• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.172-193
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• 2013

This study examines the production techniques and raw materials shown in the Korean dried-lacquer statues of Buddha through a careful observation of the Seated Dried-lacquer Bodhisattva Statue from the late Goryeo Dynasty which is currently possessed by Okura Museum of Art in Tokyo. As a method of study, the X-ray data and the results from a field survey were combined to analyze the production techniques and the characteristics of raw materials. Based on this analysis, a hypothesis was established on the production process and verified through a reenactment of the actual production process. Then, the characteristics of the techniques applied to each process and the raw materials were recorded in detail. Specifically, the dried lacquer techniques and the raw materials were estimated based on the results of naked-eye observation in comparison with the literature, especially the records of "Xiu Shi Lu" written by Huang Cheng of the Ming Dynasty which is considered as 'the textbook of lacquer techniques.' The raw materials used in the production of the traditional Korean lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl were also referenced. As a result, it was found that the features of production techniques and the raw materials found in the Statue at Okura Museum of Art have many similarities with those of the Seated Dried-lacquer Statue of Lohan (Arhat) from Yuanfu 2 Nian Ming (1098) of the Song Dynasty which is currently at the Honolulu Museum of Art. In particular, the similarities include that the interior of the statue being vacant because the clay and the wood core were not replaced after being removed from the prototype, that the complete form was made in the clay forming stage to apply the lacquer with baste fiber fabric, that the clay and the wood core were removed through the bottom of the statue, and that the modeling stage was omitted and the final coat over the statue is very thin. Additionally, decorating with ornaments like Bobal and Youngrak made of plastic material was a technique widely popular in the Song Dynasty, suggesting that the Seated Dried-lacquer Bodhisattva Statue in Okura Museum of Art was greatly affected by the production techniques of the Dried-lacquer Buddha Statue from the Song Dynasty. There is no precise record on the origin and history of the Korean Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues and the number of existing works is also very limited. Even the records in "Xuanhe Fengshi Gaoli Tujing" that tells us about the origin of the Dried-lacquer Buddha Statue from the Yuan Feng Period (1078~1085) do not indicate the time of transmission. It is also difficult to trace the clear route of transmission of production techniques through existing Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues. Fortunately, this study could at least reveal that the existing Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues of Korea, including the one at Okura Museum of Art, have applied the production techniques rather differently from those used in the production of Japanese Datsukatsu Dried-lacquer Buddha Statues that have been known as the standard rule in making dried-lacquer statues of Buddha for a long time.