Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie belt

Abstract The Liao Dynasty’s highly developed textile industry was characterized as “the best in the world” in ancient Chinese literature. This study analyzed two textiles on a 蹀躞 (DieXie) belt excavated from the No.1 Liao Dynasty noble tomb of Zhangjiayao Forest (Shenyang, China), with one wrapping...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ruochen Ge, Lili Cong, Yongping Fu, Bing Wang, Guiyun Shen, Bing Xu, Mingzhou Hu, Han Yu, Jie Zhou, Lu Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2023-10-01
Series:Heritage Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-01064-6
_version_ 1797451824869933056
author Ruochen Ge
Lili Cong
Yongping Fu
Bing Wang
Guiyun Shen
Bing Xu
Mingzhou Hu
Han Yu
Jie Zhou
Lu Yang
author_facet Ruochen Ge
Lili Cong
Yongping Fu
Bing Wang
Guiyun Shen
Bing Xu
Mingzhou Hu
Han Yu
Jie Zhou
Lu Yang
author_sort Ruochen Ge
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Liao Dynasty’s highly developed textile industry was characterized as “the best in the world” in ancient Chinese literature. This study analyzed two textiles on a 蹀躞 (DieXie) belt excavated from the No.1 Liao Dynasty noble tomb of Zhangjiayao Forest (Shenyang, China), with one wrapping around the leather belt (T1) and the other on the surface of a leather pouch hanging on the belt (X1). They were identified as silk based on structures by morphological observation and chemical components revealed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Proteomics and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to investigate the animal origin of the silk, and the original color and dyestuffs of T1 were examined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). The results have shown that T1 consists of three layers of Bombyx mori silk plain fabric, and its original color was yellow-red dyed with madder and plants containing flavonoid dyeing tissue, consistent with the color of DieXie belts recorded in the ancient literature. The silk on the pouch is a layer of plain fabric, while the upper layer is embroidery on the Four-end-complex gauze, which was made of twisted Bombyx mori silk. We believe that the silk wrapping around the leather belt was to provide additional comfort and aesthetics after dyeing while protecting the leather, which is prone to warping and moisture. This study suggests that such silk fabrics with high specifications are one of the manifestations of the distinguished status of the tomb owner. The integration of various analytical methods on ancient silk fabrics enables us to learn various information about their textile forms, silk animal origins, colors and dyestuffs, revealing the highly developed silk waving techniques and prosperous costume culture of the Liao Dynasty.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T14:59:57Z
format Article
id doaj.art-64ae2856404e495399963aa4fcde4ff1
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2050-7445
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T14:59:57Z
publishDate 2023-10-01
publisher SpringerOpen
record_format Article
series Heritage Science
spelling doaj.art-64ae2856404e495399963aa4fcde4ff12023-11-26T13:57:57ZengSpringerOpenHeritage Science2050-74452023-10-0111111110.1186/s40494-023-01064-6Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie beltRuochen Ge0Lili Cong1Yongping Fu2Bing Wang3Guiyun Shen4Bing Xu5Mingzhou Hu6Han Yu7Jie Zhou8Lu Yang9School of Cultural Heritage, Northwest UniversityCultural Relics and Archaeological Institute of ShenyangCultural Relics and Archaeological Institute of ShenyangDepartment of Polymer Materials, Zhejiang Sci-Tech UniversityLiaoning Provincial MuseumDepartment of Polymer Materials, Zhejiang Sci-Tech UniversityDepartment of Polymer Materials, Zhejiang Sci-Tech UniversitySchool of Cultural Heritage, Northwest UniversityDepartment of Polymer Materials, Zhejiang Sci-Tech UniversitySchool of Cultural Heritage, Northwest UniversityAbstract The Liao Dynasty’s highly developed textile industry was characterized as “the best in the world” in ancient Chinese literature. This study analyzed two textiles on a 蹀躞 (DieXie) belt excavated from the No.1 Liao Dynasty noble tomb of Zhangjiayao Forest (Shenyang, China), with one wrapping around the leather belt (T1) and the other on the surface of a leather pouch hanging on the belt (X1). They were identified as silk based on structures by morphological observation and chemical components revealed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Proteomics and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to investigate the animal origin of the silk, and the original color and dyestuffs of T1 were examined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). The results have shown that T1 consists of three layers of Bombyx mori silk plain fabric, and its original color was yellow-red dyed with madder and plants containing flavonoid dyeing tissue, consistent with the color of DieXie belts recorded in the ancient literature. The silk on the pouch is a layer of plain fabric, while the upper layer is embroidery on the Four-end-complex gauze, which was made of twisted Bombyx mori silk. We believe that the silk wrapping around the leather belt was to provide additional comfort and aesthetics after dyeing while protecting the leather, which is prone to warping and moisture. This study suggests that such silk fabrics with high specifications are one of the manifestations of the distinguished status of the tomb owner. The integration of various analytical methods on ancient silk fabrics enables us to learn various information about their textile forms, silk animal origins, colors and dyestuffs, revealing the highly developed silk waving techniques and prosperous costume culture of the Liao Dynasty.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-01064-6Liao Dynasty silk fabricsDieXie beltProteomicsELISALC-MS/MS
spellingShingle Ruochen Ge
Lili Cong
Yongping Fu
Bing Wang
Guiyun Shen
Bing Xu
Mingzhou Hu
Han Yu
Jie Zhou
Lu Yang
Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie belt
Heritage Science
Liao Dynasty silk fabrics
DieXie belt
Proteomics
ELISA
LC-MS/MS
title Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie belt
title_full Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie belt
title_fullStr Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie belt
title_full_unstemmed Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie belt
title_short Multi-faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a Liao Dynasty DieXie belt
title_sort multi faceted analysis reveals the characteristics of silk fabrics on a liao dynasty diexie belt
topic Liao Dynasty silk fabrics
DieXie belt
Proteomics
ELISA
LC-MS/MS
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-023-01064-6
work_keys_str_mv AT ruochenge multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT lilicong multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT yongpingfu multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT bingwang multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT guiyunshen multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT bingxu multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT mingzhouhu multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT hanyu multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT jiezhou multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt
AT luyang multifacetedanalysisrevealsthecharacteristicsofsilkfabricsonaliaodynastydiexiebelt