Study on production techniques and provenance of faience beads excavated in China

Based on the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), about 20 faience beads from several cemeteries discovered since 1970 in China were studied chronologically and typologically. Faience beads excavated in China can be classified into two groups, chemically by composition, and by periods and provenance as: soda-enriched made somewhere on the route from Egypt to central China (11-10th century BCE); and potash-enriched made in China (middle Western Zhou to Eastern Zhou). According to the continuous matrix of inter particle glass (IP glass) and inner micro-structure, the difference between soda- and potash-enriched faience beads was identified, even though the IP glass was badly preserved. The faience beads with potash-enriched glaze and high copper content were in a better state of preservation than those with soda-enriched glaze because of their tight inner structure.