• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to date a Buddhist wooden Tablet (No. 271) at Songkwangsa Temple, Suncheon, Korea, using wiggle matching of radiocarbon dates. For wiggle matching, three samples (2nd, 16th and 34~35th rings from inner side) in the pedestal of the Tablet were selected among total of 37 tree rings. Wiggle matching the radiocarbon dates of three samples resulted in A.D. 1660~1679 (95.4% confidence interval) for the outermost ring. This interval suggested the age of this tablet as the late 17th century, which was almost at the same age as other early Buddhist tablets in Korea.

• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.72-78
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• 2014

The objectives of this study were to identify the species of a wooden container for written prayers, Sotong, from Guryongsa Temple in Wonju, which is currently stored in the Museum of Woljeongsa, and to date it using wiggle matching of radiocarbon dates. It was made exclusively of basswood, Tilia spp. Wiggle matching the radiocarbon dates of three rings resulted in A.D. 1670 to 1691 (${\pm}2{\sigma}$) for the outermost ring. This interval suggested the age of 'Guryongsa Sotong' as the late $17^{th}$ or early $18^{th}$ century, which became a first date on 'Sotong' in Korea.

• Journal of the Regional Association of Architectural Institute of Korea
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.131-137
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• 2018

The two recent excavations at the site of Beopsusa Temple in Seongju revealed that it contained eight building remains, three pedestrian facilities, four drainage facilities, two walls, three embankments, and an estimated pagoda remain. Even though this investigation was restricted to some sections of the site, it confirmed remains of architectural significance and thus attracted the attention of concerned researchers. This study thus set out to make an architectural survey of the site based on the excavation results and examine the characteristics and nature of remains of Buildings No.2 and 3 at the site. The planar analysis results show that Building No.2 (Remains 2-2) at the site of Beopsusa Temple was a gable-roofed building with a single story including 6 kan(間) in the front and 4 kan(間) in the flank and that Building No.3 (Remains 3-3) was a single-story building with a hipped-and-gable roof including 5 kan(間) in the front and 3 kan(間) in the flank. The most noteworthy remain of this excavation was the north-south square platform discovered at the Building No.2 at the site. It is estimated as a high chair platform used for Buddhist sermons. It was confirmed only at the lecture hall remains of Hwangnyongsa Temple and Anyangsa Temple in the nation and had never been found at remains related to Chinese and Japanese Buddhist Temples, being regarded as a very important and unique artifact. Since it was found at the remains of Building No.2, they was estimated as the lecture hall remain at the site. Found at the remains of Building No.3 at the site, the oblong altar remains were also very unique and rare and never found at other Buddhist temple sites. The inside of oblong altar was evenly covered with roof tiles instead of rubble, and there were small crushed stones for internal division, which is an altar construction method distinctly different from its counterparts at other Buddhist temple sites. Those findings raise the possibility high that a wooden facility was put up at the top of oblong remains.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.296-305
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• 2020

Konbaung Dynasty was the last unified dynasty that ruled Myanmar from 18^th to 19^th century. During this time Buddhist art flourished in Myanmar due to the interest of the rulers toward their traditional culture. Metal decorative artifacts in the 18^th century are classified into structures and Buddha statues. They are further subdivided into gilt-bronze and bronze objects, depending on their material component. Three-dimensional gilt-bronze decorative artifacts were cast with a brass alloy of Cu-Zn-Sn-Pb and their surfaces were gilded with extremely thin gold leaves (less than 1 ㎛ in thickness). The gilded layer approximately comprised 10 wt% silver in addition to the main element, gold. The lack of Hg in the gilded layer, indicated that the amalgam gilding technique was not applied. The analysis results indicated that the lacquered gilding technique was applied to the objects. Bronze decorative artifacts without gilding were cast with materials containing Cu-Sn-Pb. The bronze pavilions and bronze Buddha staues were crafted using the same alloy of high-tin bronze, which approximately contained 20 wt% Sn. No heat treatment was applied to reduce the brittleness of the objects after they were cast with a large amount of Sn. The most significant difference between the gilt-bronze and bronze decorative artifacts lie in their elemental compositions. The gilt-bronze decorative artifacts with their gilded surface were manufactured using brass containing zinc, while the unplated bronze decorative artifacts were composed of bronze containing tin. Artifacts of the same type and size are classified differently depending on the materials utilized in the surface treatment such as gilding.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.98
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• pp.226-241
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• 2020

Located on the right side of the third floor of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the "Art of Central Asia" exhibition boasts the world's finest collection of artworks and artifacts from the Silk Road. Every item in the collection has been classified by region, and many of them were collected in the early twentieth century through archaeological surveys led by Russia's Pyotr Kozlov, Mikhail Berezovsky, and Sergey Oldenburg. Some of these artifacts have been presented around the world through special exhibitions held in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Korea, Japan, and elsewhere. The fruits of Russia's Silk Road expeditions were also on full display in the 2008 exhibition The Caves of One Thousand Buddhas - Russian Expeditions on the Silk Route on the Occasion of 190 Years of the Asiatic Museum, held at the Hermitage Museum. Published in 2018 by the Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House in collaboration with the Hermitage Museum, Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia introduces the Hermitage's collection of artifacts from the Kuche (or Kucha) region. While the book focuses exclusively on artifacts excavated from the Kuche area, it also includes valuable on-site photos and sketches from the Russian expeditions, thus helping to enhance readers' overall understanding of the characteristics of Kuche art within the Buddhist art of Central Asia. The book was compiled by Dr. Kira Samosyuk, senior curator of the Oriental Department of the Hermitage Museum, who also wrote the main article and the artifact descriptions. Dr. Samosyuk is an internationally renowned scholar of Central Asian Buddhist art, with a particular expertise in the art of Khara-Khoto and Xi-yu. In her article "The Art of the Kuche Buddhist Temples," Dr. Samosyuk provides an overview of Russia's Silk Road expeditions, before introducing the historical development of Kuche in the Buddhist era and the aspects of Buddhism transmitted to Kuche. She describes the murals and clay sculptures in the Buddhist grottoes, giving important details on their themes and issues with estimating their dates, and also explains how the temples operated as places of worship. In conclusion, Dr. Samosyuk argues that the Kuche region, while continuously engaging with various peoples in China and the nomadic world, developed its own independent Buddhist culture incorporating elements of Gandara, Hellenistic, Persian, and Chinese art and culture. Finally, she states that the culture of the Kuche region had a profound influence not only on the Tarim Basin, but also on the Buddhist grottoes of Dunhuang and the central region of China. A considerable portion of Dr. Samosyuk's article addresses efforts to estimate the date of the grottoes in the Kuche region. After citing various scholars' views on the dates of the murals, she argues that the Kizil grottoes likely began prior to the fifth century, which is at least 100 years earlier than most current estimates. This conclusion is reached by comparing the iconography of the armor depicted in the murals with related materials excavated from the surrounding area (such as items of Sogdian art). However, efforts to date the Buddhist grottoes of Kuche must take many factors into consideration, such as the geological characteristics of the caves, the themes and styles of the Buddhist paintings, the types of pigments used, and the clothing, hairstyles, and ornamentation of the depicted figures. Moreover, such interdisciplinary data must be studied within the context of Kuche's relations with nearby cultures. Scientific methods such as radiocarbon dating could also be applied for supplementary materials. The preface of Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia reveals that the catalog is the first volume covering the Hermitage Museum's collection of Kuche art, and that the next volume in the series will cover a large collection of mural fragments that were taken from Berlin during World War II. For many years, the whereabouts of these mural fragments were unknown to both the public and academia, but after restoration, the fragments were recently re-introduced to the public as part of the museum's permanent exhibition. We look forward to the next publication that focuses on these mural fragments, and also to future catalogs introducing the artifacts of Turpan and Khotan. Currently, fragments of the murals from the Kuche grottoes are scattered among various countries, including Russia, Germany, and Korea. With the publication of this catalog, it seems like an opportune time to publish a comprehensive catalog on the murals of the Kuche region, which represent a compelling mixture of East-West culture that reflects the overall characteristics of the region. A catalog that includes both the remaining murals of the Kizil grottoes and the fragments from different parts of the world could greatly enhance our understanding of the murals' original state. Such a book would hopefully include a more detailed and interdisciplinary discussion of the artifacts and murals, including scientific analyses of the pigments and other materials from the perspective of conservation science. With the ongoing rapid development in western China, the grotto murals are facing a serious crisis related to climate change and overcrowding in the oasis city of Xinjiang. To overcome this challenge, the cultural communities of China and other countries that possess advanced technology for conservation and restoration must begin working together to protect and restore the murals of the Silk Road grottoes. Moreover, centers for conservation science should be established to foster human resources and collect information. Compiling the data of Russian expeditions related to the grottoes of Kuche (among the results of Western archaeological surveys of the Silk Road in the early twentieth century), Kuche Art Relics Collected in Russia represents an important contribution to research on Kuche's Buddhist art and the Silk Road, which will only be enhanced by a future volume introducing the mural fragments from Germany. As the new authoritative source for academic research on the artworks and artifacts of the Kuche region, the book also lays the groundwork for new directions for future studies on the Silk Road. Finally, the book is also quite significant for employing a new editing system that improves its academic clarity and convenience. In conclusion, Dr. Kira Samosyuk, who planned the publication, deserves tremendous praise for taking the research of Silk Road art to new heights.