Shuya Wei a,?, Yufang Li a, Qinglin Ma b, Shuhong Lou c, Manfred Schreiner d

(a Institute of Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, China
b Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, 2 Gaoyuan Street, Beijing, China
c Zhejiang Province Museum, 25 Gushan Road, Hongzhou, China
d Institute of Natural Sciences and Technology in Arts, Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, Schiller Platz 3, A1010 Austria)

Abstract:  This paper presents the results of the analysis investigation of the lamp oil remains from a Tang Dynasty tomb (901 AD) in Lin An County, Zhejiang Province of China. The techniques applied include direct pyrolysis gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), Py-GC/MS with in-situ hydrolysis and methylation, as well as Py-GC/MS with double-shot method. Through the analysis, plant oil—most likely perilla oil was identified in the sample. The detection of the aromatic compounds (such as calamene, calamenene, cycloisolongifolene, 8,9-dehydro-neoisolongifolene, cadalene, cedrene, ylangene, cuparene and cedrol) indicates the presence of cedar oil and other essential oils in the lamp remains. Unexpectedly, the marker compounds of urushi including methyl 7-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl) heptanoate, methyl 9-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl) nonanoate and 1,2-dimethoxy-3-pentadecylbenzene were also detected in the sample.

Characterization of Tang Dynasty lamp oil remains by using pyrolysis gas chromatography and mass spectrometry