The Conservation of Asian Lacquer the Conservation of Asian Lacquer

The Conservation of Asian Lacquer The Conservation of Asian Lacquer Case Studies at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco By Jane L. Williams with contributions from Donna K. Strahan Rowan Geiger Helena Jaeschke Shosai Kitamura Frank Minney Jane Norman Barbara Piert-Borgers Marianne Webb Zhang Lan Contents Copyright © by the Asian Art Museum – Lacquer: The Conservation Challenge Donna Strahan Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture Philosophies and Approaches to Lacquer Conservation ISBN: ---- Methodology and Materials The Asian Art Museum – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture is a public institution Case Studies: Bowls, Trays, and Box whose missin is to lead a diverse global audience in discovering the unique material, aesthetic, and Case Studies: Boxes, Chest, Panel, and Screen Stand intellectual achievements of Asian art and culture. Case Studies: Covered Box, Cabinet, and Chair All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, electronic or mechanical, without Case Studies: Sculpture and Helmet permission in writing from the publisher, excerpt by a reviewer, who may quote passages in a review. Case Studies: Screens Marianne Webb This publication was made possible by a generous grant from the Getty Grant Program. Designed and typeset in Monotype Bembo Book by Thomas Christensen. Lacquer: The Conservation Challenge DONNA STRAHAN sian lacquer, also known by its Japa- soluble, making them very difficult to clean nese name, urushi, is found through- without removing some of the original lacquer out Asia. Lacquer is produced from surface. The solubility of lacquer varies depend- Athe sap of various trees of the genera Toxicoden- ing upon the type of lacquer used, method of dron (formerly Rhus) and Melanorrhoea. It has application, age, and exposure to light. Also the been used since ancient times and continues to conservation of lacquer objects must address the be made today. The earliest lacquers identified problems of their substrates, which may include thus far were produced in China around wood, cloth, metal, or clay. Many lacquers suf- BCE. Artifacts coated with lacquer or in which fer from the ravages of time and mishandling. lacquer is used as an adhesive are produced in The problems range from flaking lacquer sur- China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Burma, Cambo- faces, crumbling substrates and light damage, dia, Laos and Vietnam. to corroded base metals, inappropriate restora- The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco tions, poor environment conditions and physi- has a superb collection of over lacquer ob- cal damage. For these reasons, lacquer conserva- jects from throughout Asia and the collection tion is often challenging and labor-intensive. is particularly strong in objects of Japanese and Asian methods of lacquer restoration tra- Chinese origin. Besides objects predominately ditionally use lacquer for consolidation, fills made of lacquer, many of the museum’s South- and surface coatings. Applied by skilled hands, east Asian copper alloy sculptures use lacquer as this material can improve the appearance and an adhesive for gilding and inlay. is very compatible with the original lacquer. Traditional lacquer objects pose a particu- But lacquer is toxic, causing a severe rash un- lar conservation challenge. Being an organic less the user has built up immunity. The tree is resin, lacquer may suffer serious physical dam- related to poison ivy, producing a similar con- age. Generally speaking, newly cured lacquer tact dermatitis that easily spreads. Even after is unaffected by most acids and alkalis, most years of exposure immunity is not certain. It organic solvents and water and it is impervi- is also difficult to work with and requires ex- ous to insect attack. But exposure to ultraviolet tensive training. The disappearance of wild lac- radiation and temperature extremes cause the quer trees in some areas through deforestation deterioration of lacquer, breaking down chemi- is making the sources for high quality lacquer cal bonds and causing irreversible discoloration. unreliable. Moreover once lacquer has set (un- While newly-made lacquer surfaces are usually der high humidity conditions) it is insoluble and insoluble, degraded surfaces can be extremely cannot be easily removed. Mistakes cannot be Opposite page: Figs. .. Need caption. The Conservation of Asian Lacquer Lacquer: The Conservation Challenge undone. Over time the newly applied lacquer from the rd century BCE to the th century Museum in Shanghai. At the time of the work- a private conservation practice in Cologne. She ages differently than the original lacquer, ap- CE. They included a wide range of objects: shop he was the Vice Director of the Research has traveled extensively to study Asian lacquer pearing different in color. Western methods of screens, boxes, trays, furniture, sculpture, ar- Laboratory for Conservation and Archaeology techniques and conservation, including a lacquer treatment traditionally use waxes and mor. at the Shanghai Museum. He was educated at visit to the J. Paul Getty Museum to examine other synthetic materials for consolidation, fills The museum next organized a three-day in- the Shanghai Institute of Arts and Crafts and the lacquered furniture. and surface coatings. While complete removal ternational workshop to focus on the particular Shanghai Foreign Language Institute. He com- Marianne Webb has been Decorative Arts of any consolidant remains more an ideal than conservation problems of these lacquers. Seven pleted advanced course work in conservation at Conservator at the Royal Ontario Museum a practical possibility, these materials generally experts from Asia, Europe and North America, Fudan University. Mr. Zhang’s published arti- since . Ms. Webb holds a B.A. in Fine Arts remain soluble in solvents, are more reversible were invited to participate in January to cles include Investigation of Technology of Lacquer from the University of Toronto and a Diploma than lacquer which can only be removed by me- represent both Asian and Western perspectives Making in the Song Dynasty and The Conservation in Art Conservation Techniques from Sir San- chanical means. on lacquer conservation. The participants were of Lacquerware in China. Mr. Zhang is a member ford Fleming College. Ms. Webb was the coor- The conservation department identified the Helena Jaeschke (England), Shosai Kitamura (Ja- of ICOM’s Working Group on Lacquer. dinator of ICOM’s Working Group on Lacquer. need to refine their approach to the treatment pan), Lan Zhang (China), Frank Minney (Eng- Frank Minney was a conservator at The Brit- Over the past ten years she has presented papers of lacquers. Until recently there have been land), Jane Norman (United States), Barbara ish Museum for more than thirty years. He is on lacquer conservation at international confer- few publications that describe a methodology Piert-Borgers (Germany), and Marianne Webb now a visiting professor at the Tokyo National ences and meetings. She is the author of numer- for lacquer treatments. Additionally, there are (Canada), along with the project conservator University of Fine Arts and Music. With the ous articles on lacquer conservation, as well as no lacquer specialists in the United States and Jane Williams and Asian Art Museum conserva- introduction of material specialization at The the book Lacquer: Technology and Conservation – A only a few object conservators applying current tors Donna Strahan and Mark Fenn. British Museum, Mr. Minney became respon- Comprehensive Guide to the Technology and Conser- Western conservation approaches to lacquer Helena F. Jaeschke received her BSc in Ar- sible for the conservation of lacquer and ivory. vation of Asian and European Lacquer. treatment problems. The Eastern techniques chaeology and Conservation from the Univer- Mr. Minney’s articles on lacquer conservation The Institute of Museum and Library Ser- that have been used do not address the issues of sity College, Cardiff, UK, and has undertaken have appeared in The Conservator, Studies in Con- vices, the National Endowment for the Arts toxicity and irreversibility, and are limited by postgraduate studies in the deterioration and servation, and The Dictionary of Materials and Tech- and the Getty Grant Program funded a two year their difficulty and availability. conservation of Asian lacquer objects at the niques in the Decorative Arts. position for a conservator to treat the objects Thus when a comprehensive survey of the Institute of Archaeology, London. The author Jane Norman is the Exhibitions Conserva- after the workshop. The Getty Grant Program museum’s entire collection funded by the Getty of several articles on lacquer analysis and treat- tor for the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gal- also provided funds for the three day workshop, Grant Program identified the lacquer objects ment, Ms. Jaeschke maintains a private conser- lery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, photography, analytical tests, treatment materi- as being in need of conservation, the conservation practice that serves museums in both the which together comprise the National Museum als and pre-production work on the post-treat- vation department saw the need to investigate UK and abroad. of Asian Art for the United States. Ms. Norman ment manuscript. approaches to lacquer preservation. The con- Shosai Kitamura studied lacquer at the Na- received her B.A. in Anthropology and M.A. in Each workshop participant received advance servation staff decided this need would best be tional

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