• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.254-267
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• 2019

Clamp resist dyeing is a resist dyeing technique in which a fabric is sandwiched between two or more pieces of woodcarving and then a pattern is expressed by dyeing. Records from nine years of King Heungdeok's reign during the Unified Silla dynasty show that the use of the clamp resist dyeing technique was banned for different garments. This was only for garments of YOOKDUPUMNYEO (六頭品女) or OHDUPUMNYEO (五頭品女). Given this, it can be assumed that clamp resisted fabrics were widely used, and the technique had been established during the Unified Silla dynasty or before. However, only the term can be found in the records. Neither its definition nor how this technique was used is explained. Also, it is difficult to assume the types and features of clamp resist dyeing due to a lack of materials. A small number of relics from the Goryeo dynasty still remain, though. Craft techniques have developed through international exchanges and have changed according to respective nations' circumstances including politics, economics, society, and culture. Hence, this research analyzed documents and relics from China and Japan, two countries neighboring the Republic of Korea, and studied the different types and features of clamp resist dyeing techniques. Clamp resist dyeing techniques were divided into monochromatic or multichromatic according to the number of colors that represented patterns, rather than according to the respective nations' features. They were also classified into mono, bilateral symmetry, or vertical-bilateral symmetry according to the structure of the patterns. Through the study of examples of inherited or reproduced dyeing techniques in China and Japan, it was confirmed that different engraving techniques, including relief, openwork, intaglio fit for the feature of a pattern and the number of colors, were applied in order to vividly represent patterns on fabric. Using small flower pattern clamp resist dyed fine tabby in Amitabha of 1302, the only relic showing its patterns and colors in Korea, as the experiment subject, this research successfully reproduced a clamp resist dyeing technique through a successful experiment based on the basic materials from the dyeing technique case study. Due to the significance of the experiment on a clamp resist dyeing technique that stopped its transmission and shows the features of the technique, this study is expected to be a basic resource that can be used for future reproductions of multichromatic clamp resist dyeing techniques. Also, it is expected to be helpful in widening and recreating the world of Korean pattern dyeing with modern dyeing techniques.