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Studies on the materials and manufacturing technology of the murals unearthed at Shimao Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi

  • Anding Shao EMAIL logo , Qianli Fu , Zhouyong Sun and Jing Shao
Published/Copyright: November 18, 2017
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Chinese Archaeology
From the journal Chinese Archaeology Volume 17 Issue 1

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary scientific analytical results and discussion on the murals unearthed at the Shimao Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province. The murals were composed of pigment layer, plaster base layer and daub layer. The pigments used include hematite, goethite, glauconite and carbon black. Same with the floor plaster layer of the house foundations in the site, the plaster layer of murals is made of calcium carbonate. For the painting procedure, a draft had firstly been designed by engraved lines, and then the murals were painted with various pigments. A tentative comparative study shows that the manufacturing technology and painting techniques of the Shimao mural are similar to that of the murals of the Han and Tang Dynasties. It indicates that the fundamental manufacturing technology of mural had probably been established in the Erlitou Period at latest, which was just followed and enriched over the Han and Tang Dynasties.

Keywords: Mural painting (image-making)--technology--history; natural inorganic pigments; Shimao Site (Shenmu County, Shaanxi)

Postscript

The original paper published in Kaogu 考古 (Archaeology) 2015.6:109-20 with five tables and 14 illustrations was authored by Anding Shao 邵安定, Qianli Fu 付倩丽, Zhouyong Sun 孙周勇, and Jing Shao 邵晶. This abridged version was prepared by Anding Shao and translated into English by Tricia E. Owlett 李春霞.

References

Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology 陕西省考古研究院. 2010. Han Tang muzang bihua baohu yu xiufu 汉唐墓葬壁画保护与修复 (Conservation and restoration of murals from tombs of the Han and Tang Dynasties). Xi’an: Sanqin chubanshe. pp. 21-7.Search in Google Scholar

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Published Online: 2017-11-18
Published in Print: 2017-12-20

© 2017 Walter de Gruyter, Inc. ⋅ Boston ⋅ Berlin

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  5. The Remains of Liangzhu Culture at Jiangzhuang Site in Xinghua and Dongtai Cities, Jiangsu
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  13. The tusi cemetery of the Yang Family at Xinpu New District, Zunyi City, Guizhou
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  15. The archaeological survey and excavation of walls and passes of the Hailong Tun site in Zunyi City, Guizhou
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  17. The excavation of the Niupodong Site in Pingba District, Gui’an New Area, Guizhou in 2012–2013
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  19. The excavation of walls and roads at the Erlitou Site in Yanshi City, Henan in 2012–2013
  20. Reports
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  23. The excavation of the Dadianshan Cemetery in Changning, Yunan
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  25. The excavation of the Huahaizi No. 3 Site in Qinghe County, Xinjiang
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  27. A Liao Dynasty tomb in the Panyanggou Cemetery, Bairin Left Banner, Inner Mongolia
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https://doi.org/10.1515/char-2017-0017
Keywords for this article
Mural painting (image-making)--technology--history; natural inorganic pigments; Shimao Site (Shenmu County, Shaanxi)

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. New archaeological discoveries
  3. Neolithic cultural remains in the coastal area of southeastern Hainan Province
  4. New archaeological discoveries
  5. The Remains of Liangzhu Culture at Jiangzhuang Site in Xinghua and Dongtai Cities, Jiangsu
  6. New archaeological discoveries
  7. The 2014-2015 excavations of the Zhouyuan Site in Baoji, Shaanxi
  8. New archaeological discoveries
  9. Marquis of Haihun’s tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Nanchang, Jiangxi
  10. New archaeological discoveries
  11. The excavation of the Taiji Hall complex in Han-Wei Luoyang City
  12. Spotlight
  13. The tusi cemetery of the Yang Family at Xinpu New District, Zunyi City, Guizhou
  14. Spotlight
  15. The archaeological survey and excavation of walls and passes of the Hailong Tun site in Zunyi City, Guizhou
  16. Reports
  17. The excavation of the Niupodong Site in Pingba District, Gui’an New Area, Guizhou in 2012–2013
  18. Reports
  19. The excavation of walls and roads at the Erlitou Site in Yanshi City, Henan in 2012–2013
  20. Reports
  21. The bone workshop site of Yinxu Period at Tiesan Road in Anyang, Henan
  22. Reports
  23. The excavation of the Dadianshan Cemetery in Changning, Yunan
  24. Reports
  25. The excavation of the Huahaizi No. 3 Site in Qinghe County, Xinjiang
  26. Reports
  27. A Liao Dynasty tomb in the Panyanggou Cemetery, Bairin Left Banner, Inner Mongolia
  28. Research
  29. On the issues related to the discoid cores
  30. Research
  31. Variability in pottery firing technology: choice or technical development?
  32. Research
  33. The evolution of auspicious beasts in the burial decoration of the Six-Dynasties Period and the formation of the “Jin System”
  34. Research
  35. Studies on the materials and manufacturing technology of the murals unearthed at Shimao Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi
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