Conservation and Analysis of Pigments and Techniques for Crown Prince Munhyo Boyangcheong Folding Screen Painting

Abstract

The painted folding screen of Crown Prince Munhyo at Boyangcheong, Munhyo-seja Boyangcheonggyebyung, was made to record the court ceremony where Crown Prince Munhyo(1782-1786), the firstborn son of King Jeongjo, met his first teacher called Boyanggwan for the first time at Boyangcheong, a government agency specifically founded to provide education for a crown prince, in January 1784. Having never been treated before, this 8-fold screen is still in its original presentation of Joseon Dynasty screen paintings of court ceremonies in the 18th century. The mountings of folding screens in Joseon Dynasty has been researched through the study of the mounting of the Boyangcheong screen and the conservation treatment of the screen has been based on this research. The result of the pigment analysis shows the use of lead white, red lead, vermilion(cinnabar), azurite, malachite, litharge(massicot), carbon black(Chinese ink). The microscopic observation has proved that the painting was painted on verso in most areas and finished on recto to highlight the details or to produce subtle hues by applying light colors.