• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2018

This study investigated manufacturing technique and provenance of the Gilt-bronze Seated Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha) Statue of Janggoksa Temple. The statue had the following : Cu(68.8%)-Sn(10.4%)-Pb(17.1%), it is similar to other medium or large Buddha statue. As results of comparison lead isotope ratio of sample with the provenance data were plotted in zone 3 of the South Korean galena map. According to this result of Bronze Buddha could be made into galena of the located in same area the temple. The results of this study were compared with the Bronze Bodhisattva statue of Goseongsa Temple. The manufacturing techniques were different based on the characteristics of Buddha statues and thus could be made into galena of the located in same area the temple.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.100-116
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• 2023

The Sinamsa Temple was built in the late Goryeo Dynasty and a gilt-bronze seated Buddha is enshrined in Geungnakjeon hall in the precinct. Various damages occurred in the gilt layer of the Buddha, such as peeling of the gilt layer and deteriorating gloss. In the study, the conservation conditions of the inside and outside on the statue were accurately investigated, and the making technique was interpreted through the material characteristics and non-destructive diagnosis of the statue. As a result, it is estimated that gold-gilding layer is pure gold, coloration pigment of black is carbon, green is malachite, atacamite and verdigris, red is red lead and cinnabar, respectively. In the deterioration evaluation, peeling, cracking, break out and exfoliation of the gilt layer are confirmed as damages, but the conservation condition is relatively wholesome. However, the gloss of the gilt layer is calculated to be wider in the poorer part than the maintenance part. The ultrasonic velocity of the statue was calculated to be 1,230 to 3,987 (mean 2,608) m/s and showed a relatively wide range. In infrared thermography, peeling was not confirmed, and no special bonding marks were found. In endoscope, some biological damage and corrosion were observed on the surface of the internal metal, and sealed artifacts were identified. Manufacturing technique based on the study, it is considered that the gilt-bronze seated Buddha was cast at once, and the mold was inverted to inject molten metal.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.18
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• pp.35-50
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• 2017

As part of the NMK's research project on wooden Buddha statues, four items which contained fabric among their bokjang objects(腹藏物) were investigated. Firstly, when classified by the method of weaving, two items made of ra (羅, a four-end complex gauze) silk and five of neung(綾, twill damask) silk from the Goryeo era were identified, and the satin fabrics showing characteristics of the Joseon period were classified as either dan(緞, satin damask) or sa(紗, simple gauze). In particular, the fabric of the bokjang objects enshrined within the gilt-bronze Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva(Deoksu 801) feature both early and late Joseon characteristics, suggesting that two enshrinements were performed(once in the fifteenth century and another in the seventeenth). Secondly, the patterns on the fabrics included flowers, treasures, fruits, plants with animals, and landscapes with clouds. Thirdly, patches of fabric were found that are assumed to be related with all cardinal directions according to their arrangement, albeit in small quantities.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.670-678
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• 2021

Anseong Cheonryongsa, a temple located in Anseong Seoun Mountain, is a part of the second Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, under the Yongju Temple, and enshrines a gilt-bronze seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. In this study, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis revealed that this statue is composed of Cu-27.2 wt%, Sn-12.6 wt% and Pb-48 wt%. A gamma (γ) ray (Ir-192) image confirmed damage on the backside of the statue, which was later repaired with wood. The XRF analysis and visual observation determined the boundary between the metal and wood in the statue. In addition, results of standard X-ray peak intensity of gold foil and correlation with thickness helped to derive an equation for calculating the thickness of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva's gold foil. It was determined that the gilded chest (21 ㎛) and face (20.7 ㎛) of the statue were the thickest sections, the wooden substratum (11.9 ㎛) was the next-most thick, and the bronze (7.4 ㎛) was the thinnest layer.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.136-161
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• 2014

This paper investigates the Buddhist sculpture and wall-painting enshrined in the halls of Bunhwangsa (Bunhwang temple) at Gyeongju in the mid-Silla period, which are thoroughly unknown to us except through textual records of Samgukyusa compiled by Priest Ilyeon in the late thirteenth century. According to Samgukyusa, a clay portrait-sculpture of Monk Wonhyo, made by his son Seolchong, was placed in Bunhwangsa. This image faced to the side, because he turned his body toward Seolchong when Seolchong bowed to this image. This story suggests that the portrait image of Wonhyo was most likely made after the Vimalakirti images, which were popular in China from the Six Dynasties period on, especially the Vimalakirti images of the early Tang period, turning his head and body toward Bodhisattva Manjusi seated opposite. The Vimalakirti image of Seokkuram might show the portrait image of Wonhyo. A wall-painting of a Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara who has a thousand arms with a thousand eyes, called by the name 'Great Mercy with a Thousand Hands', was enshrined on the north wall of the left hall of Bunhwangsa. During King Gyeondeok's reign, Himyeong and her five-year-old blind child prayed before this image, and the blind child gained eyesight. While praying, they sang a song pleading for one of the thousand eyes which the Bodhisattva had in his hands. This song implies that Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara had a thousand eyes, one painted on each hand. The fact that Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara of Bunhwangsa was called 'Great Mercy with a Thousand Hands' indicates that this painting was based on the scripture Thousand-Armed Avalokiresvara Sutra translated by Bhagavaddharma in about 655, in the Tang period, which also has 'Great Mercy' in its title. In the year 755, a gilt bronze image of Medicine Buddha was made in Bunhwangsa, using nearly 61 tons of bronze to cast. The huge amount of bronze suggests it includes not only the Buddha statue but many other images such as two attendant Bodhisattvas of Suryaprabha and Candraprabha, Eight Great Bodhisattvas, or Twelve Guardians. Seven images of Medicine Buddha might have been made in accordance with the scriptural text of Seven Medicine Buddha Sutra translated by Monk Yijing. Textual evidence and recent excavation have revealed that seven images of Medicine Buddha and their whole attendant images based on Seven Medicine Buddha Sutra were made in the Nara period from 751 to 762 when Queen Gomyo contructed Sinyakusiji temple for the recovery of her husband Shomu. It is fair to assume that one or seven Medicine Buddhas and a whole group of his (their) attendant images were made for the main hall of Bunhwangsa temple in 755.