gems, color, color science, China

Yuan Dexing (a.k.a. Chuge), a researcher at the National Palace Museum in Taipei and a renowned painter, wrote a provocative essay entitled “Conception of Painting in the Shang and Chou Dynasties.” In it he claimed that ancient Chinese bronzes, like ancient Greek sculptures, were originally painted with dazzling colors, but the natural process of oxidation over the centuries and collectors’ and archaeologists’ efforts to clean them have destroyed the remaining pigments. Although no research has confirmed this, recent archaeological discoveries vindicate Yuan’s attention to the use of colors in early Chinese art. One obvious example is the “rediscovery” of the polychrome terracotta army of the First Emperor of Qin in Lintong, Shaanxi Province (plate 1). The grayish terracotta figures were originally painted in rich red, pink, blue, green, yellow, and purple. With the assistance of German conservators, Chinese archaeologists excavated additional terracotta soldiers and successfully preserved their colors.