• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.16
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• pp.82-95
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• 2015

Old Monk by Yun Duseo is realized to use silver paper which is made of rarity material. This sudy investigates reason why silver, that is easily discoloration in environmental condition, is susceptible in present. The method was the surface treatment materials and the base fiber through direct observation, optical instruments and XRF analysis. Based on these results, reproducing experiment was conducted to research materials in paper of Old Monk and the surface treatment technique. The results, the paper was treated 'Dochim' with a mineral having polygonal crystals for improving smoothness and density. XRF analysis result showed high calcium content, therefore, the paper was not used silver, it guess pulverized shells of abalone or other types of shellfish. Accordingly, the research was narrowed down to shells with shiny, reflective surfaces which at the same time contain high amounts of calcium. A new experiment was conducted using unprocessed abalone shells. Through the reproducing experiment, shellfish has high possibility as used mineral in paper. Notwithstanding, this experiment was unable to precisely reproduce the smoothness and shine of the original paper. Further research may therefore be needed.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.16
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• pp.96-113
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• 2015

High-barrier films are used to store cultural heritage objects in a safe environment sealed from oxygen and moisture. One of the high-barrier films use populary E manufactured by Japanese company M from the 1990's. However, this product has stayed in wide use, due to dearth of research on related subjects - including studies comparing it with other similar products-, in spite of the fact that high price information about its characteristics and environmental conditions is largely lacking. This study examines the characteristics of a number of high-barrier films with the goal to establish environmental standards for safer conservation of cultural heritage objects. E by the Japanese manufacturer M is compared with four other films; an electronics packaging films by a Korean firm, a film specially produced for the purposes of experiment in this study and a zipper bag-type film. Experiments were performed to compare the properties and gas blocking ability of the films by looking at their cross-section and measuring the thickness, tensile strength, elongation, absorbance of UV and visible light, yellowing and the permeability for oxygen and vapor. Based on these experiments, there are observed changes under different environmental conditions and depending on the length of use through temparature and humidification reproucing test. The results showed that while the high-barrier film by the Korean manufacturer was suitable for use as a packaging material for cultural heritage objects, the zipper bag-type film (P) was ill-adapted for this purpose. Based on the experiments reproducing the real-world environment, the length of useful life was also determined for each.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.22
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• pp.27-40
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• 2019

Minutes of cabinet meetings (hereafter referred to as "minutes") offer records on important activities of the government of the Republic of Korea. The National Archives of Korea has implemented a series of preservation for these minutes such as condition survey, deacidification, microfilming, digitization, making boxes, etc. Conservation treatment plans were further established in 2018 to pursue more preservation of over 2,000 volumes of minutes based on the result of the condition survey of the minutes. Among ninety-seven volumes that require conservation treatments, six volumes have been treated so far. A major concern of conservation treatment of minutes was found that a single volume of minutes contains 800 pages, leading to heavier and bulkier than most of other bound volumes. This paper presents the measures taken to solve the problems resulting from this bulky structure of the bound minutes. It is expected that the study will offer an opportunity to consider effective conservation methods for records on paper of which the physical shapes are yet to be determined.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.16
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• pp.4-13
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• 2015

In most gold objects crafted using the granulation technique that have been thus far discovered in the Korean Peninsula, granules were joined using a soldering alloy of gold and silver. However, it was recently revealed through SEM-EDS analysis performed on the ornamented dagger sheath from Gyerim-ro Tomb No.14 in Gyeongju that the gold granules were joined to the surface of this sheath using an entirely different technique. The gold granules on the Gyerim-ro dagger sheath are evenly sized and shaped, the surface has a dendritic texture. Dendritic textures are a characteristic feature of metal alloys, not observed in pure metals. As a matter of fact, the gold granules were made of a ternary alloy of 77wt% Au, 18wt% Ag and 4wt% Cu. Due to this component, the alloy has a melting point below 1000℃ (approximately 980℃), which is significantly lower than 1064℃, the melting temperature of pure gold. This makes it possible to join the gold granules directly to the surface of the sheath by briefly heating them to high temperature, without the use of soldering or any other media. When examined through SEM image, the surface of the sheath showed no traces of soldering, it suggests that the granules were joined through unaided fusion.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.22
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• pp.53-68
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• 2019

Two lime-soil mixture barrier tombs were excavated from the tomb complex of the Woo Family of the Danyang Wu clan dating to the Joseon dynasty in Godeung-dong, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. Relevant records offer information for more precisely dating these tombs and identifying their occupants. Tomb No. 4, in which a married couple was interred, has a corbeled square ceiling and inscriptions and paintings on its outer walls. The conservation treatment and an infrared inspection revealed that they were intended to express mourning. Tomb No. 6 has a corbeled rectangular ceiling and a single individual interred within. As the basic structure of the tomb was partially damaged in the process of disassembling it while moving the burial site, it was planned to exhibit the tomb outdoors after the remains and relics are collected. However, as the conservation treatment revealed the presence of funeral fans and pitch, and since the remaining structure clearly demonstrates the features of lime-soil mixture barrier tombs from the Joseon dynasty, the plan was changed following a meeting of an advisory council that decided in favor of presenting the tomb indoors. According to the analysis, the pitch is assumed to be resin of a rather low purity due to the immixture of foreign substances. The two tombs are expected to serve as important materials for related research, such as changes by period in the forms of Joseon-era tombs.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.23
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• pp.1-16
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• 2020

In this paper, Gilt-bronze Standing Avaolkiteshvara (National Treasure No. 293, M355) excavated at Gyuam-ri in Buyeo was observed with a microscope to identify the production technique applied to it. It was also analyzed with XRF and hard X-ray to identify the composition and the surface treatment techniques and casting method applied. In this statue, Avalokiteshvara is standing upright on a lotus pedestal. The lotus designs on the pedestal and those on the shawl flowing down on both sides of the statue are characteristic of Buddhist statues from the seventh century or later. The use of supports to affix the outer and inner molds and traces of injected cast were observed in the interior of the pedestal. The blisters on the arms and pedestal created during the bronze casting indicate the use of lost-wax casting, which was popularly employed for the production of mid- or small-sized gilt-bronze Buddhist statues in ancient times. The composition analysis identified a copper-tin-lead ternary alloy in the interior of the statue that was conventional used in the sixth and seventh centuries. It is likely that this simple alloy was used to facilitate casting and produce clearer expressions of designs and ornaments on the statue. Mercury (Hg) was detected on the surface of the statue, indicating the use of amalgam-plating with gold (Au) dissolved in mercury. This plating method is a common surface treatment technique used for small gilt-bronze statutes in ancient Korea.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.23
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• pp.71-90
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• 2020

The scientific analysis of a 'F-51D Mustang Fighter'(Registered Cultural Heritage 666), one of the War Memorial of Korean collections, was carried out. The paint layer and canopy were discolored due to a constant outdoor exhibit. The results obtained through the scientific survey and analysis processes were intended to be used as basic data for the future dismantling and restoration of the fighter. The analysis results for the pigment components have confirmed red oxide of iron, Fe₂O₃ organic pigments, such as Cobalt Blue, phthalocyanine blue, etc., yellow PbCrO₄, white TiO₂, black Fe₃O₄, and gray Fe₃O₄ + TiO₂. It has been also confirmed that Alkyd resin was mainly used for painting. The fighter's canopy was Poly methyl methacrylate(PMMA), and Al was detected as the main component of the fighter body, wings, and tails.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.19
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• pp.53-68
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• 2018

Hanging scrolls and handscrolls are common mounting for East Asian painting and calligraphy in which wooden Chukmok with Chukdu of various materials are attached either at the top and bottom or at each side of a work. Hanging scroll paintings or calligraphy can be hung for appreciation and rolled up for preservation. The Chukmok and Chukdu of a hanging scroll were made from different materials and were known by distinct names in Korea, China, and Japan. In Korea, the wooden Chukmok were called sanghachukhoengmok(上下軸橫木), which means horizontal wooden bars for the top and bottom axes. The wooden Chukdu were called Chukdu(軸頭), meaning the head of an axis. These Chukmok and Chukdu were made of Korean red pine, nut pine, or shiny xylosma. In China, the rod was called zhougan(軸杆) and zhoutou(軸頭), and they were made of Japanese cedar, sappan wood, or red sandalwood. In Japan, the top rod was called hassou(八双; 八裝) and the bottom jikugi(軸木), and they were made of Japanese cedar, red sandalwood, or crystal. In Korean hanging scrolls, the cross section of a Chukdu is either flat or round, and it can be either patterned or patternless. The designs include concentric circles, two circles, and three circles. Among the portraits of meritorious subjects analyzed in this study, three examples feature concentric circles on Chukdu with a flat cross section, which coincides with most of the king's instructions housed at the Jangseogak Archives. This suggests that flat Chukdu with a concentric circle pattern were used for binding most of the paintings of meritorious subjects commissioned by the royal court.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.19
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• pp.19-40
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• 2018

Most stone monuments in Korea are made from the granitoids found extensively throughout the nation. To identify the provenance of the stone materials, this study carried out comprehensive analyses of the occurrence, physical properties, mineralogy, and chemical composition of Stupa for National Preceptor Wongong at Geodonsa Temple and Five-story Pagoda at Cheonsusa Temple, both located in the Gangwon region. Their features were compared with those of granite from Wonju City near the sites of the two monuments. Stupa for National Preceptor Wongong is composed purely of two-mica granite, whereas Five-story Pagoda was made from both two-mica and biotite granites. The occurrence and magnetic susceptibility of the two granite monuments generally coincide with those of granite from Wonju. When selecting materials for the restoration of stone monuments, it is deemed necessary to carry out a field survey on granite in areas adjacent to the locations of the stone monuments subject to restoration.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.7
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• pp.53-62
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• 2006

The wooden armor frame and various lacquerware artifacts excavated from the low swamp remains in Imdang, Gyeongsan have very weak material and lacquer coating; in case they are exposed in the air, they are likely to be shrunken and deformed immediately. The wooden armor frame has large size and it might be dissolved during freeze-drying. The lacquer coating of lacquerware blocks the penetration of chemicals and it is very likely to swell or peel off during the treatment. Therefore, to prevent the dissolution during vacuum freeze-drying, the wooden armor frame was replaced with t-butanol and impregnated in t-butanol solution with PEG#3, 350 43%, and lacquerware was impregnated in PEG#3, 350 40% solution at room temperature and freeze-dried. According to the analysis of the lacquer fragment from the lacquerware, the lid and the mounted cup was pasted with the mixture of lacquer and black pigment (soot) on the base layer after the first coating and pasted two or three times more with natural lacquer; the red lacquered wooden cup was pasted with the mixture of lacquer and black pigment on the base layer and pasted once on the middle layer. The top lacquer (red) was pasted with the mixture of iron oxide(Fe₂O₃).