• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.17
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• pp.69-84
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• 2016

Yuso is the term for decorative tassels of a braided string which hangs a scroll painting. This study, drawing on extant research concerning the yuso made for Joseon period portrait scrolls of kings and meritorious retainers, focuses on the yuso created to hang literati portraits. Concretely, It examines yuso of seven portraits in the collection of the National Museum of Korea in order to characterize their appearance and determine their material composition. The study found that most of the yuso are sixteen-strand strings braided into a rounded cross-section(dongdahoe). The seven yuso, of which six are red and one indigo-blue, reflect the popular style associated with Joseon period literati portraits. The yuso for the portrait of Yun Geup(duksu 3503) is made from gilded paper. Analysis showed Fe particles present in a red pigment underlying the gold layer, suggesting the presence of red ochre(seokganju), an iron oxide mineral. The yuso of the portrait of Shin Im(duksu 4846) is used a paper which contains gold as well as traces of Pb, Hg and Ag. The paper in the yuso for the portrait of Yi Seongwon(bongwan 10122) mainly consisted of Ag, indicating silver paper having been used in its fabrication. The inner paper in the yuso of the portrait of Yi Seogu(sinsu 1065) is a leather combined with Ag, Fe, and Br, according to chemical analysis. The FTIR of the leather sample reveals that the spectrum in the fingerprint region is nearly identical to that of sheepskin, indicating the yuso was made from gold-coated sheepskin.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.201-216
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• 2022

Materials and techniques used for two portraits (Jo-nyeon Lee and S ung-in Lee) of the Lee family from Seongju enshrined in Seongsan temple were scientifically analyzed, and based on the data, an optimal replica restoration method was designed. According to the expression technique investigation, both portraits were expressed mainly in line drawing, but there were differences in shoes, pupils, the color expression of flesh, overpainting, and traces of reinforcement. Pigment analysis revealed that a mixture of cinnabar and minium, organic pigment, azurite, malachite, lead white, and yellow pigment were used in common. In the case of Sung-in Lee's portrait, seokganju and atacamite were also used. In addition, comparison with the contemporaneous portraits of gentry showed that the portrait style at the time was found in the two portraits, but the singularity was modified differently there. Based on the scientific analysis, it was decided to replicate the old color restoration for Jo-nyeon Lee's portrait while for Sung-in Lee's portrait, it was decided to replicate the phenomenon. Detailed coloring techniques were presented by supplementing the expression techniques that are difficult to confirm visually using scientific data. In addition, by measuring the chromaticity of representative positions in the portrait for each color and presenting the color reference value calculated as the average value, the current color of the artifact can be replicated and restored based on the objective data as much as possible.