Raman spectroscopy of the pigments on Korean traditional paintings

•Raman spectroscopy of the pigments used in paintings of Korean heritage.•Identified some of the pigments on a Buddha painting of the Tongdosa temple, Korea.•Results would provide a useful scientific basis for the preservation of cultural heritages.

Raman spectroscopy is now a well-established tool in characterizing archaeological materials, such as traditional paintings. In this report, we applied Raman spectroscopy to investigate the pigments used in Korean traditional paintings. Korean traditional colors are often represented by the five basic colors; blue, red, yellow, white, and black. In real paintings, the colors are more diverse including orange and green. We report a Raman spectroscopy of the various pigments found in Korean traditional paintings. Raman spectra are used to identify the minerals in the pigments by comparing the spectra with those of known minerals. Our work would provide a useful scientific basis for the conservation and restoration of aged and damaged Korean traditional heritages.