The origin of Chinese glasses and the glass trade along the Silk Road

This is a hybrid event hosted by the International Centre for Chinese Heritage and Archaeology (ICCHA), which will take place in Room 209, 2nd floor of the UCL Institute of Archaeology, and also online via Zoom. Registration for the Zoom event is via the booking link above. 

Qian Ma (DPhil student, University of Oxford) will give a presentation entitled 'The origin of Chinese glasses and the glass trade along the Silk Road from the Warring States to the Han Dynasty'.

Abstract

The Silk Roads played a crucial role in facilitating the trade of various types of glass products. Glass artefacts made from natron glass from the Mediterranean, potash glass, and mineral soda alumina glass from South and Southeast Asia have been found in different regions of China. During the late Warring States period in China, lead-barium glass emerged and was considered a Chinese innovation because of its high barium content. However, recent analysis using laser-ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and multivariable kernel density estimation techniques suggest that the Syro-Palestinian coast may have been the source region for the raw materials used to make lead-barium glass. Additionally, the silica source for producing lead-barium glass was found to be different from that used for lead-barium faience.

Mineral soda alumina (m-Na-Al) glass and mineral potassium glass, in the form of monochrome drawn beads, were widely traded in South and Southeast Asia as early as the 2nd century BC. Multivariate Kernel Density Estimation analysis revealed that the silica sources of m-Na-Al glass and most of the potash glass discovered in Guangxi were identical, and were likely produced in Northeastern India or Southeast Asia and exported through the Maritime Silk Road. Meanwhile, the silica sources of m-Na-Al glass in Henan and the rest of the potash glasses were geologically similar, and probably originated from southern India or Sri Lanka, and were exported through the North and Southwest Silk Roads. Future research using isotopic analysis is expected to provide more insights into primary and secondary glass production in China, South, and Southeast Asia.

This seminar is free and open to all. All welcome!