- Total of seven research finished including the National Treasure No. 302 Hanging Painting of Cheonggoksa Temple -

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA, Administrator Chung Jae-suk) has finished the in-depth research on seven large buddhist banner paintings, which includes the National Treasure No. 302 Hanging Painting of Cheonggoksa Temple, as a part of the “2019 Korea Large Buddhist Banner Painting Research Project” which aims to compile data needed to conserve and restore the large buddhist banner paintings which is used in outdoor buddhist ceremonies.

The project has been conducted since 2015 as a ten year project in cooperation with the Research Institute of Sungbo Cultural Heritage (Director Jihyeon) and as of this year, which is the half way mark, have completed comprehensive research on 33 paintings during the last five years and four paintings have been designated as treasures.

This year’s research was conducted on the following 7 pieces: Hanging Painting of Cheonggoksa Temple (National Treasure 302), Hanging Painting of Beopjusa Temple (Treasure 1259), Hanging Painting of Gaesimsa Temple (Treasure 1264), Hanging Painting of Eunhaesa Temple (Treasure 1270), Hanging Painting of Yongmunsa Temple, Yecheon (Treasure 1445), Hanging Painting of Bongjeongsa Temple, Andong (Treasure 1642), Hanging Painting of Gyerimsa Temple, Kimcheon (undesignated).

Large buddhist banner paintings were created to be used in large scale outdoor ceremonies such as Yeongsanjae (Celebration of Buddha's Sermon on Vulture Peak Mountain) and Suryukjae (Water and Land Ceremony), usually with large sizes over 10 m, vibrant colors, and solemn ceremonies that makes it an unique cultural heritage of Korea which can not be found anywhere else in the world.

In order to overcome the limitations and to compile data for conservation and restoration, CHA conducted documentation, conservation environment research and art history research and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (Director General Choi Jong-Deok) conducted scientific research to achieve this goal.

The scientific research such as identification of pigments by x-ray instruments, dye analysis using ultraviolet and visible rays, confirming the underdrawing and ink inscriptions, damage condition analysis and documentation efforts, such producing damage maps, were conducted on the project.

Through the process, previously used conservation treatment material which is not visible through the naked eye was identified on Buddha’s face in National Treasure No. 302 ‘Hanging Painting of Cheonggoksa Temple’. Usage of smalt (blue pigment) was also verified in Treasure No. 1445 ‘Hanging Painting of Yongmunsa Temple, Yecheon’ which is the earliest date (1705) to find them. Furthermore, they conducted research on the mold and bacteria inhabiting in the paintings, successfully incubated a total of 202 microorganisms and identified potential harmful factors which accumulated important data that can be referred to future conservation management.

The data compiled by the scientific research of the large buddhist banner paintings will be constructed as big data and is expected to be an important foundation to activate related research.

The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to publish “Research Report of Large Buddhist Paintings’ on the research so far in March, 2020. Academic conference will be held next year as an interim evaluation and to share the accumulated data through the research which the public and researchers to activate research. Furthermore, during the five years left in the project till 2024, CHA will conduct research on 35 more large buddhist paintings.

Division: Tangible Cultural Heritage Division / Conservation Science Division / Department of Planning and Research

Contact Person: Park Soohee (042-481-4685) / Seo Minseok (042-860-9416) / Moon Suree (042-860-9138)