Technical Features of A Ninth-Century Silver Vessel of Southern China Uncovered From Famen Monastery, Shaanxi Province

Abstract

Silver art is an important feature of the Tang dynasty in China and the manufacturing center for silver shifted from north to south after the mid-8th century CE. The typology, stylistics and iconography of silver vessels from both regions have been studied in detail. Moreover, the analysis of northern-origin silver vessels has garnered significant attention in recent years. However, the technological characteristics of southern silver vessels are unknown. The current work presents a non-invasive scientific analysis on a partially-gilded silver box from Jiangnanxidao of Tang (China), which was uncovered from the pagoda crypt of the Famen Monastery in Fufeng County, Shaanxi province. The analytical results reveal that the box was made of high-quality silver, smelted by cupellation, and composed of five pieces, which were bonded together with some sort of a soldering alloy. The ring foot was brazed to the bottom of box with Ag–Cu alloy. Hammering, brazing, engraving, repoussé, tracing and partial fire-gilding were employed to shape and decorate the box. One should note that these techniques are commonly observed in Tang silver vessels. Besides, the production and decorative procedures were identified through the tool marks. More strikingly, the comparison of tracing details between the southern box, presented here, and the previously reported northern silver vessels demonstrates that the former is more precise in terms of decorative details. Moreover, the similarities in motif expressions of southern-origin silver vessels after the mid-8th century and northern-origin silver vessels before the mid-8th century reflect the inheritance of decorative style, whilst the differences in technical skills indicate the evolution of decorative techniques, which attained high perfection by the southern silversmiths after the downfall of northern China. The current study presents novel insights into the silver technology of southern China during the late Tang dynasty.