Abstract
The yanggwan is a striped headpiece for civil and military officials worn with jebok, a costume for the royal ancestral worship ceremony, or jobok, a ceremonial costume for the courtier. It was called a jegwan when it was worn with a jebok. The geumgwan and jegwan are of the same style but the geumgwan has a gilded band and backside and the jegwan is mostly lacquered. The yanggwan was worn first with the jebok by the officials, both of which were received from the Chinese Ming dynasty in the 19th year of the King Gongmin's reign during the Goryeo period. The royal crown and court clothing system was two grades lower than the standard clothing code of the Ming dynasty of China. In the Joseon dynasty, the oyanggwan worn by the highest grade officials had five-stripes but was later replaced during the Daehan Empire by the seven-striped chilyanggwan used by Ming dynasty officials. Oyanggwans make up the majority of the surviving examples of these headpieces, with the exception of the six-striped yukyanggwan of Chung In-hak (1839-1919), the Minister of Justice, which originated in the Daehan Empire and whose owner is definitively known. The gilt portion of this yukyanggwan is finely engraved in relief with a bird, flower and tendril motif. The yukyanggwan is topped by a decorative bird ornament, called a jeongkkot. EDSS spectrum analysis of the gold plating reveals a composition of 51.32% gold and 10.34% silver. The yanggwan is composed of bamboo, mulberry paper and silk crepe. The black portions are lacquered. The individual yang is made with twisted mulberry paper.
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