What Colors Are on the Terracotta Warriors?

The popular impression of the Terracotta Warriors is a majestic and solemn gray military formation. The terracotta warriors are dark and look gloomy and cold. However, archaeological data shows that the terracotta warriors were originally colored all over, and were a vivid and lively underground army.

This army has survived fires, collapsed and buried terracotta pits, and groundwater intrusion during its more than 2,000 years of burial. Much of the color on the terracotta figurines and horses were destroyed. The color remnants that were lucky enough to remain were then exposed to drastic and sudden changes in environmental humidity after excavation. It would also be difficult to preserve them without timely protective measures.

So, what colors were originally on the terracotta warriors? And how did archaeologists explore the world of color in the ruins?

After extensive sampling and analysis, archaeologists found that the pigments used in the terracotta warriors’ paintings were all mineral pigments. They are either products of natural ore processing or synthetic minerals, and the common colors are white, green, blue, red, purple, etc. These pigments are colorful and take on a different appearance under the microscope. Let’s take a look at a few typical pigments!

Cinnabar

Cinnabar is a common red pigment on the surface of the Terracotta Warriors, the main component of which is mercury sulfide. The cinnabar ore on the surface of the terracotta warriors and horses was carefully selected and ground to a sufficient extent to give it a pure and vivid color. It was recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian: “The widow of Ba Qing, who first obtained the Dan cave… … “. The “Dan” mentioned here is vermilion. The widow Qing, who had a lot of wealth because of the vermilion trade, was respected by even Qin Shi Huang. However, it is hard to say whether the vermilion on the surface of the terracotta warriors came from the widow Qing.

Vermilion under the microscope

When observed under a microscope, vermilion is generally long or broken rock-like crystals with a red or orange color.

Lapis Lazuli

Lime is a blue pigment, the main component of which is blue bronze ore, which is often found in nature on the oxide zone of copper ores. China began to make pigments from this mineral as late as the pre-Qin period. It was found on silk paintings excavated from the Mawangdui Han tomb in Hunan Province.

Microscopic lapis lazuli

Under the microscope, lapis lazuli is generally blue in color, and the pigment crystals have a rocky crushed appearance.

Stone Green

Stone green is a green pigment, also known as malachite, which often accompanies stone green in nature. It is a green pigment widely used in ancient China. Stone green was found on a Warring States stone chime excavated in Jiangling, Hubei. A large amount of stone green is also found on the murals of the Mogao Caves at Dunhuang.

Stone green under the microscope

Stone green crystals are generally rectangular in shape and have a fine fibrous structure.

Bone White

Bone white is a man-made white mineral pigment, the main component of which is calcium hydroxyphosphate. Ancient Chinese bone white pigments were found in the murals of Xianyang Palace and Abang Palace during the Qin Dynasty, as well as in the burial pits of the Qin Tombs area and the Hanyang Tombs. A large amount of bone white was applied to the white and pink surfaces of the terracotta warriors and horses. These pigments were generally obtained by firing animal bones at a high temperature of about 1000°C. We may make interesting speculation that the bones from which the bone white pigments were fired may have been produced by the daily diet of the artisans and tomb repairers back then.

Bone white under the microscope

The edges of the crystals of bone white pigment are not very clear, and there are many small black dots gathered on the surface.

Chinese Violet

Chinese violet (Han violet) is an ancient synthetic mineral pigment, the main component of which is barium copper silicate. This kind of purple mineral has not been found in nature. From the excavated objects, its application began in the late Western Zhou Dynasty. It lasted until after the Eastern Han Dynasty and then disappeared. We have arranged the regions and eras in which Chinese violet was used in ancient times and found that the trajectory of the use of this pigment coincided with the development of the Qin state and the Qin empire. In this way, the synthetic Chinese violet may have been a “hard technology” mastered by the early Qin. This technology was inherited in the Han Dynasty but was lost for various reasons.

Chinese violet under the microscope

When we look at Chinese violet under a microscope, we see that the color of the pigment mineral particles varies from dark violet to light violet to colorless, and the size of the particles varies.

Polarizing microscope – a “magic tool” for exploring the world of color

In confirming what pigments are on the surface of the terracotta warriors and observing their microscopic forms, the researchers resorted to a convenient and economical device – a polarizing microscope. The polarizing microscope adds two polarizers to a regular light microscope. The polarizers produce polarized light, which keeps the light waves vibrating in a certain direction. These crystals can be identified by observing the size, shape, color, refractive index, surface morphology, and other properties of the crystal particles that make up minerals under polarized light.

In addition to the surface painting of the terracotta warriors, the researchers have also studied a large number of ancient pigments from different eras and regions. In the process of exploring the colors on the surface of the terracotta warriors, the archaeologists have built a bridge between ancient and modern times by constructing macroscopic through microscopic.