• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.23
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• pp.103-118
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• 2008

Hobun(Oyster shell W.) is a traditional material used as extender and white pigment from ancient times. The production method of it, however, has been discontinued. We have studied the traditional production method of Hobun through calcination of oyster shell, which is one of the traditional ways for preparing Hobun. Our work has the important meaning in that we can reproduce the manufacturing method of the discontinued traditional material and also it provides a solid background knowledge to stabilize the production and supply of Hobun for the cultural asset repairing materials. The result can be summarized as followings: The production processes of Hobun by calcination method are divided into 4 steps - calcination ${\rightarrow}$ slaking(pulverization) ${\rightarrow}$ separating fine powder by submergence in water ${\rightarrow}$ drying. In calcination step, the temperature is required to exceed $700^{\circ}$ to get pure white color of Hobun, since organic materials in the shell cause the final powder to be less white below $600^{\circ}$. And the calcination methods produce significant amount of calcium hydroxide, which is incongruent for pigment materials without additional treatments. The experimental study also demonstrated that the additional treatment process introduced in traditional paintings can be a probable process since the calcium of potassium hydroxide is observed to be promoted by this treatment. It is also concluded that, the calcination method of Hobun is appropriate for a small amount and high quality production.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.150-171
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• 2013

The most important part of conservation treatment of murals is to preserve them against the risk of a damage by injecting fixative into them when the painting loses its cohesion or powderization of pigments occurred due to occurrence of cracks inside the painting layer. However, studies on the stability of fixative used for painting layers of murals are still insufficient. This study manufactured a mural as a specimen and colored it with four kinds of pigments including oyster shell white, cinnabar, malachite and red clay and applied four kinds of fixative, including, Paraloid $B-72^{(R)}$, Caparol-$binder^{(R)}$, glue and Hydoxypropyl $cellulose^{(R)}$. artificially generated environmental changes in temperature, humidity and ultraviolet rays which may occur after the completion of conservation treatment. Then the changes in physical properties were observed in multifaceted ways such as color stability, contact angle, brilliance, adhesive strength and surface. As a result, this study found that ultraviolet rays and hot?humid environment have a large impact on color stability causing changes in brightness and chroma of all painting layers where the fixative were applied, except for oyster shell white and are considered the main factors of decomposition by accelerating the aging process of fixatives applied. In comparison to the synthetic resins that were also tested in this study, the traditional glue showed satisfactory results in terms of color stability and influence preservation and the hydrophile property. As it showed exceptionally outstanding adhesive strength in all painting layers in the aspect of adhesive strength, it is considered to be highly stabile for the fixation treatment of painting layers of mural.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.249-259
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• 2016

Effect of the flame retardants on Dancheong is studied in the present work. Two kinds of flame retardants were applied on Dancheong specimens and compared with control groups on which distilled water was applied instead of the flame retardants. The flame retardants enhanced the hygroscopic property of the surface of Dancheong. Furthermore, the added flame retardants reacted with oyster shell white($CaCO_3$) and lead red($Pb_3O_4$), producing new chemical compounds like Calcium phosphate tribasic and Lead Phosphates which make the painted layer of Dancheong dissolving and whitening over certain period of time. When applied in excessive amount and exposed in repetitive wet and dry condition, especially, they aggravate the surface problems significantly. These results will provide a good reference on the study of the discoloring/whitening effect of Dancheong layers at many traditional wooden building in Korea.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.457-466
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• 2014

Rigorous analysis was performed to identify the structure and materials of the murals to study techniques used on mural tombs of ancient Daegaya era(6th century). The murals were painted by applying mortar on the walls and the ceiling after building a stone chamber and creating ground layers on mortar layers. Mud was applied on most of the mortar layers on four sides of the walls except the ceiling. Sand was not used in mortar but was made of materials with pure calcium substances. In addition, shells in irregular sizes with incomplete calcination were mixed; and the mortar's white powder was inferred as lime obtained by calcination of oyster shells. Kaolinite($Al_2Si_2O_5(OH)_4$) was used in the ground layer, Cinnabar(HgS) was used for red pigment, Malachite($Cu_2CO_3(OH)_2$) for green and Lead white($PbCO_3{\cdot}Pb(OH)_2$) for white. Mud plaster was applied on the mortar and was composed thinly and densely using clayey of particle size smaller than that of medium sand. It was assumed that the finishing was for repair after long time had passed since the mortar layer came off. Using lime made with oyster shells as mortar is unprecedented in ancient Korean mural tombs and its durability was very poor, suggesting that Gaya's mortar production technique was relatively behind compared to that of Koguryo's in the same era.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.18-31
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• 2014

This study aims at identifying of characteristics and types of the pigments used for Dancheong(surface decorative and protective pigments) of Yaksajeon Hall in Gwallyoungsa Temple using a Micro-XRF, XRD, SEM-EDS and thereafter, comparing it with the pigments of the wall painting in the same building and with Dancheong pigments of Daeungjeon Hall. The results can be briefly summarized as two points. First, different types of pigments for red, green and white colours had been applied based on different parts of the building and more than two different pigments had been mixed to produce various colours in so me parts. Second, scientific analysis has confirmed that raw minerals for each colour groups are: Cinnabar, minium and Hematite for red; white clay and oyster shell white($Al_2O_3{\cdot}SiO_2{\cdot}4H_2O$) for white; Atacamite and Celadonite for green; carbon(C) for black; Yellow Ocher for yellow; and Lazulite for blue. Comparative analysis of such result with that of the wall paintings and of Dancheong of Daeungjeon Hall has revealed that similar minerals had been used in overall except that several different pigments had been added or removed for making green, white and yellow colour groups in some parts. In conclusion, the result has displayed that painters had used different ways of producing pigments by a type of painting or a building within the same period or for the buildings in the same buddhist temple compound.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.122-147
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• 2012

The Four-guardian statues in Song-gwang buddhist temple, Suncheon, Korea, have been remade in AD 1628 and have been repaired and repainted over several times since then. Therefore, the study of the pigments applied on the statues can provide good chance for investigation about pigments used in the late Chosun Period. Pigments on fragments from Gwang-mok(Virupaksha), one of the Four-guardian statues, have been analyzed by optical microscope, SEM-EDX and XRD in order to identify the components and compounds. Six types of materials were found from the fragments, which are soil layer with brown clay band, soil layer containing a lot of fibers, Korean paper with loose texture, Korean paper with dense texture, silk, and hemp textile. Presumably, the soil layer which have brown clay band is basis layer and the other layers are repaired layers. From comparative study for the components of the pigments, applied on upper and lower parts of the repaired layers, we have concluded that those repaired layers had been applied on the statue by the following order; basis layer ${\rightarrow}$ Korean paper with loose texture ${\rightarrow}$ soil containing a lot of fibers ${\rightarrow}$ silk ${\rightarrow}$ hemp textile and Korean paper with dense texture. In addition, the years that those materials were applied on the statue have been estimated as 1720~1891, 1926, 1946 and 1976, respectively. The distinct features of each age are as the following; lead white and copper chloride hydroxide are major white and green pigments before 1891, zinc white, barium white, emerald green, and ultramarine blue appear after 1926 and titanium white uprises around 1976. Our result presented here, study on pigments applied on traditional statues over several different periods, will provide good database for future study on pigments used for traditional painting in Buddist temples and Dancheong.