The investigation on the actual conditions and the conservation on the countmeasure paper cultural properties stored in Kirimsa temple

경주 기림사 소장 지류문화재의 보존실태 및 대책

The cultural properties of paper made from 11 to 16th century of the Kirimsa temple were found in Birozana Buddhist Statue which was made from 15 to 16th century. These have been stored and exhibited in the exhibition showcase. To examine the environment of conservation and the state of paper, we investigated the temperature and the relative humidity in the inside and outside of the Kirimsa museum and examined the external form and the internal state (water content, acidity and whiteness) of paper. During the investigation period from 27 Aug. to 30 Aug. 1997. The average of temperature and relative humidity were $28.2^{\circ}C$, 67% in the outside and $27.1^{\circ}C$, 73% in the inside, respectively. These indicated the air conditioning was wrong. Among the cultural properties of 79 papers stored in the Kirimsa museum, 37 cases had been repaired but 42 cases not. From the result examining the external form, 20 cases needed to repair. In the internal state of the cultural properties of paper, the water contents were from 11.9% to 16.5%, the average was 15.7%, the acidities from pH 5.7 to pH 6.2 and the whiteness from 37 to 45. From these results, we could see the cultural properties of paper stored in the Kirimsa museum was damaged by the several factors (hydrolysis by fungi, repeated elongation and retraction of cellulose) caused mainly by the high temperature and relative humidity. Therefore, for the conservation of the cultural properties of paper stored in the Kirimsa museum, it need to control the temperature at $18~20^{\circ}C$ and the relative humidity at $55\pm5%$ by the appropriate air conditioning. In order to sterilize fungi occurred to the surface of paper, the cultural properties of paper needed to fumigate. The fungi occurred on the surface of paper were wiped out by using of 70%solution dissolved thymol in ethyl alcohol.