Chinese glass ornaments from the port site of Shuo Gate, Zhejiang, China, 10th–13th Century CE

Ancient China is often regarded as the country of clothes and hair ornaments due to numerous archaeological finds. The tradition to study dress and hair decorations reflects their practical use, social status, and aesthetic spirit of ancient Chinese people. Hairpins, used for stabilizing the long hair of both men and women, are one of the most common hair accessories in the history of China. This paper is the first to specifically concentrate on glass hairpins rather than other glass ornaments such as beads and bangles. The finds were excavated in 2022 from an ancient port site named as Shuo Gate. The site is located in the north of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, a coastal city in southern China along the maritime Silk Road. Five representative samples in different colours and levels of opacification were selected for scientific analysis. LA-ICP-MS analysis was applied on the glass material to obtain compositional results and integral characteristics of each sample. Furthermore, non-invasive methods such as micro-CT and Raman spectroscopy were employed to determine the inner structure of this special type of glass ornament and to explore the possible manufacturing techniques used between the 10th and 13th centuries CE. Based on the compositions of the major and minor elements, they were divided into two distinct types: K2O-PbO-SiO2 and K2O-CaO-SiO2 glass. The relationships between the glass finds and the site were also discussed for their possible provenances and commodity attributes. Combined with other published reports, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of origin, distribution and communication with the world along the maritime Silk Road in terms of Chinese glass.