Scientific Analysis and Characteristics Study of Flambé-Glazed Porcelain from the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 Shipwreck

To clarify the body and glaze compositions, glaze-layer structure, coloration characteristics, and firing state of flambé-glazed porcelain recovered from the Yangtze River Estuary No. 2 Shipwreck, three representative sherds were characterized using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), optical coherence tomography (OCT), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (TEM-EDS), and thermal expansion analysis.

The results show that the porcelain bodies are characterized by high silica and alumina contents, and the characteristic onset temperature of shrinkage (To) determined from the thermal expansion curve is approximately 1150 ℃. The transparent glaze covering most of the inner wall and the outer glaze belong to different base-glaze systems, whereas the red and bluish-purple regions along the edge of the inner glaze are compositionally similar to the outer glaze.