蔚县故城寺水陆壁画材料与工艺初步研究

Study on the craft and materials of the Shui-Lu wall paintings at Gucheng Templein Yuxian County

故城寺释迦殿建于明正德二年(1507年),其殿内的水陆壁画将儒、道、佛三教融汇在一起,是研究中国绘画艺术及宗教思想演进变化的重要实物资料。通过对壁画结构特征和材质组成等综合分析,壁画结构的层位关系依次是:支撑体→粗泥层→细泥层→底色层→颜料层→沥粉贴金,北壁壁画在底色层上依次是底稿层、贴纸层(纸张)和颜料层;细泥层以黄土、石粒和动物纤维为主。壁画的红色和橙色颜料为朱砂,粉色由铅丹和朱砂混合调色而成,黑色为炭黑,蓝色为普鲁士蓝。绿色为羟氯铜矿,并有少量辉铜矿;这在壁画中是较为少见的。沥粉贴金中所用金箔为Au-Ag-Pb合金,即大赤金。结合普鲁士蓝颜料在中国出现及贸易的时间,推测“绘制年代应早于清道光二十九年(1849年)”这一说法更为合适,即壁画绘制于乾隆中后期(1760—1770)至道光二十九年(1849年)之间。

The Shui-Lu wall paintings,a kind of religion-themed wall painting in North China,at Gucheng Temple is located on the walls of an early 16th century building—Sakyamuni Hall—of the temple.The theme of the paintings integrates three religions—Confucianism,Taoism and Buddhism—making the paintings an important case for the study of the history of Chinese painting art and the development of local religions in North China.However,the period of the paintings still remains controversial.There are two hypotheses:one tells that the paintings were finished in the same year of Sakyamuni Hall in 1507(the 2nd year of the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty),which is referred to in a few publications;the other believes they were painted between the 1820s and 1840s(the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty),particularly earlier than 1849(the 29th year of the Daoguang period)according to the records of the donors and related genealogies and inscriptions.We studied the craft and materials of the Shui-Lu wall paintings at Gucheng Temple.The result also contributes to the periodization of the paintings together with historical records.Based on onsite investigations,material analysis of the paintings was carried out using section microscopy,Raman spectrometry(Raman),scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometry(SEM-EDS),X-ray diffraction(XRD)and infrared spectrometry(IR).As a result of the analysis,the structures and material compositions of the paintings were clarified.The structural layers of the paintings from inside to outside are core support,coarse plaster layer,fine plaster layer,white ground layer,paint layer and embossed painting and gilding craft.The difference is that the painting on the north wall consists of sketch layer,sticker layer(paper)and paint layer in turn outwards on the white ground layer.The coarse plaster is dominated by loess and wheat-straw,and the fine plaster is mainly composed of clay,pebble(0.5~2 mm)and animal fibers—usually,small pebbles are rarely seen in the fine plaster of painting.The pigments used on the paintings are mostly minerals.The red and orange ones are cinnabar,the pink one is mixed with red lead and cinnabar,the black one is carbon black,and the blue one is Prussian blue.The green pigment is botallackite,with a small amount of chalcocite,which was rarely found on wall paintings in China.The gold foil used in the embossed painting and gilding craft is Au-Ag-Pb alloy,with Au accounting for 75.19%,namely Dachijin.Using IR,the material of the sticker layer in the painting on the north wall was identified as paper,which was made with the addition of ceramic clay;the pigments used were consistent with those on other walls.The presence of the sticker layer beneath the paint layer of wall paintings is an extremely rare phenomenon,and few related reports are available.Considering that Prussian blue was introduced and exported into China during 1760s to 1770s(the mid and late Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty),and Yuxian County,where Gucheng Temple is located,was a local commercial hub from mid-17th century,it is believed that the paintings were finished between 1760s and 1849(from the mid and late Qianlong period to the 29th year of the Daoguang period).In this study,material analysis was innovatively applied to the periodization of wall paintings.It not only describes a scientific methodology to estimate the period of East-Asian wall paintings,but also contributes to the understanding of the Shui-Lu wall paintings of Gucheng Temple for its conservation and restoration.The outcomes of this study provide reference about local wall paintings’craft and materials in Yuxian County,and also help to comprehend the social and technical development in pre-modern North China.