• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.42-57
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• 2017

The Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910) had a long tradition of making official seals to commemorate the granting of official royal titles, including posthumous honorary titles, to its kings, queens, crown princes and queen dowagers. These royal seals were typically gold-plated or made of jade. After the death of its holder, each seal would be stored in the royal seal depository in the Royal Ancestral Shrine. Extensive efforts were made to restore the traditions and culture of the royal family of Joseon during the reign of King Sukjong (r. 1674~1720). In 1705, discussions were held about the royal ceremonial objects, including the royal seals, stored in the Royal Ancestral Shrine, resulting in the reproduction of a set of accessories related with the storage of royal seals and ten golden royal seals which had been lost during wars or had yet to be made. With these reproductions, each shrine chamber of the Royal Ancestral Shrine would have had at least one seal. The details of the reproduction project were meticulously recorded in The Royal Protocol by the Directorate for the Restoration of Golden Royal Seals("金寶改造都監儀軌"). Given that the restoration project was the single event that led to the reproduction of all the golden royal seals, it is reasonable to conclude that the directorate had fulfilled a historically significant function. In this study, the main discussion is focused on the establishment of the directorate and the storage and management of the damaged royal seals. The discussion includes the manufacturing process of the golden seals, for which The Royal Protocol is compared with other similar documents in order to gain more detailed knowledge of the measurements of the turtle knob, the lost-wax casting technique, the gold plating with mercury amalgamation technique, and other ornamentation techniques. The discussion also covers the activities of the artisans who made the royal seals, based on a study of the royal protocols; the styles of the artifacts, based on an examination of the remaining examples; and the techniques used by the Directorate for the Restoration of Golden Royal Seals to produce the royal seals in 1705.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.126-149
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• 2021

The reign of King (later Emperor) Gojong of the Joseon dynasty (later the Korean Empire), which lasted from 1863 to 1907, was a period of turmoil caused by political and social instability at home and military incursions by foreign powers. It was also a period in which Joseon was proclaimed as the Korean Empire and, accordingly, the royal seals of the dynasty underwent a major change. Records show that some 135 seals were produced during the reign of Gojong. The present study of the makers and styles of the royal seals aims to reveal a wealth of information on the seals, which typically had handles in the shape of either a turtle or dragon. Among the seal makers of this era, Jeon Heung-gil was particularly highly regarded as a Golden Royal Seal Artisan (Geumbojang) because he was highly skilled at making both turtle and dragon handles. Kim Eun-seok, a master Jade Royal Seal Artisan (Okbojang), also excelled in the production of turtle and dragon handles for his jade seals. Another master Jade Royal Seal Artisan, Yi Jung-ryeo, is noteworthy because he developed a new style of jade royal seals, which eventually became the dominant style after 1890, when Kim Eun-seok was not active. Furthermore, after the 1890s, his style was also applied to the production of the gold royal seals and developed as the dominant style. Regarding the dragon handles adopted after the proclamation of the Korean Empire, both the golden and the jade royal seals were made in the same style by the same artisans in the service of the Joseon dynasty. They adopted the style of Chinese imperial seals when they began making seals with dragon handles for the Korean Empire, although the basic shapes of both handle and dragon were copied from those made during the Joseon period. As a ceremonial object symbolizing the authority and legitimacy of the royal or imperial family, the style of the royal seals was influenced mainly by changes in the political situation at home and abroad. As Gojong's reign was a period in which more royal seals were made than in the reign of any other ruler, the seals originating from his reign constitute a richer source of information about the efforts of the dynasty to preserve the tradition while effectively dealing with the changes of the new era.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.192-209
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• 2014

The important national cultural heritages were retrieved. April 25 2014, US President Barack Obama formally returned 9 Seals of Joseon Dynasty and Korean Empire in Korea-US Summit taken place in Cheong Wa Dae. These Seals were taken out of Deoksugung illegally by a US Marine Corps officer during Korean War, handed down to his posterity, and last November 2013 confiscated by HSI in San Diego. Through investigations above facts turned out and it was decided to return these relics to Koera. In the process of surveying these seals, I confimed the authenticity of them and transferred my opinion to Cultural Heritage Administration. In this paper, I try to summarize the historical value of each Seals and suggest the remaining task.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.154-166
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• 2021

The royal seal, in either gold or jade, is used to symbolize Joseon's royal family, and it is made up of a Bonu (a handle), Bosin (a body), Bomun (a letter inscribed on the seal), and Bosu (a string attached to the seal). The Bosu was designed to enhance the seal's dignity and facilitate convenient handling. Bosu consists of Kkeun-mog and Bangwool-sul (decorated with gilt paper), which are made of Bangwool, Bangwool-mog, and Sul. In this study, the form survey, color, material, and composition of 318 Bosu pieces from the Joseon Dynasty and Korean Empire produced from 1441 to 1928 were analyzed. As time passed, the strings on the seals became longer and thinner. Bangwool-mog disappeared from the mid-1800s, and a ring appeared at the end of the Sul. Most of the colors used were scarlet, but orange and purple were also identified. Although most of the Bosu are silk, five Bosu from the 1900s and one Bosu from the 1740s (likely replaced in the 1900s) are estimated to be rayon. The gilt paper's main chemical components used to decorate the Bangwool-sul vary according to age. Until the mid-1800s, gold (Au) was used for the Sul and Bangwool, but since the mid-1800s, gold (Au) and brass (Cu-Zn) were used for Sul and Bangwool, respectively, and then brass (Cu-Zn) was used for Sul and Bangwool. While the Bosu was a seal accessory, it can be used to identify changes in the manufacturing techniques and materials of the period.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.124-139
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• 2013

Choi Cheon-yak(about 1684~1755) is an artist who left the various artistic works such as sculptures of royal tombs, architectures. In addition, he was not only a skilled caster but also an able artisan carving jade in the early Joseon Dynasty period. Starting from making royal seals of King Suk-jong, he had made more than about 40 Royal seals until 1755. Choi Cheon-yak was well known as a skilled jade craftsman. Another of his great abilities was to carve subjects into ideal figures. In virtue of his greater abilities, he could take part in the process of constructing Royal tombs and sculpting the stone statues of military officials' which were erected at aristocrats' tombs. With these accumulated skills, when he was in charge of designing the folding screen stones for King In-jo's Jang Neong, he could even replace 12 animals system and clouds with peonies and lotus. Among his various abilities, his skill in carving a sculpture can stand comparison with any other contemporaries. His sculpture skill was at its zenith in 1752, the stone statues of military officials' at the Ui soseson's tomb count his showpiece that describes a model at the age of his late teens and is a realistic and portrayal sculpture, which met the royal family's dignity. In the same year, the stone statues of military officials' constructed by Choi Cheon-yak was elected in front of the Jo Hyen-myeong's tomb(1690~1752). This masterpiece referred to the armor of those of King Gong-min Neong and newly added a helmet and the patterns of a tortoise shell. These patterns of a tortoise shell were passed down to Park Moon-su's tomb in 1756 and Queen Jeong-sung's Hong Neung by his colleagues : Kim Ha-jeong and Byeon Yi-jin etc. He was one of the greatest sculptors in the $18^{th}$ century. People in Joseon praised him highly for his imaginative work from an amorphous object. Especially, these stone statues of military at Jo Hyeonmyeong's tomb shows the proofs of his supreme artwork.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.17 no.11
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• pp.493-499
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• 2019

Seal is a tool to prove an individual or group. Guk-Sae and Eo-Bo uses typeface to represent their names or titles, which change from tensile to tensile and have varied from time to time. Although the Korean alphabet currently uses Hangul, it had used Chinese characters before Hun-Min-Jeong-Um was created in 1443. All seals and royal seal before the Korean Seal of State were made in Chinese characters. This thesis analyzes the concept of typography through the royal seal, and the subject of this study is 'Sugang Emperor' which is the only eight-letter version seal of the Joseon Dynasty's various royal seal. Bo-Yeong, which is shown in Bo-Myeon has artistic value with beautiful typeface and proportions, which is worth research. It examines the features of the Korean seal, analyzes and studies the typeface shape and features from the typographic perspective of the "Sugang Emperor Bo-Yeong," or writing.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.46-61
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• 2023

Various Buddhist metal artifacts were excavated from the Heungjeon-ri Temple site from 2014 to 2020, such as gilt-bronze openwork decorations, a bronze kundika, a lion incense burner with a handle and lion weight, and so on. The gilt-bronze openwork decoration founded from the main hall of the western area is believed to have been used for the decoration of the Buddhist temple, and it is considered to be the best example of the gilt-bronze openwork decorations of the unified Silla that have been discovered so far. The incense burner with a handle and lion weight excavated from Heungjeon-ri Temple site is the earliest example of the style. The bronze kundikas excavated at the Heungjeon-ri Temple site have a more developed style than those of Ingaksa Temple. The bronze bowl and bronze bowl with a lid are similar to those excavated from the Anapji, Hwangryongsa Temple site, and Inwangdong Temple site. So these bronze vessels seem to have spread from the capital city to the provinces. Bronze seals excavated from the Heungjeon-ri Temple site are similar to those of the Hwangnyongsa Temple site in form and font. So, it was considered that they were produced and sent by the royal palace. In addition, "梵雄官衙之印" on the seal can be said to show that Heungjeonri Temple site was related to the organization of the monks at the time. The Buddhist metal artifacts excavated from Heungjeon-ri Temple site are believed to have been used from the early to mid-9th century at the temple by the Seon Order monk who was the main character of the monument. It can be said to be an important example of how the royal palace of Unified Silla and local crafts had a two-way influence, not a one-way influence, from the first half to the middle of the 9th century.