Study on the morphology and structure of ε-Fe2O3 crystals in Chinese sauce wares (960–1279 CE)
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Sauce glazed wares, one of the most representative Fe-based glazed wares manufactured during the Song Dynasty, are characterized by the yellowish- to reddish-brown color with hue varying with the angle incidence of the light. In this work, representative sauce fragments from different kilns were systematically analyzed by multiple imaging and spectroscopic techniques. The results show that the glaze color is derived from the microsize dendritic ε-Fe 2 O 3 crystals in the glazes. The crystals are distributed in the whole glaze with obvious multi-layers, enhancing the coloring ability. Besides, numerous magnetite were observed in the glaze cross-section, giving rise to darken the glaze. In addition, the dendritic crystals are composed of comb-like secondary branches with an offset of hundreds of nanometers. Such a selective oriented structure could react with the incident light to generate structural color, giving rise to the glaze appearing angular heterochromism.
Source: npj Heritage Science
Institutions: Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Centre d’Élaboration de Matériaux et d’Études Structurales, Université de Toulouse
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4413868215