• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 2016

Animal glue is a traditional material used extensively as adhesive and binder in mother-of-pearl, wooden structure, traditional painting, etc. Analysis of animal glue is usually performed with IR(infrared spectroscopy) based on the IR absorption of functional group. But, it has a limitation in confirming animal glue when a sample consists of several materials because of overlapping of the absorption band. Py/GC/MS(pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) is a useful tool in analyzing the constituent of polymeric materials like animal glue by identifying their pyrolysate with very small amount of sample. In this study, confirmation of animal glue in a Dancheong sample was tried with this method. Characteristic pyrolytic compounds of animal glue and tung oil used in Dancheong were identified. Dancheong sample painted with Noerok as a coloring material, animal glue and tung oil was prepared and it was possible to find characteristic peaks of animal glue after thermal degradation and artificial weathering experiment. From this, we found that animal glue can be detected using py/GC/MS in cultural heritage samples consisting of several materials and in different condition. IR was also tried to analyze Dancheong sample and the results were compared with those of py/GC/MS for the detection of animal glue.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.114-125
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• 2016

Lacquer is one of the most widely used natural resin in East Asia since Neolithic Age. As a major ingredient of lacquerware, lacquer is waterproof, insect-proof and rot-proof to be durable and anti-abrasion, generally utilized for mainly painting purpose. According to lacquerware excavated from several sites of Japan and China, lacquerware seems to appear in Neolithic Age. On the other hand in case of excavation research in Korea, lacquerwares are found after the Bronze Age. The initial purpose of lacquer is estimated to be adhesive, regarding the literatures mentioning bitumen(Yeoksceong ), animal glue(Kyeo) and egg alumen(Nanbaek). Especially piece of jar coffin unearthed in Pyeongtaek Daechu-ri site had trace of restoration by lacquer and hemp as an evidence of lacquer for adhesion in Pre-Three Kingdoms period. Since then a trend to restore the broken ceramics with lacquer and decorate with golden foil lasted especially in Joseon Dynasty. In the field of gold plated lacquer method, mother-of-pearl inlaying technique for lacquerware and restoration of buildings, lacquer is still used as adhesive. Due to matter of reversibility lacquer is being avoided for conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Lacquer as a traditional material for adhesive since ancient times, however, has advantage in adhesion strength and durability. Because synthetic resin adhesive has problem of emission of volatile organic compounds and aging over time, lacquer receives attention recently. On the contrary, by combination adhesive from mixing lacquer and animal glue, already proved the possibility of applicability and chemical modification. A research to utilize lacquer as modern paint or functional material is also conducted continuously also in China and Japan. To put traditional material into practical use and modernize, chemical research from the molecular level of the lacquer is necessary in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.22-44
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• 2022

Lacquer, in addition to high-end crafts such as lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl, was an important strategic material used in a wide range of fields such as industry, architecture, and munitions during the Japanese colonial era. In particular, as the demand for lacquer used in munitions soared in the 1940s when the war started, a ticket system was introduced to restrict its distribution. Meanwhile, Japan experienced a chronic shortage of lacquer as a result of the rapidly increasing demand for it, and thus went on to import Chinese lacquer after the late 19th century. After the 1910s, the market share of Chinese lacquer reached 90%, and the local situation in China began to affect the supply and demand for lacquer in Japan. To counteract the issue, the Japanese government increased the production of lacquer in Joseon. As for the project to increase lacquer production in Joseon, objective indicators were prepared through a number of tests in the 1910s and 20s, which paved the way for the project to begin in earnest in the 1930s. Lacquer trees were planted and training classes on how to collect lacquer were held throughout the country. The Japanese government promoted the lacquer production industry as a promising side job for Koreans. The project, implemented in various parts of the country, reaped fruitful results, and it provided the basis for lacquer production in Korea that has continued to this day. At that time, the major regions in the southern part of the country where the project was concentrated were Wonju, Okcheon, and Hamyang, regions that are still known today as major production sites. The improved method of collecting lacquer taught to Koreans by the Japanese has now become the main method of collecting lacquer in Korea. This study attempts to identify the current status of the project to increase lacquer production through various records from the Japanese colonial era with a view to contributing to the study of modern lacquer craft history.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.134-151
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• 2014

This paper deals with a review of the structure and production techniques of the Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha statue enshrined in Geungnakjeon Hall of Simhyangsa Temple, located in Daeho-dong, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do, Korea. To achieve this goal, X-ray date and two rounds of field research were performed. The data collected were reviewed, and a sample peeled off from the damaged part was analyzed to investigate the structure and material of the background layer. The results revealed that the Simhyangsa Temple Buddha statue was an almost empty Dried-lacquer(Hyeopjeo) Buddha statue where wood core had not been framed and inserted in the statue. It was thus observed that considering that the clothes wrinkles clearly remained, the same one as the irregularity of the outer clothes wrinkles, the Dried-lacquer layer was lifted made in an almost complete shape in the process of forming the clay figure as the origin form. The statue was found to be diagonally incised from the top of the head to the back of the neck to remove the clay and wood core. But in other sites, no incision was confirmed. It was observed that on the site of the head where the incision was made, an adhesives(lacquer or paste) was used. In addition, the black eyes were impacted with beads and the ears, hands, bands, and knots were made of wood. These features are identically shown in the Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha statue from Seonguksa Temple, known as a work of the late Goryeo dynasty; the Seated Dried-lacquer Buddha statue in Okura Museum of Art in Tokyo, Japan; the Seated Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha statue from Jungnimsa Temple, know as a work of the early Joseon dynasty; and the Seated Vairocana Buddha statue in Bulhoesa Temple, the Seated Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha and the Seated Dried-lacquer Buddha statue from Silsangsa Temple. The analysis of the back layer demonstrated that the ground layer and the red lacquer were the production of the time. In particular, the bone ash used for the ground layer was also coated for the ground layer of Buddha statues as well as for the production of the lacquerware during the Goryeo dynasty. It was also found that gold mending was conducted more than twice even in modern times and that the layer of the production time was well preserved despite gold mending several times.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.172-193
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• 2013

This study examines the production techniques and raw materials shown in the Korean dried-lacquer statues of Buddha through a careful observation of the Seated Dried-lacquer Bodhisattva Statue from the late Goryeo Dynasty which is currently possessed by Okura Museum of Art in Tokyo. As a method of study, the X-ray data and the results from a field survey were combined to analyze the production techniques and the characteristics of raw materials. Based on this analysis, a hypothesis was established on the production process and verified through a reenactment of the actual production process. Then, the characteristics of the techniques applied to each process and the raw materials were recorded in detail. Specifically, the dried lacquer techniques and the raw materials were estimated based on the results of naked-eye observation in comparison with the literature, especially the records of "Xiu Shi Lu" written by Huang Cheng of the Ming Dynasty which is considered as 'the textbook of lacquer techniques.' The raw materials used in the production of the traditional Korean lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl were also referenced. As a result, it was found that the features of production techniques and the raw materials found in the Statue at Okura Museum of Art have many similarities with those of the Seated Dried-lacquer Statue of Lohan (Arhat) from Yuanfu 2 Nian Ming (1098) of the Song Dynasty which is currently at the Honolulu Museum of Art. In particular, the similarities include that the interior of the statue being vacant because the clay and the wood core were not replaced after being removed from the prototype, that the complete form was made in the clay forming stage to apply the lacquer with baste fiber fabric, that the clay and the wood core were removed through the bottom of the statue, and that the modeling stage was omitted and the final coat over the statue is very thin. Additionally, decorating with ornaments like Bobal and Youngrak made of plastic material was a technique widely popular in the Song Dynasty, suggesting that the Seated Dried-lacquer Bodhisattva Statue in Okura Museum of Art was greatly affected by the production techniques of the Dried-lacquer Buddha Statue from the Song Dynasty. There is no precise record on the origin and history of the Korean Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues and the number of existing works is also very limited. Even the records in "Xuanhe Fengshi Gaoli Tujing" that tells us about the origin of the Dried-lacquer Buddha Statue from the Yuan Feng Period (1078~1085) do not indicate the time of transmission. It is also difficult to trace the clear route of transmission of production techniques through existing Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues. Fortunately, this study could at least reveal that the existing Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues of Korea, including the one at Okura Museum of Art, have applied the production techniques rather differently from those used in the production of Japanese Datsukatsu Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues that have been known as the standard rule in making dried-lacquer statues of Buddha for a long time.