The mural painting in the Josadang Shrine of Buseok-sa Temple is the oldest earthen mural painting in a temple of the mural paintings in Korea, built during the Goryeo Dynasty period. This relic, which was deconstructed and treated for conservation during the Japanese colonial era, developed problems with salt damage and contamination, which blurred the entire colored surface, as well as physical damage related to this, e.g., the desquamation or exfoliation of the colored layer. Thus, this study would discuss the salt damage characteristics, conducting a scientific analysis of Virupaksha and Virudhaka among other icons.
As a result of the study, white salt covered the entire colored layer, and it was found that salt permeated into small and deep regions in the microscopic observation in addition to the parts visible to the naked eye. During a previous conservation treatment in 1985, a trace of the attempt of the method for removing salt used in the mural in Florence, Italy was also observed. Microscopic observation showed that all the structures on the colored layer consisted of the following order; ocher ground layer, neorok ground layer, and white salt texture. As for the salt layer thickness, it was thinner Virupaksha than in Virudhaka, which appears to be related to the salt removal experiment conducted in the preceding study. An analysis of the mineral composition of salt revealed that mostly, soil minerals, such as gypsum and celadonite, were identified in the target specimen, so the white salt crystals covering the colored layer are assumed to be gypsum. The survey of the distribution of surface elements showed that the distribution of calcium(Ca) and sulfur(S) was identified throughout the mural surface, which was consistent with the tendency of salt distribution when compared to the map of the distribution of white salt. As a result of SEM-EDS analysis, it was found that salt crystals developed on the phyllosilicate clay minerals in the superficial microstructure of the specimen, which was consistent with the layered structure found in the results of microscopic observation above. To sum up the results of the study, it was judged that salt crystals on the surface of the mural resulted from gypsum, which was used as a conservation material during Japanese colonial period. Along with this, there is a possibility of the occurrence of additional damage as salt damage continues, and it is judged that it would be necessary to conduct a study of the removal of gypsum salt.