Materials and Techniques of the “Chun Rong Xuan Mao” Birthday Inscribed Plaque in the Bashu Area of China During the Reign of Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty

Abstract

In ancient China, people presented inscribed plaques as gifts to the elderly on their birthdays to wish them longevity. Under long-term weathering conditions, the plaques, often hung on the lintel of a door, gradually deform, the words fade,and the decorative parts deteriorate. Whenever possible, original materials and techniques should be used to restore such cultural relics. Therefore, it is important to analyze the materials and techniques used for the production of the inscribed plaques. However, no study has been carried out on the materials and techniques used to create inscribed plaques. In this study, multi-analytical scientific approach, including optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (μ-ATR-FTIR), and micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman), were used to explore the materials and techniques utilized to create the “Chun Rong Xuan Mao” birthday inscribed plaque in the Bashu area of China produced during the fifth year of the reign of Tongzhi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The results showed that the plaque wad made of cypress wood and decorative parts consisting of the surface lacquer layers, plaster lacquer layers and primer lacquer layers. Chinese lacquer was the principal material used in the surface lacquer layers; gypsum and Chinese lacquer were the materials used in the plaster lacquer layers; and the primer lacquer layers was composed of Chinese lacquer, calcite, and mixed pigments by cinnabar and minium. The surface lacquer layers of the inscribed plaque were lacquered black. Gypsum lacquer plaster has been commonly used in the ground layer of lacquerware in modern history. This study confirmed the existence of technology to make lacquerware using gypsum lacquer plaster in the Bashu area during the late Qing Dynasty. Moreover, this study not only provides new findings regarding the traditional production of inscribed plaques and offers technical support for the protection and restoration of such plaques but also has great significance to exploring the history of ancient techniques of lacquering and decorating lacquerware.