• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.89-108
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• 2022

Since the most ancient times, lapis lazuli had been used for luxury goods such as jewelry and seals, to embellish sculptures and weapons or the precious objects of tombs, such as the golden mask of Tutankhamon or the famous "Standard" of the royal cemetery of Ur. Much more recent seems to be its frequent use as a pigment in wall paintings or polychrome stucco. In this article, the question of the sources for this extremely rare mineral is briefly discussed and the places proposed by ancient scholars as deposits of the mineral are presented and examined. The information provided in the medieval Arabic and Persian scientific literature has been considered and compared with the data of our modern geological knowledge. A list of sites in Central Asia, the Middle East, and India with lapis lazuli occurrence on wall paintings illustrate its wide use in different artistic cultures and periods between the 2nd and 10th centuries C.E. These cultures are in fact different in ethnic and linguistic origin and in the religious, economic, and social sphere, but closely interconnected by common pan-regional artistic traditions in style, materials, and techniques employed. A case study investigated by the authors in the Friday Mosque of Iṣfahān gives an example of the use of lapis lazuli pigment in Islamic wall paintings and stuccoes.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.403-416
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• 2016

Mineral composition and content of 22 Korean Dancheong pigment products were obtained by Rietveld quantitative analysis. Jubosa, Hwang, Seokrok, Seokcheong and Hobun consist of pure cinnabar, orpiment, malachite, azurite and calcite (or aragonite), respectively. Whereas Seokganju, Hwangto, Noerok, Lapis lazuli, Baekto and Cockie hobun mainly consist of hematite, goethite, celadonite, lazurite, kaolin mineral and portlandite, respectively. And they all consist of soil minerals (quartz, feldspar, sericite and vermiculite) and filler minerals in the industry field (calcite, gypsum and anhydrite) at a different content. Quantitative XRD proved more useful method to determined exact mineral composition and content than chemical or microscopical data. If this method utilize for specification of natural pigment product, it is considered to be applicable in restoration technology and conservation science field.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.67-76
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• 2017

Royal banquets under the reign of King Sunjo saw developments in the playacting stage, which exhibited characteristics unique to the transitionary period between Jeongjo and Gojong this period established the framework of the Joseon Dynasty's playacting stage construction. Starting with the Jagyeongjeon-Hall banquet and continuing into the Year of the Golden Rat banquet, the next-day banquet by the Crown Prince demonstrates a renewed format, with the stage also changing accordingly. This change was substantiated by more assertive use of the Red Blind and gabjang. Previously, the Red Blind has been installed in the palace hall and around the royal courtyard, to form three sides, but as next-day banquets became more frequent under Sunjo, the Red Blind developed and came to be installed in accordance with the hierarchy within the royal family. In the Year of the Golden Rat banquet, the Red Blind was lifted and the throne of the crown prince was situated in the palace hall. In the banquet of the following year, however, the Red Blind was let down and the crown prince's throne was placed outside, in palace court yard. This seems to have been a gesture to reorient the crown prince's political standing and restore Sunjo's sovereignty the following year. Hence, the installation of the Red Blind developed in accordance with the royal hierarchy and ranks under Sunjo's reign. The gabjang provided the second layer of protection for the playacting stage. The hongjeongju gabjang surrounded the stage in multiple layers and served as a partition. The gabjang from the Year of the Golden Bull banquet, in particular, boasted a unique installation, where it dangled from both sides of the royal palace's facade. Hongjeongju gabjang, lapis lazuli gabjang, red gabjang, and yellow curtains were installed in the stated order to reflect Sunjo's 40th birthday as well as the 30-year anniversary of his coronation. The Red Blind and gabjang from Sunjo's years were positioned in creative ways to reinstate the royal authority, and demonstrated many improvements from those of Jeongjo's reign.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.219-234
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• 2014

Fabrics, natural dyed fabrics, papers, natural dyed papers and paints were examined effects of colors and mechanical properties for materials of museum collections under anoxic treatment. Anoxic conditions using nitrogen and argon were oxygen concentration 0.01%, temperature($20^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$, $30^{\circ}C$), 50% RH and exposure time 30 days. Examined fabrics were raw silk fabric, UV irradiated raw silk fabric, degummed silk fabric, UV irradiated degummed silk fabric, cotton fabric, and UV irradiated cotton fabric. Natural dyed silk and cotton fabrics were dyed with fresh indigo, indigo, safflower, gromwell, madder sappanwood, amur cork tree, turmeric, gardenia, barberry root, pagoda tree flower, cochineal, lac, alnus japonica, gallnut, chestnut shell, and combination(indigo and safflower, indigo and amur cork tree, indigo and pagoda tree flower, indigo and sappanwood). Papers were Korean papers(mulberry paper, mulberry(70%) and rice straw(30%) mixed paper), Japanese paper(gampi paper), cotton paper, refined linen paper, cotton, linen & manila mixed fibre furnish, copy paper, news print, and alum sized mulberry paper. Natural dyed papers were dyed with indigo, sappanwood, madder, safflower, gardenia, amur cork tree, and pagoda tree flower. Paints were painted on alum-sized papers and silk fabrics using glue and pigments(azurite, malachite, cinnabar, vermilion, orpiment, gamboge, red lead, haematite, iron oxide red, indigo(lake), lac, cochineal, safflower, madder root lake, celadonite, smalt, ultramarine blue, lapis lazuli, prussian blue, kaolin, lead white, oyster-shell white, and clam-shell white). The color differences(${\Delta}E^*$) of all examined materials were below 1.5 or lowered than control samples after anoxic treatment. The variations of tenacity of yarns of fabrics and natural dyed fabrics after anoxic treatment were within that of standard silk and cotton fabrics. Gases(nitrogen and argon) and temperatures of anoxic treatment did not also affected color differences and variations of tenacity of materials.