ancient Chinese glass

At present, it is accepted that in China, glassmaking began around the 5th century BCE during the late Spring and Autumn to early Warring States periods. Chemical analyses of glass samples dating to this time have identified no less than three glass systems: potash-lime, lead-barium, and potash; of these, lead-barium was the most significant in early China.Christopher F. Kim (2012), [http://brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/undergrad/prizes/Kim2012.pdf Early Chinese Lead-Barium Glass; Its Production and Use from the Warring States to Han Periods (475 BCE-220 CE)], PDF file

During the Warring States period and the Han dynasty (5th century BC to early 3rd century AD) glass was imported from regions outside of East Asia, such as Mesopotamia. Imported Western faience and glass probably inspired the production of the first Chinese glasses. The main group of objects with Western influences are eye beads or dragonfly-eyed beads.Kerr and Wood 2004, p474 The key difference between Near Eastern eye beads and Chinese eye beads is their chemical composition. The coloured glasses used to produce the Chinese eye beads have a high lead and barium content. This type of composition was exclusive to China, and it was used to produce a range of glass objects until the end of the Han dynasty.

Table 1 shows examples of chemical compositions of some Chinese glass objects.

Table 1: Elemental compositions of Chinese glass from the Warring States period to Han dynasty. Data from the first 4 objects was taken from Brill et al. 1991; data from glass garment plaque was taken from Cheng Zhuhai and Zhou Changyuan 1991; and data from the ritual disk was taken from Shi Meiguang 1991.

The Chinese lead-barium glasses typically present 5-15% BaO. The source of barium in the glass in not clear; however it is possible that ancient Chinese glassmakers used witherite (a mineral form of barium carbonate) as an ingredient.Brill et al. 1991, p 34 The use of a separate ingredient implies that barium had a specific function. This function could have been to flux the glass, by lowering the melting point of the melt; or stabilize the glass, by making it less soluble to water. It could also have been added to opacify the glass. Electron microprobe analysis of glass fragments have shown that the turbidity of certain lead-barium glasses is produced by barium disilicate crystals.Shi Meiguang et al. 1992, p 24 This turbidity gives the glasses a jade-like appearance.

The period between the Warring States period and the Han dynasty shaped the early Chinese glass industry. Most of the glass objects from this period come from archaeological excavations of tombs.Zhang Fukang 1991, p 157 Because of this, most glass objects have fairly secure dating and context. During this period, the Chinese mainly used glass to produce two distinct types of objects: polychrome eye beads and monochrome funerary objects.Braghin 2002b

The earliest types of glass objects found in China are polychrome eye beads or dragonfly-eyed beads. The beads are found in burials from the late Spring and Autumn and early Warring States periods (early 5th century BC) up to late Warring State – early Western Han period. Most beads have a monochrome glass body covered by several layers of coloured glass. The layers of different colour glass are applied in alternating fashion to produce concentric circles.Braghin 2002b, p 4 The patterns of circles resemble eyes, giving the beads their name. This style of bead originated in the Near East during the mid 2nd millennium BC. The stylistic influence later spread to the Mediterranean. The use of eye beads in burials rapidly declined at the beginning of the Western Han period. This is believed to be a result of the invasion of Chu kingdom territories by Qin and Han armies at the end of the 3rd century.Braghin 2002b, p 14 The collapse of the Chu kingdom would have brought production of eye-beads to an end.

During the Warring States and Han periods, Chinese glassworkers took advantage of the similarities between glass and jade. Many glass objects found in burial contexts in this period were made of opaque green, light green, or milky white glass.Gao Zhixi 1991, 119 These objects have similar shapes to their jade counterparts, and were no doubt imitating that precious stone. Among these objects there were bi disks, 'glass garments' (or glass suits), sword accessories, and vessels, among others.Jenyns, R. 1981, p 96Fenn 1991, pp 59-60Cheng Zhuhai and Zhou Changyuan 1991An Jiayao 1991, p 7Shi Meiguang et al. 1992

A bi disk is a ritual object in the shape of a flat ring (annulus). The earliest archeological specimens were carved from stone (usually nephrite) and date back to the late Neolithic period; they became important burial elements during the 3rd millennium BC. They were placed on or near the head of the deceased person.

Glass bi disks are the most numerous kind of monochrome glass objects. They first became abundant in the Chu kingdom during the Warring States period. Bi disks from this period tend to be between 7.9 and 9.4 cm in diameter.Gao Zhixi 1991, p 119 The glass bi disks look very similar to their stone contemporaries, usually decorated on one side with a simple grain or cloud pattern typical of jade objects. They are mainly found in medium to small-sized tombs, indicating the middle strata of society rather than the elite.Braghin 2002b, p 23 This suggests that glass bi disks were regarded as cheaper alternatives to jade bi disks.

Plaques from glass burial suits or glass garments are directly linked to jade objects.Fenn el al. 1991Braghin 2002b, pp 28 -31 Several pieces of burial suit plaques have been found in a few wooden-chambered burials from the late West Han dynasty. The plaques come in different shapes, with rectangular being the most common. Some of these rectangular pieces have perforations in 4 corners, indicating that they were strung together, or sewn into a fabric, to form a protective burial suit. Other shapes, such as circular, triangular, and rhomboidal, are often decorated with moulded patterns. All the glass plaque shapes have jade counterparts, suggesting that glass burial suits were a cheaper alternative to jade burial suits.

The earliest known Chinese glass vessels come from Western Han dynasty tombs.Otani I.(2017) "A catalogue of glassware excavated in China and Mongolia (Han and Xiongnu period)"[https://doi.org/10.24517/00049024 The Archaeological Journal of Kanazawa University vol.76, pp. 65-73.] To this date only two tombs are known to have had glass vessels among their funerary objects: the tomb of the Liu Dao, Prince of Chu in Xuzhou (128 BC), Jiangsu Province; and the tomb of Liu Sheng, Prince Jing of Zhongshan (113{{nbsp}}BC) at Mancheng.Braghin 2002b, pp 31-34 The tomb at Xuzhou contained 16 light green cylindrical cups; while Prince Liu Sheng's tomb contained 2 shallow double-handled cups and a plate. All of the vessels were traditional Chinese shapes and made of lead-barium glass. Vessels in these forms were normally made out of lacquer or ceramic, although some jade vessels in those shapes are also known. All vessels were produced by mold casting used by the lead-barium glass. But this tradition declined at the end of the Han dynasty (AD 220), with glass production only resuming during the 4th and 5th centuries AD.An Jiayao 2002, pp 45-46 There are no vessels produced by mold casting from the tombs of the Three Kingdoms.Otani I.(2022)"Glasware unearthed in East Asia (catalogue II: 3rd-6th century CE)"[https://doi.org/10.24517/00069152　The Archaeological Journal of Kanazawa University vol.81, pp.22-58.]

• History of glass
• Warring States crystal glass

{{reflist|2}}

• An Jiayao. (1984) “Early Glassware in Ancient China”, Acta Archaeological Sinica, Vol. 4, pp. 413–448
• An Jiayao (1991) "The early glass of China" pp. 5–19 in Brill, R. and Martin, J. (eds) Scientific research in early Chinese glass. Proceedings of the Archaeometry of Glass Sessions of the 1984 International Symposium on Glass, Beijin, September 7, 1984. The Corning Museum of Glass,
• An Jiayao (2002) "Polycrome and monochrome glass of the Warring States and Han periods" pp. 45–70 in Braghin, C. (ed) Chinese Glass. Archaeological studies on the uses and social contest of glass artefacts from the Warring States to the Northern Song Period (fifth century B.C. to twelfth century A.D.)
• Braghin, C. (2002a) "Introduction" pp. XI-XIV in Braghin, C. (ed) Chinese Glass. Archaeological studies on the uses and social contest of glass artefacts from the Warring States to the Northern Song Period (fifth century B.C. to twelfth century A.D.). {{ISBN|8822251628}}
• Braghin, C. (2002b) "Polycrome and monochrome glass of the Warring States and Han periods" pp. 3–43 in Braghin, C. (ed) Chinese Glass. Archaeological studies on the uses and social contest of glass artefacts from the Warring States to the Northern Song Period (fifth century B.C. to twelfth century A.D.). {{ISBN|8822251628}}
• Brill, R., Tong, S. and Dohrenwend, D. (1991) "Chemical analysis of some early Chinese glasses" pp. 21–26 in Brill, R. and Martin, J. (eds) Scientific research in early Chinese glass. Proceedings of the Archaeometry of Glass Sessions of the 1984 International Symposium on Glass, Beijin, September 7, 1984. The Corning Museum of Glass,
• Cheng Zhuhai and Zhou Changyuan (1991) "A 'glass garment' from a Western Han tomb in Jiangsu Province" pp. 21–26 in Brill, R. and Martin, J. (eds) Scientific research in early Chinese glass. Proceedings of the Archaeometry of Glass Sessions of the 1984 International Symposium on Glass, Beijin, September 7, 1984. The Corning Museum of Glass
• Gao Zhixi (1991) "A glass bi and a decorated sword from Hunan province" pp. 119–123 in Brill, R. and Martin, J. (eds) Scientific research in early Chinese glass. Proceedings of the Archaeometry of Glass Sessions of the 1984 International Symposium on Glass, Beijin, September 7, 1984. The Corning Museum of Glass
• Jenyns, R. (1981) Chinese Art III: Textiles, Glass and Painting on Glass. Phaidon Press
• Kerr, R. and Wood, N. (2004) "Part XII: Ceramic technology" in Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0521838339}}
• Pinder-Wilson, R. (1991) "The Islamic lands and China" pp. 112–143 in Tait, H. (ed) Five thousand years of glass. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Shi Meiguang, He Ouli, Wu Zongdao and Zhou Fuzheng (1991) "Investigations of some ancient Chinese lead glasses" pp. 21–26 in Brill, R. and Martin, J. (eds) Scientific research in early Chinese glass. Proceedings of the Archaeometry of Glass Sessions of the 1984 International Symposium on Glass, Beijin, September 7, 1984. The Corning Museum of Glass
• {{cite journal|author1=Shi Meiguang, Li Yinde and Zhou Fuzhen |year=1992|title= Some new glass finds in China|journal= Journal of Glass Studies |volume=34|publisher= The Corning Museum of Glass|pages=23–26}}
• Zhang Fukang (1991) "Scientific studies of early glasses excavated in China'. In Brill, R. and Martin, J. (eds) Scientific research in early Chinese glass. Proceedings of the Archaeometry of Glass Sessions of the 1984 International Symposium on Glass, Beijin, September 7, 1984. The Corning Museum of Glass, pp. 157–165

• {{cite book |author=Watt, James C.Y. | title=China: dawn of a golden age, 200-750 AD |url=http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/56691/rec/1 | location=New York | publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art | year=2004 | isbn=1588391264|display-authors=etal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Chinese Glass}}

Category:History of science and technology in China

Category:History of glass