1) The ceramic specimens collected should be selected from the ceramic fragments with clear archaeological sites or kiln sites and reliable strata. Under special circumstances, you can also choose handed down products with accurate records or dates;
2) The number of each ceramic chip sample or the whole device shall not be less than 10. Of course, the more specimens are collected, the closer the results are to the truth;
3) The chemical composition data of the specimen should include the types and contents of constant, trace and trace elements as much as possible;
4) The technological information of the specimen should be grasped as comprehensively as possible, such as the source and treatment of raw materials, sintering method and sintering temperature.
5) When nondestructive testing chemical composition, we need a set of special standard reference materials for testing China ancient ceramics with wide coverage and uniform distribution of element types and contents. The so-called special use not only requires that its element composition and content be as close as possible to China ancient ceramics, but also needs to be fired;
6) A "China Ancient Ceramics Physical and Chemical Basic Database" with large capacity, strong operability and strong universality must be established;
7) The obtained data can be calculated and processed by various methods such as multivariate statistical analysis, and the most reasonable and true results can be obtained;
8) Combined with the specific firing process, deduce and summarize the obtained laws, so as to draw objective and testable conclusions and even put forward guiding theories.
To sum up, it is extremely important to establish a perfect specimen bank, which will be difficult. It is difficult for us to get a complete sample from the age and kiln mouth. However, the data obtained from the existing limited samples can reveal this regularity. For example, the known southern porcelain contains low calcium, while the northern porcelain contains high calcium (the iron content in the south is slightly higher), which is why the southern porcelain is blue when fired in a reducing atmosphere, while the northern porcelain is yellow in an oxidizing atmosphere. In this regard, can we get the data of cyanosis and yellowing from the existing specimens, so as to find out the law.
But if the archaeological findings are wrong, the data in the database will be difficult to guarantee. Is there any way to correct or overcome this? Also, as the saying goes, a foot tall makes the devil ten feet tall. If criminals use the obtained data to copy, how will they be identified? These are just technical links.
On the whole, experts represented by Professor Li Jiazhi and Professor Wang Changsui believe that there are still three major problems that need to be solved seriously:
First, experts and scholars in cultural relics and archaeology, as well as experts and scholars in science and technology, are inherently deficient, that is, cultural relics and archaeology professionals lack scientific and technological foundation, and scientific and technological personnel lack cultural relics and archaeology knowledge. The fundamental solution to this problem is to cultivate professionals who know both cultural relics, archaeology and science and technology. Only in this way can scientific appraisal develop healthily. But it won't happen overnight.
Second, there is still a certain gap with the international in the application of new technologies. For example, the Smithsonian National Museum and the Chicago Museum of Fine Arts have such XRF laboratories. No matter how big the cultural relics to be analyzed are, as long as they can be moved into the laboratory, any part of the cultural relics to be detected can be nondestructive tested. Another example is the prompt neutron activation method adopted by the Japan Institute of Atomic Force for nondestructive testing of cultural relics. Although we don't know the details yet, we should see that this method has certain advantages and may also play a special role in the scientific identification of ancient ceramics in China.
However, as far as the scientific identification of ancient ceramics in China is concerned, there should not be too many obstacles in detection methods, and the analysis software should also be seriously considered. At present, SPSS software package is mostly used at home and abroad. Except discriminant analysis, other multivariate statistical analysis software works well. However, we can't help but see that the software package is universal and not specially compiled for the test data of ancient ceramics in China. In principle, there should be a lot of work to do here. Professor Luo of Shaanxi University of Science and Technology has compiled a special principal factor analysis software for the analysis of ancient ceramics in China, but it has achieved good results in practical use. However, this work needs qualified units to further develop the special software for multivariate statistical analysis of ancient ceramics in China, so as to improve the scientific and technological appraisal of ancient ceramics in China.
Thirdly, the scientific appraisal of China ancient ceramics has obvious commercial operation nature. From this point of view, it is difficult to carry out international exchanges and cooperation. But everything can be done from point to surface, such as strengthening cooperation with universities, research institutions and auction houses in Hong Kong. Dr. Liang from the Department of Physics and Materials Science of City University of Hong Kong has done a lot of work, which has effectively promoted the exchanges between mainland scholars and their counterparts in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's cultural relics market has a particularly important position in the world. If the time is ripe, we will cooperate with relevant units in Hong Kong to set up the China Ancient Ceramics Science and Technology Appraisal Center in Hong Kong, which will undoubtedly have greater international influence. However, this work needs the cooperation and support of many departments.
Traditional identification and scientific identification of cultural relics need to be combined, which is a long road to sustainable development. At present, Hefei Zhongpu Art Testing Center has professionals who know both cultural relics archaeology and science and technology, but we will continue to work hard, keep learning, and strive to introduce foreign advanced technology to achieve the highest accuracy of cultural relics identification, so that our ancient China antiquities can be properly preserved and the wisdom and cultural spirit of the ancients can be passed down from generation to generation. Today, with the rapid development of science and technology, we have a strong history as the backing, and every step along the way will be more stable.