Material and Manufacturing Properties of Bracket Mural Paintings of Daeungjeon Hall in Gaeamsa Temple, Buan

Abstract

This study examined the production technique of bracket murals in Daeungjeon Hall, Gaeamsa Temple by conducting a analysis of their wall structure, material characteristics, and painting layers. Wall was a single-branch structure with support layer, middle layer, finishing layer, and painting layer. The support layer, middle layer and finishing layer, were produced by mixing sand (quartz, feldspars etc.), and loess. The ratio of above medium sand to below fine sand was approximately 0.7 : 9.3 in the support layer, 4 : 6 in the middle layer and 6 : 4 in the finishing layer, which had a more percentage of above medium sand than the support layer. The analysis of the painting layer showed that natural soil pigment was used to establish a relatively ground layer of up to 50 μm, and pigments such as Lead sulfate, atacamite and mercury sulfide were painted on top of the layer. This study’s results confirmed that the bracket mural paintings in Gaeamsa Temple are within the category of the production style of murals during the Joseon period. However, the points that the middle layer was formed several times, the significant difference in particle size distribution between the wall, and the absence of chopped straw in the support layer are a feature of bracket mural paintings in Gaeamsa Temple. These properties of murals as material and structure may be viewed for correlation with the degree of damage to wall structure of mural painting and would serve as an important reference to diagnosis the conservation conditions of murals or prepare conservation treatments.