Thermoluminescence Authenticity Testing of Ancient Ceramics

The principle and technique of authenticity testing of ancient ceramic art objects are the same as those of thermoluminescence dating of pottery. But the technique must be modified with the limitation of sample size. In the present testing, powder sample of approximately 50 mg obtained by drilling with a tungsten carbide drill was used. The grains were washed with acetone in a test tube put into a uitrasonic washing machine and treated with diluted HF for 3 minutes. After these treatments the thermoluminescence of the grain samples was observed. The testings of authenticity were made for Japanese ancient ceramics of known age and a Mexican ceramic and Ban-Chaing potteries of unknown age. Results of the present investigation show that the thermoluminescence is very powerful for judgement of authenticity of ceramic art objects