Non-destructive analysis of Jingdezhen blue and white porcelains of the Ming dynasty using EDXRF

EDXRF was applied to the non-destructive determination of 13 trace elements, i.e. Ti, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ga, Pb, Rb, Sr, Y and Zr, in 27 Jingdezhen blue and white imperial porcelains of the Ming dynasty, 11 imitations of blue and white porcelains of the Ming dynasty and one modern Jingdezhen porcelain. To ensure identical matrix conditions of the calibration source and the samples, broken pieces of Jingdezhen porcelains of the Ming and Qing dynasties were used directly for the calibration. The quantitative data on the trace elements were analysed using principal component analysis, which showed that porcelains of five periods of the Ming dynasty, namely the Yongle, Xuande, Chenghua, Jiajing and Wanli periods, can be classified into four categories. Based on this, imitations of blue and white porcelains of the Ming dynasty were examined.