Eleven rectangular plaques inlaid with transparent blue glass were unearthed from the tomb of the Nanyue King, Guangzhou City, China. Western Han Dynasty, 202 BCE – 8 CE. This is the earliest flat glass discovered in China. After examining the composition of the glass, it turned out that it was lead-barium glass produced in China at that time. Western glass was soda-lime.
The plaques are made of cooper alloy (bronze?) and gilded.
In the collection of the Nanyue King Palace Museum of the Western Han Dynasty
SOURCES
- Plaques in the collection of the Nanyue King Palace Museum https://k.sina.cn
- The earliest ancient glass in China — lead barium glass [an article] https://m.sohu.com/
- “Beautiful Colors: Glass Art in the Exchange of Ancient Eastern and Western Civilizations” the 2022 exhibition at Tsinghua Art Fair https://m.sohu.com
- Ancient Chinese glass is an accidental product. How has it developed in the past dynasties? [an article] https://kknews.cc/zh-my/history
- Ancient Chinese “glass”: more beautiful than jade https://m.glass.com.cn