Glass beads are made of artificial crystals of various colors and fired at a high temperature of 1400 degrees. In ancient China, the raw materials for making colored glasses were obtained from the by-products produced in bronze casting, and then refined and processed to make colored glasses. Coloured glaze is an artistic work made of artificial crystals with various colors (including 24% lead oxide) and sintered at high temperature by crystal dewaxing casting method.

This process needs dozens of careful manual operations to complete, and a little negligence may cause failure or defects. Glass beads are not only gorgeous, but also contain a mysterious brilliance. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, with the opening of the Silk Road and the introduction of Buddhism. Because the hardness of colored glaze is very strong, it is equivalent to the strength of nephrite. But you can't knock or collide hard, so you should pay attention to maintenance after owning a glass work.

archaeological finds

Archaeologists unearthed the glazed beads of Han Dynasty in Tomb No.20, which is a tomb with a vertical pit in the north-south direction, with a length of 2m, a width of 1.2m and a residual depth of about 0.9m There is no coffin left, and human bones are seriously corroded. Glass beads are located in the funerary objects on the west side of the mausoleum. The diameter of the bead is about 2cm, the cylinder is hollow, the whole bead is dark blue, and it is inlaid with sapphire glass. Part of the embedded part of the groove falls off, and white adhesive remains at the bottom of the groove. Judging from the appearance, this glass bead should be a pendant worn by the tomb owner.

Coloured glaze is made of crystals containing lead oxide by high temperature dewaxing process. Its process is long and extremely difficult, and it has been known as the first of the five famous vessels since ancient times. China's glaze technique began in the Western Zhou Dynasty and matured in the Han Dynasty. After two thousand years, the glazed beads unearthed this time are still dazzling and extremely rare. And its mosaic technology has distinct characteristics, which is an important material to study the history of glaze technology.