Analysis And Research On Smalt Pigment In The Ming And Qing Dynasties

Pigment is one aspect to reactive the human social productivity, political and religious beliefs and aesthetic consciousness from different regions and different periods. Smalt is a kind of artificial glass colored pigment with cobalt. It is a continuous network structure formed in the molten state, the viscosity of the cooling process is gradually increasing and hardening, but not the crystallization of silicate non-metallic materials; appear blue because of the color element Co; Because of the nature of glass, the pigment has high chemical stability, acid and alkali resistant, tinting strength is small, hiding power is low, the nature is stable.15-19 century, Smalt used in oil paintings, church murals in Europe. According to the literature, Smalt is an artificial synthetic pigment of industrial production, and gradually replaced by other artificial blue pigment after eighteenth Century. In recent years, Smalt was found in ancient architecture, sculpture, mural etc of China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties by the protection of cultural relics. This pigment in our country appeared later and few, and there is no relevant literature record, analysis of the majority of the pigment is only qualitative. This thesis is about the analysis and research of the Smalt pigment in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.The first part is the analysis of the ancient Smalt pigment. The characteristics of Smalt by using Polarized Light Microscopy, Raman Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectrometry, to determined the ancient Smalt pigment’s micro morphology, element composition and contents. Through data analysis and literature review, to confirm the use of time and region of Smalt pigment in our country, and compare between the foreign and the glass containing cobalt, to determine the relationship between the two.Secondly, using modern instrument analysis method to compare and analyze the modern blue pigment containing cobalt. Using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometer to analyze the morphology and composition of other cobalt blue pigment, it is clear that the content of cobalt containing glass is different in morphology and composition. Check the literature about the preparation method of the Smalt pigment, to synthesis this kind of pigment in laboratory. The analysis and identification of the laboratory prepared samples were carried out by means of polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy spectrum analysis. In order to understand the possible production process of the ancient Smalt pigment.