• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.213-228
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• 2010

The composition of Chinese ceramic shards has been the subject of analysis in Europe, beginning in the 18th century, and in China from the 1950s. Scientific studies of traditional Korean shards commenced in the United States and Germany in the 1980s, and studies within Korea began in the 1990s. From analysis of a large systematically collected dataset, the composition of porcelain produced during the Kory. dynasty, including 21 celadon and 10 whiteware groups, was characterized and compared with that of Chinese ceramics. The average composition of the body and glaze of several shards (usually three to five) from each group was determined, enabling comparisons between groups. The results show that the majority of groups were derived from mica-quartz porcelain stone, which was commonly used in Yuezhou, Jingdezhen, and other southern Chinese kilns. The composition of glazes includes clay and flux components; the latter were typically wood ash and limestone, initially as burnt but later as crushed forms. The earliest of the Kangjin glazes contained substantially less titanium oxide than did the Yuezhou glazes, which were typically formulated from body material and wood ash. The present study provides a comparative framework for the growing number of analytical investigations associated with excavations occurring in Korea.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.61-74
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• 2011

The material characteristics of Chos$\breve{o}$n whiteware were investigated by analyzing and comparing the body and glaze compositions of whiteware shards excavated at the Kwangju royal kilns, Ch'unghyodong, and four other local-level kilns. In Korea, the rise of whiteware technology began in the early years of the Chos$\breve{o}$n dynasty, when the indigenous tradition of Kory$\breve{o}$ celadon was strongly influenced by the whiteware aesthetics of the Chinese Ming dynasty. The Kwangju royal kilns eventually made hard-textured whiteware of a quality equivalent to that of the Chinese by using type of porcelain stone that contained slightly less $Fe_2O_3$ and $TiO_2$ and slightly more $K_2O$ than that used for celadon. In contrast, the potters of Ch'unghyodong achieved the same level of quality by finding and using a totally different material: kaolinitic clay. The porcelain stone used at the Kwangju kiln was commonly found in Korea and south China, whereas kaolinitic clay (which has a high aluminum content) was typically found in north China, and was only rarely used in Korea. The flux component of the glaze compositions was mostly limestone, first in burnt form and later in crushed form, and the clay component was often glaze stone, which was a finer-grained porcelain stone with a higher proportion of feldspar. In the future, this comparative analytical study of Korean whiteware components should be extended to the $18^{th}$- and $19^{th}$-century kilns that are currently being excavated at a rapid pace.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.25
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• pp.35-50
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• 2021

This study analyzed the basic properties of soil material gathered around Maegok-dong in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do Province (hereafter, "Maegok soil") and the physicochemical changes in the Maegok soil resulting from the addition of other clay materials in order to present scientific information about the properties of clay available for pottery production. Gravel, coarse sand, and fine sand account for 73% of the total mass of the Maegok soil. Therefore, it required refinement through sifting in order to serve in pottery clay. After sifting, the amount of silt and clay in the soil increased to 95% of the total mass. However, since it lacked plasticity and viscosity, buncheong soil was added. When it was mixed with bungcheong soil at a ratio of 7:3, Maegok soil improved as pottery clay as its viscosity increased, demonstrating compositional properties appropriate for ceramic clay even after firing. Further, its water-absorption rate was decreased to 0.40. This means that soil gathered from anywhere can be used for pottery-making by refining its original properties and through mixture with clay with specific components which help the pottery maintain its shape even after firing.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.125-138
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• 2002

The kiln at Chollanamdo Kwangjusi Ch'unghyodong, which produced punch'ong and white wares for a period of 70 to 80 years in the 15th century, is examined for their scientific technological param-eters. Punch'ong sherds were divided into seven different groups according to the location and the layer of the waste mounds from which they were excavated. Optical and scanning electron microscope were used for microstructural observations and X-ray diffraction and polarized microscope for mineral characteristics. For determining the firing temperature, sherds were refired at different temperatures and their micro-structural changes were observed. Some wares such as the group CHE2 was high quality wares fired at high emperature around 1200$^{\circ}C$ for palace use, but as the ceramics ware became more widely used and the white wares increasingly preferred over punch'ong, lower quality wares of rougher raw materials were firedat lower temperatures around 1100-1150$^{\circ}C$ in quantity. They used local raw materials of several types, all available locally.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.75-90
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• 2011

At the beginning of the Chos$\breve{o}$n dynasty, punch'$\breve{o}$ng began as a simplified form of inlaid celadon, and in the two following centuries it developed into a popular folk craft in various styles and expressive decorations; overtime, it was increasingly made to resemble whiteware, and its production stopped after the Japanese invasion of Korea. In the present study, the body and glaze compositions of punch'$\breve{o}$ng were examined and compared with those of celadon and whiteware, whose compositions have previously been compared with those of Chinese ceramics. Here, the analyzed shards were organized into 28 groups based on their production sites and archaeological characteristics. For each group, the body and glaze compositions of several shards(usually three to five) were obtained, averaged, and compared with those of the other groups. These comparisons showed that the majority of the punch'$\breve{o}$ng bodies were formed, like those of celadon and whiteware, with mica-quartz porcelain stone, which was commonly used in Yuezhou, Jingdezhen, and other southern Chinese kilns. The glazes consisted of clay materials and flux components made from various proportions of wood ash, burnt limestone (glaze ash) and crushed limestone. Overall, the punch'$\breve{o}$ng glazes resembled the Kory$\breve{o}$ celadon and Kory$\breve{o}$ whiteware glazes more closely than the Chos$\breve{o}$n white wareglazes. However, the $TiO_2$ levels found in the tested punch'$\breve{o}$ng were low, similar to those of Chos$\breve{o}$n whiteware; this indicated that glaze stone was used as the clay component of the punch'$\breve{o}$ng glazes, as was the case for Chos$\breve{o}$n whiteware. This study of the material characteristics of punch'$\breve{o}$ng may be used as a comparative framework for analyzing ceramic shards discovered at current and future excavations within Korea.