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AMS radiocarbon dating of a Western Han period (3rd-1st century BC) lacquer-coated earthenware jar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

G. W. L Hodgins ,
E. Farrell  and
R. D. Mowry
G. W. L Hodgins
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, Oxford, U. K. University of Georgia, Center for Applied Isotope Studies, Athens GA, U.S.A.
E. Farrell
Affiliation:
Harvard University Art Museums, Straus Center for Conservation, Cambridge MA, U.S.A.
R. D. Mowry
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge MA. U.S.A.
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Abstract

The chronometric dating of ceramic objects is normally achieved by thermoluminscence techniques (TL). Here we report both TL and a radiocarbon measurements on a Chinese earthenware hu jar (Harvard University Art Museums LTL1.2001.23 a,b). TL dates were obtained from earthenware core samples using established methods. The radiocarbon date was obtained from an organic coating present on the jar surface. The coating was preliminarily identified as urushi by a comparison of its FTIR absorption spectrum to absorption spectra obtained from modern and ancient lacquer standards. The material was found to be insoluble in a variety of solvents, mineral acids, and bases. Combustion and elemental analysis revealed that 64% of the coating mass was carbon. C measurement by AMS was carried out on a 3.9 mg sample of chemically cleaned lacquer. This measurement generated a date of 2191 ± 38 BP. Calibration of this measurement placed the age of the jar between 390BC and 160 BC at the 95% confidence interval. The calibrated radiocarbon date corroborated the TL measurement placing the jar at between 2400 and 1500 years old (400 BC to 500 AD). These findings also agreed with stylistic evidence that the jar was produced during the Western Han period (206 BC-AD 9). The literature on urushi composition, its pigment compatibility, its high carbon content, its apparent chemical stability, and the small sample required for C-accelerator mass spectrometry suggests that other lacquer-coated objects might be dated using a similar approach.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 712: Symposium II – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology VI , 2002 , II6.7
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2002

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References

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