First Evidence Of The Use Of Freshwater Pearls As A Cosmetic In Ancient China: Analysis Of White Makeup Powder From A Northern Song Dynasty Lv Tomb (Lantian, Shaanxi Province, China)

Abstract

The Lv family tombs in Lantian, Shaanxi Province are one of the most important archaeological sites of China in recent years, providing numerous objects and a wealth of information for the study of the history of the Northern Song dynasty. There were a large number of exquisite cultural relics unearthed from the tombs, including one porcelain box containing white powder, which was identified as women's makeup. The phase composition, microstructure, thermal properties and characteristics of the trace elements in the unearthed white cosmetic powder were comprehensively analysed by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry – thermogravimetry (DSC–TG), Fourier transform infrared (FT–IR) microscopy and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES). The white makeup powder was determined to be a product made from high‐quality freshwater pearls. These results, for the first time, showed evidence that freshwater pearl powder was used as a cosmetic in ancient China using archaeological objects, providing scientific evidence and new clues to enrich and expand research into the ancient Chinese cosmetic materials.

The rise of the cosmetic industry in ancient China: Insights from a 2700‐year‐old face cream

“…The finding of the well-sealed bronze ware with a large quantity of residue inside has lent support to the hypothesis that the function of the jar was as a cosmetic container which verified the archaeologists' speculation (Li 2009). The results of our analyses, together with the wide area of distribution of these containers, implies that the cosmetics might be mostly used as a high-end product led by aristocratic class, and similar cases can be found in other ancient societies and civilizations (Doménech-Carbó et al 2012;Mai et al 2016) as well as in later Chinese dynasties (Yu et al 2017). Cosmetic manufacturing had already become a specialized industry for the supply to the nobility in the early stage of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the involvement of a sorcery/alchemy-related ingredient (e.g., the collection of cave minerals) enriched the aestheticism with mystic elements.…”

Pearl Powder—An Emerging Material for Biomedical Applications: A Review

“…One of the key archaeological sites for pearl powder-based cosmetics in China is the family tombs of Lu Dalin in Shaanxi Province. A porcelain box discovered in the tombs, known to be a woman’s lipstick, containing white powder which matched the material characteristics of high-quality freshwater pearls [ 6 ]. At present, pearls are cultured on a large scale in many countries; and so while the price of perfectly spherical, lustrous pearls for jewellery can be very high, the price of pearl powder for health care and cosmetic products is comparatively low.…”

Potential application of natural bioactive compounds as skin‐whitening agents: A review

“…Pearl medicine has been used in China for more than 2000 years, and pearls have many effects, such as calming the mind, clearing the eyes, and detoxifying and regenerating the muscle. In addition, pearl powder was added to cosmetic products by ancients as early as the Northern Song Dynasty, and since then pearls have been widely used as one of the common cosmetic agents 104 …”

“…In addition, pearl powder was added to cosmetic products by ancients as early as the Northern Song Dynasty, and since then pearls have been widely used as one of the common cosmetic agents. 104 Nacre and pearl contain 95% calcium carbonate and about 5% organic matter, and also include a variety of amino acids, varieties of trace elements, rich vitamins, and peptides. The biological activity components in pearl and nacre are organic matrix, which is a mixture of protein, polypeptide, glycoprotein, chitin, lipid, and pigment.…”