Radiocarbon dating of asian lacquers molecular characterization and assessment of a pretreatment method prior to accelerator mass spectrometry
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Discipline
Chemical sciences
Subject
Asian lacquer, micro-Raman spectroscopy, radiocarbon dating, THM-Py-GC-MS
Audience
Scientific
Date
2023Publisher
Radiocarbon
Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
Lacquerwork technologies comprise multiple techniques depending on countries, time, and traditions.
Carved Asian lacquers applied on wooden objects consist of multiple thin uncolored or pigmented layers spread over
the surface. To radiocarbon (14C) date these types of objects, often only the wooden structure is used. Here we report on
a set of carved lacquered objects that were dated based on stylistic form, 14C dating of the wooden structure and of the
Asian lacquers. THM-Py-GC-MS and micro-Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the molecular composition of
the lacquers and helped assessing the pretreatment protocol. The lacquers analyzed contained between 20 and 50% wt
carbon, thus 2–5 mg of sample were necessary for 14C dating. The dates obtained on wood and lacquers showed a
reliable correlation. The results suggest that, in most cases, it is sufficient to sample a part of the lacquer layers to date
an object. We advise to perform an acid pretreatment followed by a successive solvent immersion with an increasing
polarity. Dating different components of a lacquered object can also help to understand previous restoration
interventions that frequently occur for ancient lacquered objects. Ceramic, metallic, and other objects covered with
Asian lacquers can also be dated using this approach.
Citation
Wojcieszak M, Veenhoven J, Van den Brande T, Saverwyns S, Lynen F, Boudin M., “Radiocarbon dating of asian lacquers molecular characterization and assessment of a pretreatment method prior to accelerator mass spectrometry” , Radiocarbon, 65/5 (2023) :1193-1212
Identifiers
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng
