Noninvasive methods for the investigation of ancient Chinese jades: an integrated analytical approach

Abstract

This paper reports on an integrated analytical approach for the noninvasive characterization of Chinese nephrite samples, encompassing both geological reference specimens and museum objects. Natural variations induced by cationic substitutions, as well as human-induced alterations such as heating, which both affect color, are the focus of this contribution. Totally noninvasive methods of analysis were used, including X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman microspectroscopy, visible reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction; moreover, the feasibility of using a portable Raman spectrometer for the in-field identification of jades has been demonstrated. Fe/Fe+Mg (% p.f.u.) ratios of the jades have been calculated based on hydroxyl stretching Raman bands, which will provide an important addition to similar data that are being collected at major museums in the Western and Eastern hemispheres.

Geochemistry and petrology of nephrite from Alamas, Xinjiang, NW China

“…1C), it seems that Fe (Tables 3 and 6, Fig. 7), which are the major color-causing elements of nephrite (e.g., Douglas, 1996Douglas, , 2003Leaming, 1978;Wilkins et al, 2003;Casadio et al, 2007), originate from granodiorite. It appears that nephrite zones are caused by the gradient of color-causing elements from igneous rocks to dolomitic marble.…”

“…Furthermore, there is an increasing need for deposit knowledge in source-tracing studies of the Chinese archaic jades. At present, archaeologists reach their conclusions by comparing geochemical data of jades found in museums Jing, 1993, 1996;Wan et al, 2002;Sax et al, 2004;Chen et al, 2004;Casadio et al, 2007) to in-sit those samples which remain poorly understood (Zhang, 2002;Cui et al, 2002). For the Hetian nephrite deposit, which has been believed to be a dolomite-related deposit (Yui and Kwon, 2002;Harlow and Sorensen, 2005;Liu et al, 2010), it lacks geochemical or petrographic data for the genesis interpretations, as well as no temperature constraints or fluid compositions, which is key data for understanding roles in hydrothermal water during nephrite or ore mineralization (e.g., Yui and Kwon, 2002;Deng et al, 2009;Yang et al, 2009), establishing the nephrite genesis, and understanding of nephrite formation conditions.…”

Application of Raman spectroscopy in the nondestructive analyses of ancient Chinese jades

“…Xiuyu), turquoise or quartz are so many that these minerals are regarded as the four main traditional Chinese jades. Some scholars, such as Shurvell et al, [5] Chen et al [6] and Casadio et al, [7] have already researched on the ancient nephrite jades of China by Raman spectroscopy. This paper reports the identification of the four types of Chinese traditional jades with Raman spectroscopy and discusses some relevant and further problems.…”

Studies on the Element Characteristics of Nephrite Minerals from Different Deposits by GD-MS

“…For example, Casadio and co-workers 4 used noninvasive methods to study some Chinese nephrite jades on their structures, elemental composition and color. While Adams and co-workers 5 investigated the strontium isotopic signature of New Zealand nephrite jade using thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TI-MS).…”