Analysis and Replication Studies of Prehistoric Chinese Ceramics from the Qijia Culture
- PDF / 2,107,255 Bytes
- 19 Pages / 612 x 792 pts (letter) Page_size
- 33 Downloads / 180 Views
Analysis and Replication Studies of Prehistoric Chinese Ceramics from the Qijia Culture Elizabeth La Duc1 and Angela Chang1 1
Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. ABSTRACT Eleven ancient Chinese ceramics from the early Bronze Age Qijia culture (c. 2200 – 1600 BCE) in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums were the subject of an interdisciplinary research project to explore questions about manufacturing techniques, specifically details of formation and decoration. While the Qijia culture, centered in the Gansu and Qinghai provinces of northwest China, is historically important as one of the earliest metalworking cultures of China and as a center of intercultural communication between China and central Asia, detailed scholarship about the culture is still emerging. Qijia ceramics have been categorized by typology, but little has been done regarding methods of manufacture. This study used visual examination and digital X-radiography to investigate ceramic production, especially the use of a wheel. In addition, the ceramic paste, including natural inclusions and temper, was examined. While film radiography has often been used to study ceramics, digital radiography presented new capabilities as well as challenges. Experimentation through the making of test vessels and tiles at the Harvard Ceramics Program provided additional insights into Qijia ceramics’ manufacture and surface decoration techniques, often described as cord-impressed. INTRODUCTION In the summer of 2016, the Harvard Art Museums mounted the exhibition “Prehistoric Pottery from Northwest China,” co-organized by Dr. Rowan Flad, John E. Hudson Professor of Archaeology, Harvard University, and guest curator Dr. Ling-yu Hung, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Indiana University, and An Wang Postdoctoral Fellow, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University. The exhibition featured approximately 60 vessels and sherds drawn from the collections of the Harvard Art Museums and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. The exhibition provided an opportunity for research on ceramics from the Qijia culture (approximately 2200 – 1600 BCE), which are understudied compared to those of the famous Majiayao Culture (3300 – 2050 BCE) which preceded it. The project focused on the production and decoration methods used by Qijia potters through the in-depth study of eleven vessels over ten months. The vessels were chosen both to show the range of Qijia output as well as to allow a detailed look at one of the most characteristic forms: the trumpet-mouthed jar with two small handles. Particular questions raised included the details of the construction process, the use of a turntable versus a potter’s wheel, and the specifics of the surface decoration, often described as cord-impressed. Analysis was performed using visual examination, X-radiography, and experimental replication of forming and decorating techniques. All but one of the objects studied came from a single collecti
Data Loading...
