고려시대 금동제십일면천수관음보살좌상의 보존처리 및 제작기술 연구

Abstract

The gilt bronze statue, Seated Avalokiteshvara with a Thousand Hands, of the Goryeodynasty, is the only one in Korea of its kind that has undergone a conservation process for the specialexhibition entitled GORYEO: The Glory of Korea. For the conservation treatment, first, a componentanalysis (XRF) was conducted, and a manufacturing technique (CT) was analyzed. The results of theinvestigation revealed that the statue was alloyed with Cu, Sn, and Pb ternary bronze. Its surface, exceptfor the detached plating layers, was originally plated using the mercury amalgam method. This statuewas assembled after separately casting each part of the body, such as the left and right arms and thewrists, including the hands, with objects. In particular, each wrist was cast and fitted with a metalnail to express each object in the hands more precisely. Inside the statue, there were five iron cores:two for the head, one for the left elbow, one for the right flank, and one for the right waist. Forthe preservative treatment, natural adhesive agents, including vegetable gelatin and glue (20%), weremixed with alcohol to protect the base metal and adhere to the plating layers. Using synthetic resin(CDK 520+SN-sheet) for the damaged parts, the restored parts could be attached and detached to/fromthe statue. Eventually, the compositional analysis and conservation treatment left the statue in a stablecondition and ready for exhibitions and future studies.