Non-destructive In situ identification of cinnabar on ancient Chinese manuscripts

摘要

A standard, non-destructive, in situ analytical procedure has been developed to test the proposal that cinnabar [mercury(II) sulphide] is the principal component of red inks and pigments on pre-tenth century Chinese manu- scripts. Eight manuscript fragments with traces of red ink or pigmenation, and also one textile fragment, were examined by Raman microscopy, Fourier transform near-infrared Raman spectroscopy and x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Mercury(II) sulphide was unambiguously identified on all four paper samples with red calligraphy and on the textile fragment with red pigmentation.