand combats of ancient nomads. They are analyzed and classified on formal grounds according to the previously developed scientific methodology. The collection features a bronze spearhead with a bilobated feather and conical plug, a bronze dagger with a guard and a top and two bronze plug chisels with tetrahedral and circular peen and elongated butt ends. We provide some comments on chronology and the territory where similar objects were found in the sites of the Early Iron Age in Eurasian Steppe. Our classification is based on analogues of the objects studied, which were found at several archaeological sites on the contiguous territories of Southern Siberia and Central Asia. We also made certain assumptions on the cultural identity of the findings of the bronze armament objects of close and hand-to-hand combats which we analyzed. Conclusion. Having considered the analogues, we refer the objects of the ancient bronze weapon studied as a part of the museum collection and stored there, which were gathered on the territory of the Irtysh Region in the middle of the 19th century by A. G. von Schrenck, to the complex of battlefield assets of the ancient Eurasian Steppe nomads of Scythian times. The analysis provided and our introduction of these materials expands the range of available sources on armament and military science of the ancient nomadic population gathered by A. G. von Schrenck in several regions of Northern and Central Asia.

Formation of black patina on an ancient Chinese bronze sword of the Warring States Period

In general, black patina is formed upon the surface of the ancient bronze mirrors. Recently, a kind of black patina is found on an ancient bronze sword, which was made 2500 years ago during the Warring States Period of China. In this paper, chemical compositions and microstructures of the black patina were characterized by using instruments including optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectrometer (Raman). The results revealed that the formation of the black patina on the bronze sword is due to two reasons: (1) high tin (Sn) content reaches to 22.92 wt%; (2) damp, wet and acid burial environment. Therefore, it conforms to the natural corrosion formation mechanism, i.e., after selective dissolution of elements Cu and Pb from the matrix, element Sn was oxidized and then, the gel-like SnO2·xH2O filled the vacancies left by the selective corrosion of Cu and Pb. This work will be helpful for better restoration and preservation of the bronze cultural relics.

CAD-CAE methods to support restoration and museum exhibition of bronze statues: the “Principe Ellenistico”

Ancient bronze statues mainly require material integrity assessment and restoration. Restoration may include also the update of the museum exhibition, defining new structural frames and fragment re-composition to preserve the statue and improve the interpretation of the original aspect. This paper proves how engineering methods (such as Finite Element Analysis, Computer Aided Design modelling, Reverse Engineering) may assist cultural heritage experts and restorers in these tasks. It presents the activities made together with the Museo Nazionale Romano and the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro, on the so-called “Principe Ellenistico” (Hellenistic Prince). This bronze was found in pieces (body, left arm and right leg), at the end of 19th century during an excavation made in Rome. No visual or reference sources can say its origin and its final posture was defined by restorers at the end of the 19th century according to their hypothesis and studies. In the 20th century, a further restoration was made on the critical areas of the surface, together with some structural improvement of the inner frame. Nowadays, after a review of its position inside the Museum, new experimental and numerical analyses have been carried out to better understand surface weakness and correct left arm positioning.

Applying Special Spatiotemporal Signal Processing Algorithms to Ultrasonic Testing of Large Antique Cast Bells

Original spatiotemporal signal processing algorithms have been developed to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing of unique antique cast bronze articles. In particular, to inspect large bells on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin, with numerous relief images that limit the surface available for mounting piezoelectric transducers, various spatiotemporal signal processing algorithms have been designed, including the ones based on rotating a double-crystal transducer with the summation of partial defectograms.

Non-destructive evaluation of Roman coin patinas from the 3rd and 4th century

Roman bronze coins from the 3rd and 4th century AD exhibit a wide variety of chemistries on their surfaces. This variation has been attributed to the variable methods used to produce the coins, a large number of mints producing bronze currency, and the periods of currency devaluation within the Roman Empire. Besides the base bronze metallurgy (Cu,Sn), Ag, Pb, and Zn were frequently used as coinage metals. Silver coatings were often applied to increase the apparent value of the coins. Over the centuries these surfaces corroded producing a range of patinas. Non-destructive X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence methods were used to evaluate ancient bronze coins. These methods are limited by their half depth of penetration into the coins, so the focus was on the chemistry of the patina's and how they related to the current appearance. Several 3rd-century bronze coins exhibited a very dark patina that was often composed of CuCl, Cu2O (cuprite) and several forms of copper hydroxyl chloride, resulting from surface deterioration caused by corrosion and is often referred to as bronze disease. Coins of the latter 3rd century and 4th century often exhibit patinas that are corrosion products of lead, silver, and tin, as lead and tin preferentially oxidize relative to the bronze alloys.

Investigation of archaeological metal artefacts by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

In this work, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy was applied to determining the elemental composition of a set of ancient bronze artefacts dated from the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (14th – 10th century BC). We used a Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm with pulse duration of 10 ns and energy of 10 mJ and determined the elemental composition of the bronze alloy that was used in manufacturing the samples under study. The concentrations of tin and lead in the bulk of the examined materials was estimated after generating calibration curves for a set of four standard samples. The preliminary results of the analysis will provide information on the artefacts provenance and on the production process.

Interface thermal conductance characterization by infrared thermography: A tool for the study of insertions in bronze ancient Statuary

In this paper, a new method based on the use of infrared thermography is proposed for the characterization of repairs and inserted parts on ancient bronzes. In particular, the quality of the contact between different kind of insertions and the main body of bronze statues is investigated by analysing the heat conduction process occurring across the interface between them. The thermographic results have been used to establish the nature of these inserted elements and the way they have been coupled to the main body of the statue during and after the manufacturing process.A model for the heat conduction based on the numerical finite elements method has been applied to compare the obtained results to the theoretical predictions. Measurements have been first carried out on test samples and then in the field on the Boxer at Rest (Museo Nazionale Romano in Rome), a masterpiece of the Greek Statuary, which contains a large variety of inserted items and repairs which are typical of the manufacturing process of bronze artefacts in general.

Stratigraphy of Andromeda: Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Savinio, Origins, and Originality

Stratigraphy of Andromeda: Giorgio de Chirico, Alberto Savinio, Origins, and Originality Alessandro Giammei (bio) vivam, parsque mei multa superstes erit —Ovid, Amores1 A large, cropped wheel with six bolstered spokes is bolted, firmly, to nothing (fig. 1). It looks ready to transfer the energy produced by a grounded pneumatic apparatus (an engine? a plinth?) to some other invisible mechanism, out of view to the right. It is impossible to understand how the slender system of pistons and levers is meant to work. While an aesthetic fascination for the absolute plastic quality of machinery is undeniable, this image does not represent actual technology. It seems that to produce it Francis Picabia used an engineering illustration as an objet trouvé and painted over it, highlighting some details while obliterating most of the functional context with his brush.2 As a result, the machine has no evident function. The two dominant hues underline the artist’s estranging gesture. The metallic body of the mechanical object is green, like the patina that surrounds antique bronze statues, while the background evokes the same ineffable golden flatness that abolishes space and time in Byzantine mosaics, Gothic altarpieces, and icons. Its two-dimensional, yet infinitely profound splendor isolates and absolutizes the enigmatic subject, eradicating it from history. Such a visual oxymoron is encapsulated by the title: Fille née sans mère (“girl born without a mother”).3 Critics agree on the material source of this title, which appears among the locutions latines et étrangères of the early twentieth-century encyclopedic dictionary Petit Larousse Illustrée: another [End Page 21] objet trouvé, a readymade-locution that echoes the modern dream of non-biological birth expressed in Auguste Villiers de L’Isle-Adam’s early science fiction or in F. T. Marinetti’s Mafarka le futuriste (1909). However, I believe that its literary origin—Prolem sine matre creatam, a line from book II of Ovid’s Metamorphoses—should be considered more carefully. The same Ovidian line is also the epigraph of Montesquieu’s The Spirit of the Laws, and therefore opens the foundation of modern political theory with the same bold implications (this work is unprecedented, there are no comparable models or sources) that informed Picabia’s title. Exactly in the same year in which Picabia painted his Fille, 1917, Guillaume Apollinaire coined the very term “surrealist” for the rewriting of an episode of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Les mamelles de Tirésias. Another episode of the Metamorphoses gave the title, a year later, to Alberto Savinio’s multilingual and vanguardist literary debut, Hermaphrodito, while Giorgio de Chirico had been obsessed with the sleep of Ariadne (book VII of Ovid’s poem) since at least 1912.4 Even Marinetti, right before the publication of the Futurist Manifesto, blended his modernist imagery with the mythical one of the Metamorphoses by naming his own car after the winged horse born from Medusa’s blood: mon Pegas, “my Pegasus.” In the prime of Europe’s avant-garde, decades before Picasso’s famous illustrated edition, Ovid’s myths were a privileged interlocutor for modernity: a paradoxical influence that is perfectly visualized in the green bronze patina of Picabia’s machine, eternalized on its gilded untimeliness. Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 1. Francis Picabia, Fille née sans mère (Girl Born without a Mother), 1917, gouache and metallic paint on printed paper, 50 × 65 cm, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris, and DACS, London 2016. Photo © Antonia Reeve, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, UK. [End Page 22] Within the wide field of studies related to modernist reception of the classics, this article intends to interrogate the paradox embodied by the motherless mechanomorphic girl envisioned by Picabia: a fetishized emblem of modernity rendered as an ancient statue in an iconizing background, a work that claims to escape genealogies through a quotation from ancient poetry. The aim is to overcome the temptation of historicizing late modernity as the theater of a binary opposition between classicism and vanguardism, tradition and newness. Through Ovid, I will explore the problem of origins and originality in the multimedia work of Giorgio de Chirico...