• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.137-151
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• 2012

In 1966, $Seokgatap$ pagoda in $Bulguksa$ temple was damaged by the tomb robbers and was dismantled to fix the damage. In the process, many offerings to Buddha and containers for Sarira(the cremated remains) were found in $Sarigong$(specially designated space for the Sarira casket) inside the second floor of the pagoda. Many fabrics like $Geum$, $Neung$(twill), $Rha$(complex gauze), silk tabby and linen were also excavated. In this study, $Geum$ fabric from the $Seokgatap$ was closely examined. $Geum$ of $seokgatap$ is weft-faced compound weave according to the analysis of its weaving pattern which was wrongly presumed as warp-faced compound weave for some time. Technical analysis of $Geum$: Main: silk, Binding: silk, Proportion: 1 main warp to 1 binding warp, Count: 15 main warps and 15 binding warps per centimeter, Weft: polychrome silk without apparent twist, Colors: yellow, mustard yellow, deep blue, green and purple, Weave: weft-faced compound twill, 1/2 S. $Geum$ of $Seokgatap$ was made in the $8^{th}$ century, since it was weaved in weft-faced compound weave twill which was popular in the $8-9^{th}$ century. And also, the arrangement of the colors was done in the same way of gradation $Geum$ silk which was popular in the $7-8^{th}$ C in China and Japan. Third, we restored the pattern of $Geum$ of the Unified Shilla Dynasty for the first time. It was very difficult to figure out the shape and the size of pattern since the fabric was partially lost and ruined. We tried to draw the diagram of structure with the cross point of the warp and the weft to restore the pattern. By doing so, we could identify two kinds of small flower pattern, palmette and the pattern of repeating vines. Fourth, we could infer that the $Geum$ of $Seokgatap$ was used for $geumdae$(a pouch made of $geum$) by analyzing all the documents and the characteristics of the fabric.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.31
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• pp.1-20
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• 2024

The "Buseoksa Temple Gwaebul" (1684, K969) in the possession of the National Museum of Korea is a large Buddhist hanging scroll produced for outdoor rituals (gwaebul) at the eponymous temple. The painting demonstrates the most complex composition among the existing Buddhist hanging scrolls as it depicts the Shakyamuni Buddha in the lower middle, surrounded by the Vairocana Buddha, Medicine Buddha, and Amitabha Buddha. This study examines the characteristics of the background fabric and the production methods of the scroll from Buseoksa Temple and explores the characteristics of the coloring techniques by integrating the results of a non-destructive analysis to determine the materials used for coloring. The gwaebul comprises a total of 13 panels, with 11 panels arranged side by side and one panel each added to the top and bottom. The background fabric of the painting consist of semi-transparent silk tabby for the nine panels in the center, and silk tabby for the four panels surrounding the four sides. The coloring materials used to paint the scroll were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence, and were confirmed to be inorganic pigments of red, yellow, green, blue, and white. For some parts painted in yellow and blue, the colors were expressed by first applying light white pigment before adding organic pigments. In addition, ink was used for the black lines and gold leaf was used for the patterns of the Buddhist robes. X-ray irradiation enabled the determination of the location and technique of coloring according to each pigment color by highlighting the difference in brightness depending on the main component and the thickness of each pigment.