Environmental Scanning Electronic Microscope Representation of Ancient Jades from Tomb of Jing'an

The surface microstructure,micro-morphology and main chemical compositions of the ancient jade samples G47,G36 and G21 are observed and tested by using the environmental scanning electronic microscope(ESEM) with EDS.The results show that the samples G47,G36 and G21 are tremolite-nephrite,whose appearance characteristics could be related to their structures.The sample G47 is of unusual semitranslucence which differs from the appearance characteristic of nephrite.The tremolite crystals in the sample G47 are thick and directional arrangement with the highest content,being micro-columnar crystalloblastic texture.The sample G36 is of oily luster and translucence,where the tremolite crystals are fine and closely interlocking,being micro-fibrous interlaced crystalloblastic texture.The structure of the gray part is loosen with hole in the sample G21,where tremolite crystals are slender fibrous and low crystalline degree,being micro-fibrous and cryptocrystalline texture.The brown part in the sample G21 shows the micro-granular morphology characteristic.