The Corrosion Study Of Ancient Bronzes Excavated From Penglai, Shandong Province

The study on the corrosion of antique bronzes is prerequisite to their preservation and restoration. Related research was first carried out by scholars abroad. Till now it has a history of around two hundred years.It is generally believed that the corrosion of ancient bronzes is influenced by both internal and external factors. With rapid environmental change in recent years, more and more attention is drawn to the relationship between environments and bronze corrosion. Previous studies were mainly focused on the Zhongyuan District. Instead, this dissertation chooses ancient bronzes excavated in a much less studied region– the City of Penglai in Shandong Province, a city located in the east coast with well developed industry, damp air, and high concentration of salt– as the main research objects.Based on good knowledge of the research on bronze corrosion both at home and abroad, a combined use of techniques of RM, FT-IR, WDXRF, and XRDP is done to analyze the corrosion products sampled from more than twenty bronzes collected in the Dengzhou Museum in Penglai. After a systematical study of the classification and characteristics of the corrosion products, local environments, and the museum micro-environment, this dissertation discusses the factors that influence the corrosion of bronzes in this museum.Furthermore, after simulating various conservational environments, this dissertation compares the corrosion rates and products of bronzes with different compositions, and probes into the mechanism of bronze corrosion in Penglai. These results should serve good reference for antique bronze conservation in coastal areas.