Journal
STUDIES IN CONSERVATION
Volume 68, Issue 2, Pages 210-227Publisher
ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/00393630.2021.1967551
Keywords
Asian Art Museum; Korean lacquer; Joseon lacquer; inlaid lacquer; East Asian lacquer art; ray skin; mother-of-pearl; najeon chilgi; laccol; ottchil; shellac; drying oil; lacquer analyses; loss compensation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This article is the first comprehensive analysis of late Joseon dynasty lacquerware, revealing a mixture of traditional and new materials and techniques. Through the conservation and analysis of lacquerware objects from the Asian Art Museum, the study identifies the materials and techniques used in manufacture and presents a new restoration technique. The findings demonstrate the material and technological complexity of Korean lacquerware from this period and provide guidance for the conservation and analysis of similar objects.
In-depth studies of the manufacture and composition of late nineteenth century Korean lacquerware from the Joseon dynasty are underrepresented in the English-language literature. This article, the first to offer a comprehensive layer-by-layer analysis of late Joseon dynasty lacquerware, shows that these objects are made using a mixture of traditional lacquerware techniques and materials together with new materials and methods. Through conservation and analysis of four lacquerware objects from the exhibition Mother-of-Pearl Lacquerware from Korea at the Asian Art Museum (29 April-23 October 2016), we identify the materials and techniques used in manufacture and present a new technique to allow conservators to compensate for losses of ray skin inlay. Our discovery that artists used shellac at multiple stages during manufacture calls into question the assumption that shellac was used only as a surface coating. Our findings demonstrate the material and technological complexity of Korean lacquerware from this period and can inform efforts at conservation and analysis of similar objects.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available