In search of the origin of Xinjiang lacquerware: materials and techniques of a lacquered wooden plate from ancient Turpan, China

Xinjiang, located in the heart of the Eurasia, lacked the necessary conditions for lacquerware production. However, there were an abundance of exquisite lacquerwares unearthed here. Consequently, the precise origin of Xinjiang lacquerware has long remained an unsolved mystery. This study conducted a stratified analysis of a lacquered wooden plate excavated from the tomb of Zhang Dinghe at the Astana Cemetery by fiber and wood identification, SEM-EDS, and Py-GC/MS. The lacquer film layer includes lacquer from saps of Toxicodendron vernicifluum or Toxicodendron succedaneum and perilla oil from the seeds of Perilla frutescens. The lacquer plaster layer is presumably mixed from bone ash, quartz, and lacquer. The fabric layer is made from fibers of Cannabis sativa. The wooden body layer is made from wood of Ulmus. Based on historical documents and archaeological research, it is determined that this plate was potentially originated from Xiangzhou (modern Xiangyang, Hubei), a prominent lacquerware production center of that era. Flowing along the Silk Road, the exchange of lacquerware and its associated production techniques, centered in China, gradually crystallized into an ancient network known as the “Lacquerware Road”, which fostered an early form of globalization and reshaped artistic traditions across Eurasia.