An ancient table zither qin, an emblematic stringed instrument of traditional Chinese music, has been rediscovered in the museum collection of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (inv.4224, CNAM collection), Paris. This instrument named “Qiulai” qin, whose origin is poorly documented, can claim to be one of the oldest qin preserved in European collections; its state of conservation is exceptional. A thorough examination was carried out based on an innovative approach combining museum expertise, material characterization analyses (optical microscopy, VIS/IR/UV imaging, X-ray fluorescence, SEM–EDS, Raman) and advanced radiocarbon dating technology (MICADAS).
Figure 1: The Chinese zither or qin from the CNAM collection (inv.n°04224) (dimensions: 1322 x 237 x 65 mm). The silk strings were strung in 2018 at the Musée de la musique, Paris.
Our results highlight the great coherence with the traditional manufacturing practices mentioned in early Qing dynasty qin treatises and poems, in particular the collection of materials with highly symbolic meanings referring to the qin sound, nature and the universe. The reuse of resinous wood of the Taxus family from a building such as a temple has been demonstrated. The ash layer contains bone black, crushed malachite and residues of silica, ochres, potassium and magnesium aluminosilicates. Our study confirms the antiquity of the "Qiulai" qin in Europe by indicating that it was most likely made in the small [1659–1699] interval of about 30 years at the turn of the eighteenth century.
Figure 2: Calibrated 14C ages of the "Qiulai" qin. The probability distribution diagrams of: a sub-samples of the black lacquer Q5-2; b wooden samples of the back side of the foot Q1, the pillar Q2, the foot Q3 and the wood support under the lacquer Q5-1 with their respective Bayesian modeling combination in black, and the upper diagram in blue of the combination of all wooden parts; c sub-sample of the upper lacquer in red Q5-3 and sub-samples of the silk string in blue Q4 with their respective Bayesian modeling combination in black, and the upper diagram in black of the combination of the red lacquer and the silk string parts taking into account the event of the entry of the qin in the CNAM collection prior to 1849