• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.220-237
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• 2021

This study carried out the conservation treatment for the mattress put on the bed, which is one of 4 items in National Folklore Cultural Heritage, the Red-lacquered Furniture with the inlaid mother-of-pearl design used by Empress Sunjeonghyo (presumed), after identifying the characteristics of the manufacturing techniques and the used materials. And the study intends to compare it with the mattress placed in the Daejojeong in the Changdeokgung Palace in order to identify the characteristics of mattresses domestically used during the 1920s and 1930s. From the analysis of the mattress presumably used by Empress Sunjeonghyo, it was identified that the mattress frame was made of pinaceous hemlock spruce while the webbing and twine in the structural parts were made of jute. The findings are as follows: the burlap had a filling material that was made of jute; the straw mat was made from Oryza; and, the rest of the filling material was cotton. Rayon was used for the top cover while cotton was used for the bottom. As a result of research on the materials and the inner structure, it was found that mattress was manufactured in the form of the upholstery style mainly found in chairs and day-beds in Western furniture. Based on analysis results, materials identical to the original were adopted during the conservation treatment. Next, the process of dismantling, cleaning, repair, reinforcement and assembling was conducted. During the dismantling process, the top cover was newly discovered and some letters (Yokohama, Kobe, and Joseon) were found in the burlap filling, but there was no trace which can clarify its maker or production place. dry cleaning was carried out on the structural parts, filling materials, and the cover, and then the repair and reinforcement were done, preserving the existing materials in the upholstery structure and using the same materials for conservation. The webbing in the structural parts was reinforced using materials identical to the original, and the twine was used for arranging and fixing the springs into wooden frames. For the damaged cotton cloth and burlap, reinforcement materials identical to the original were put over it and sown. For the damaged area of the top cover, reinforcement cloth was cut and then added inside and the damaged area was sown. Assembling was carried out in the reverse order of the dismantling. After the burlap identical to the original material was inserted into the areas in contact with the springs and then fastened, a filling pad, reinforcement cloth, a straw mat, cotton cloth, cotton felt, wide cotton cloth for protecting the cover, and the cover were layered and fastened with tacks. The two mattresses used by Empress Sunjeonghyo differed only by the period of production and followed the same Western upholstery style consisting of the frames, filling materials, and covers. During the conservation treatment process, a velvet cover was newly discovered and the traces of repair in the past were found. Furthermore, identifying straw mats, straw bags, and straws for filling material, this study confirmed changes in the materials used according to the production environment. In the future, it is expected to see changes in the conservation materials during the conservation treatment and manufacturing techniques used for chairs and sofas in the upholstery style belonging to the modern cultural artifacts.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.96
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• pp.155-180
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• 2019

Samsaebulhoedo(三世佛會圖) at Yongjusa Temple(龍珠寺), regarded as a monumental masterpiece consisting of different elements such as Confucian and Buddhist ideas, palace academy garden and Buddhist artist styles, unique traditional and western painting styles, is one of the representative works that symbolically illustrate the development and innovation of painting in the late Joseon dynasty. However, the absence of painting inscriptions raised persistent controversy over the past half century among researchers as to the matters of estimating its production period, identifying the original author and analyzing style characteristics. In the end, the work failed to gain recognitions commensurate with its historical significance and value. It is the particularly vital issue in that estimating the production period of the existing masterpiece is the beginning of all other discussions. However, this issue has caused the ensuing debates since all details are difficult to be interpreted to a concise form due to a number of different records on painters and mixture of traditional buddhist painting styles used by buddhist painters and innovative western styles used by ordinary painters. Contrary to other ordinary Buddhist paintings, this painting, Samsaebulhoedo, has a praying letter for the royal establishment at the center of the main altar. It should be noted that regarding this painting, its original version-His Royal Highness King, Her Majesty, His Royal Crown Prince主上殿下, 王妃殿下, 世子邸下-was erased and instead added Her Love Majesty慈宮邸下 in front of Her Majesty. This praying letter can be assumed as one of the significant and objective evidence for estimating its production period. The new argument of the late 19th century production focused on this praying letter, and proposed that King Sunjo was then the first-born son when Yongjusa Temple was built in 1790 and it was not until January 1, 1800 that he was ascended to the Crown Prince. In this light, the existing praying letter with the eulogistic title-Crown Prince世子-should be considered revised after his ascension to the throne. Styles and icons bore some resemblance to Samsaebulhoedo at Cheongryongsa Temple or Bongeunsa Temple portrayed by Buddhist painters in the late 19th century. Therefore, the remaining Samsaebulhoedo should be depicted by them in the same period as western styles were introduced in Buddhist painting in later days. Following extensive investigations, praying letters in Buddhist paintings in the late 19th century show that it was usual to record specification such as class, birth date and family name of people during the dynasty at the point of producing Buddhist paintings. It is easy to find that those who passed away decades ago cannot be revised to use eulogistic titles as seen by the praying letters in Samsaebulhoedo at Yongju Temple. As "His Royal Highness King, Her Majesty, His Royal Crown Prince" was generally used around 1790 regardless of the presence of first-born son or Crown Prince, it was rather natural to write the eulogistic title "His Royal Crown Prince" in the praying letter of Samsaebulhoedo. Contrary to ordinary royal hierarchy, Her Love Majesty was placed in front of Her Majesty. Based on this, the praying letter was assumed to be revised since King Jeongjo placed royal status of Hyegyeonggung before the Queen, which was an exceptional case during King Jeongjo's reign, due to unusual relationships among King Jeongjo, Hyegyeonggung and the Queen arising from the death of Crown Prince(思悼世子). At that time, there was a special case of originally writing a formal tripod praying letter, as can be seen from ordinary praying letter in Buddhist paintings, erasing it and adding a special eulogistic title: Her Love Majesty. This indicates that King Jeongjo identified that Hyegyeonggung was erased, and commanded to add it; nevertheless, ceremony leaders of Yongju Temple, built as a palace for holding ceremonies of Hyeonryungwon(顯隆園) are Jeongjo, the son of his father and his wife Hyegyeonggung (Her Love Majesty)(惠慶宮(慈宮)). This revision is believed to be ordered by King Jeongjo on January 17, 1791 when the King paid his first visit to the Hyeonryungwon since the establishment of Hyeonryungwon and Yongju Temple, stopped by Yongju Temple on his way to palace and saw Samsaebulhoedo for the first and last time. As shown above, this letter consisting of special contents and forms can be seen an obvious, objective testament to the original of Samsebulhoedo painted in 1790 when Yongju Temple was built.