Characteristics and Material Analysis on the Drafts of Buddhist Paintings in the Late 19^th and the Early 20^th Century

A draft of Buddhist paintings is a sketch based on Buddhist scriptures, and sketching is the first step of the process. This is the most foundational step of Buddhist paintings, and at the same time, the first draft itself can be a completed artwork. Buddhist paintings are usually drawn on various materials such as silk, hemp, cotton, and paper, whereas drafts are drawn on paper. Compared to Buddhist paintings, most of drafts are not well preserved. In this study, scientific investigation and analysis were conducted to study the properties of materials used for drafts of Buddhist paintings in the late 19^th and the early 20^th Century. The material used to prepare the drafts is either Yuji (oiled paper) or Hanji (traditional Korean paper). Yuji is thicker, heavier, and denser than Hanji. When the drafts made from Yuji are vulnerable to heat, they become oxidized and decolored to dark-brown. A fiber analysis of the drafts reveals that they were drawn on Hanji which was made of mulberry fibers. In the oxidized drafts made of Yuji, mulberry fibers were broken.