Spectroscopic Approaches to Cultural Heritage Objects: A Moriage-Decorated Japanese Dragonware Plate

Abstract

In this study, the material composition and coloration strategies of the three moriage enamel colors (white, black, and orange) on a Japanese Dragonware plate were elucidated through a multi-technique approach. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) was employed to determine the bulk-averaged chemistry. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) point analysis was performed to assess microscale compositions and elemental distributions. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to evaluate the polymerization/depolymerization behavior of the silicate glass network, and Raman spectroscopy was applied to fingerprint the pigment phases. It was demonstrated that the enamels were produced with color-specific formulations. In DW-W (white), a Pb and alkali-rich, low-melting, and fluid Pb-alkali silicate binder was identified. In DW-B (black), a more depolymerized network was identified, attributed to the dilution of the glass phase by the pigment, and this assessment was supported by the presence of a carbon-based pigment, as verified by Raman and EDS results. In DW-O (orange), an Al-rich feldspathic framework together with hematite (α-Fe2O3), signatures were observed. Differences in the position and bandwidth of the ~900-1100 cm-1 asymmetric Si-O band in FT-IR, together with the D1/D2 ring modes in Raman, were found to indicate different degrees of network polymerization among the colors. Across the Raman and FT-IR analyses, the absence of crystalline quartz fingerprints together with the presence of broad glass bands was taken to confirm that the enamels were embedded within an amorphous glass matrix. These results were considered to evidence an overglaze technology involving low-temperature, multi-step firing and color-specific recipes. The findings are proposed as a scalable analytical template for classification and conservation strategies in multilayer decorative systems such as moriage-enameled Dragonware.

Keywords

• Overglaze enamel
• XRF analysis
• FT-IR analysis
• Raman analysis
• Cultural heritage objects

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