The Yongjam of Oejae, Yi Dan-ha's wife, is an ornamental hairpin with a dragon-shaped engraving; designated as National Folklore Cultural Heritage No. 4. It is also a component of the ceremonial costume, and an artifact of great value as it clearly identifies the position of the wearer and the period of this artifact. The Yongjam has been well preserved in general; however, various pollutants and corrosive products have affected the engraved patterns, requiring conservation treatment. Furthermore, a non-destructive analysis was conducted to identify the components of the materials and the manufacturing techniques used in the ornament. The Yongjam is hollow inside to reduce its weight when placed in the hair and has a color contrast of gold, red, and black. The decorative part and the body were made separately. That is, the body was made from an alloy of copper, silver, and zinc, and its joint was elaborately connected without any overlaps. In the decorative part, different alloy ratios were identified in the dragon's face, beard, horn, body, and fin. Further, for the dragon's face with its delicate patterns, an alloy of silver and copper was used, likely to make the face appear as realistic as possible.
This study identified material properties through scientific analysis on Jikgeumdan(satin with gold threads) from Donggungbi-Wonsam and the gold threads used in the embroidery. The Donggungbi-Wonsam’s base of gold threads were estimated to have used mulberry fiber’s Korean paper(Hanji) because non-wood-based fibers were observed. The X-ray spectrometer showed that the Tongsuseulan of Donggungbi-Wonsam was a flat gold thread of pure gold and Jikgeumdan of flat silver thread of its Saekdong and Hansam. High sulfur levels were detected in the flat silver thread, which appeared to have formed silver sulfide by either manufacturing process using sulfur or conservation environment. he dragon insignia’s embroidery is also described as two types twisted gold threads; pure gold and alloying-gold and silver. while dragon insignia’s border line is decorated with a twisted gold thread of pure gold. In particular, it was investigated that adhesives such as an animal glue, a protein-based compound by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Additionally, XRF and Raman spectroscopy analysis on the mixture substances between the metal surface and the base paper of gold threads identified talc and quartz in the gold threads and Seokganju(hematite) in the flat silver threads.
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