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THz Spectroscopic Identification of Red Mineral Pigments in Ancient Chinese Artworks

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Abstract

Nondestructive analysis of historical objects is of significance for cultural heritage conservation. In this paper, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) was used to distinguish seven red mineral pigments used in ancient Chinese artworks. Two absorption features of natural minerals HgS and four highly resolved spectral features of mineral pigment Pb3O4 were observed and identified as their fingerprints in the range 0.2 to 3.0 THz, based on which the spatial distribution of individual chemical substances including cinnabar, vermilion, and red lead were clearly revealed at various frequencies using terahertz spectroscopy imaging. Moreover, a noncontact evaluation of thickness changing and dehydration of a wet painting was monitored by inferring time delay as well as signal amplitude of THz pulses transmitted through the painting. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of THz-TDS and THz imaging for authentic artworks detection, a complete set of THz analysis of two nineteenth century wall paintings discovered in the Fuchen Temple of the Forbidden City, Beijing, was performed and the results indicate that THz measurement techniques provide a noninvasive and nondestructive solution for the care, preservation, and restoration of cultural relics.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge Dr. XXX Sedao of the University of Lyon, France, for his fruitful discussions. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11574408, 11374378, 61627814 and 61675238), the National Instrumentation Program (Grant No. 2012YQ14000508), The National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFB0405402), Technology Foundation for Selected Overseas Chinese Scholar, Beijing Science and Technology Project (Grant No. D151100006015002), and the Young-talent Plan of State Affairs Commission (Grant No. 2016-3-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China

    Yuping Yang & Dongwei Zhai

  2. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Imaging Technology, Beijing Key Laboratory for Terahertz Spectroscopy and Imaging, Key Laboratory of Terahertz Optoelectronics, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Zhenwei Zhang & Cunlin Zhang

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  1. Yuping Yang
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  2. Dongwei Zhai
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Correspondence to Zhenwei Zhang.

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Yang, Y., Zhai, D., Zhang, Z. et al. THz Spectroscopic Identification of Red Mineral Pigments in Ancient Chinese Artworks. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 38, 1232–1240 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-017-0408-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-017-0408-8

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