• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.33-46
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• 2018

Traditional inorganic pigments applied to dancheong, buddhist painting, and wall painting were produced from natural minerals which were later replaced by synthetic pigments, resulting in the loss of the recipe to prepare mineral pigments. This study examined the domestic occurrence and mineralogical characteristics of green and blue mineral pigments required for the conservation of cultural heritage. Cuprous green-blue mineral pigments were found as the weathering products of waste dumps and ores of abandoned Cu-Pb-Zn sulfide mines. Mineralogical analyses using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy identified diverse hydrous copper sulfate pigments of green (brochantite and devilline) and blue color (linarite, bechererite, and schulenbergite) with minor green pigments of antlerite and atacamite commonly associated with cerussite, smithsonite, anglesite, and cuprite. Noerok, a green silicate pigment, replaced the fractured basalt lava. Celadonite was responsible for the green color of Noerok, closely associated with opal in varying ratio. Glauconite, green silicate pigment, was identified in the Yellow Sea sediments. Malachite and azurite, the most important green and blue pigments of Korean cultural heritage, were not identified in this study.