Techniques employed in making ancient thin-walled bronze vessels unearthed in Hubei Province, China

摘要

In this paper, two ancient thin-walled bronze vessels unearthed in Anlu County of Hubei Province, China, were studied systematically by using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and nanoindentation system, and also we calculated the Sn diffusion in a Cu substrate based upon the substitu-tional mechanism at high temperature. The results indicated that the vessels were possibly fabricated using the following processes: (1) alloying the high-tin Cu-Sn bronze; (2) casting the preliminary shape of the vessels; (3) forging the vessels in the temperature range of 586-798 ℃; (4) simply wiping tinning on the surface of the vessel at high temperature; (5) quenching the vessels to room temperature; and (6) at last, grinding and polishing the surface of the vessels. It seems that the present thin-walled bronze vessels provide an evidence of the spread of thin-walled high-tin bronze technology in China and its surrounding regions.