• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.249-256
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• 2018

Seokrog and Seokcheong are traditional pigments that have been used as green and blue pigments in Korean traditional coloring heritage. Natural minerals such as malachite and azurite are known as raw materials. Seokrog and Seokcheong are mainly imported from aborad, such as China and Japan, and some blue pigments are reported to have been produced domestically. However, considering the geologic environment where carbonate minerals are difficult to produce, the possibility is not high. Malachite and azurite ores were purchased and analyzed for their composition. The pigments were manufactured by traditional procedure and analyzed to characterize the pigments. The Seokrog pigments had an $L^*$ value of about 59-83, an $a^*$ value of less than -20, and a slightly higher saturation than commercial products. The oil absorption was 22-29 mL/100 g, showing excellent opacity of 99.2 % or more. In the case of Seokcheong pigment, the range of $L^*$ values was 35-65 and $b^*$ values were below -15, indicating relatively lower saturation than commercial products. The oil absorption was 21-26 mL/100 g, showing an excellent opacity of 99.1 % or more like the Seokrog pigment. Azurite ore contain impurities such as malachite and quartz in addition to azurite, and the impurities contained in the pigments derived from azurite ore likely influenced on the characteristics such as their color and oil absorption.