• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.17
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• pp.55-68
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• 2016

Conservation and research efforts are currently underway at the National Museum of Korea on a series of artifacts excavated from Tomb No. 9 at Seogam-ri nearly a century ago by an archaeology team from the institution's colonialera predecessor. Among these objects are a number of bronze and gilt bronze buttons. The present study explores the production techniques used in making such buttons. Both bronze and gilt bronze buttons are hemispherical in shape and are similar in external appearance. However, their shanks differ significantly in size and cross-sectional shape, some with a round cross-section while others are square. The buttons, first sorted into two groups by each type of shank, were further subdivided by size. Analysis of round shanks has found variations in design and location as well as in shank thickness. In addition, the location where round shanks attach to buttons are usually irregular in surface. Square shanks, on the other hand, are more uniform in design and location. The shanks are typically located on the backs of buttons and attach to a groove which ostensibly serves to mark the correct position. X-ray imaging has revealed that round shanks have thick borders made from metal rather than dirt or other material. The buttons themselves appear to been cast using lost-wax technique. The ways in which each shank attaches to its respective button varies based on its cross-sectional shape.