摘要
Abstract
A large number of gold-inlaid gemstone artifacts were unearthed from Ming Dynasty Wangxuan Tombs in Qichun County,Hubei Province,providing important materials for the study of colored gemstones in the Ming era.In this study,nine groups of artifacts from Wangxuan Tombs in the collection of Hubei Provincial Museum were examined.The gemstones inlaid on these artifacts were identified using infrared spectrometry and X-ray fluorescence spectrometry,yielding valid data on 75 gemstones(44 red magnesia-alumina spinels,one blue magnesia-alumina spinel,26 sapphires,and four rubies).Compositional analysis revealed that 1)some sapphires contained higher Fe mass fractions and elevated mass fraction ratios of Fe/Ti,consistent with basalt-type sapphires;2)some red spinels had higher Ti mass fractions,resembling spinels from Myanmar.Combining these results with knowledge of Ming Dynasty trade routes and geological sources suggests that some sapphires may have originated in Thailand,while certain red spinels likely came from Myanmar.Furthermore,a comparison of the relative proportions of rubies and red spinels across tombs of different ranks,together with the distinctive inlay positions of rubies and consideration of physical property differences(e.g.,density,hardness,cleavage),indicates that Ming artisans in China may have possessed the ability to distinguish rubies from red spinels.This study provides reliable data for the identification,provenance analysis,and conservation of gemstone artifacts,and offers new insights into the level of gemstone knowledge in Ming China.关键词
湖北蕲春/明代宝石/产地分析/红宝石/尖晶石Key words
Qichun County,Hubei Province/Gemstone of the Ming Dynasty/Provenance analysis/Ruby/Spinel分类
历史学
