CONSERVATION JOURNAL CONSERVATION SUMMER £2.50 @ POINT OF SALE 2001 CONSERVATION JOURNAL Contents Editorial - Desperately Seeking Eastern V&A Conservation Journal No. 38 Jonathan Ashley-Smith Head of Conservation 3 Editorial Jonathan Ashley-Smith, Head of Conservation 4 A Study Visit to Japan Simon Fleury, Conservation Mounter, Paper Conservation For the next year it will be hard to between distance east and degree of interventive attitude at its extreme is avoid seeing or hearing evidence of exoticism, the extreme of ‘easterness’ about a reverence for an authentic 7 Review of MA Paper Conservation: Japanese Prints the innovations and traditions of being the alien mysteries of Japanese and permanent arrangement of Shiho Sasaki, Japanese Prints Research, Paper Conservation Japanese culture. Japan 2001 is a culture. A few moments reflection original molecules. Even at a purely year-long UK-wide series of enabled me to re-orientate myself scientific level, this concept of 10 A Chinese Figure in Unfired Clay: Technical Investigation and exhibitions, demonstrations, lectures with a new interpretation of the authenticity is difficult to maintain. The Conservation Treatment. and festivals which celebrate the expression “corners of the earth”. In Eastern approach is much closer to Metaxia Ventikou, Conservator, Sculpture Conservation culture and lifestyle of Japan. The terms of environmental conservation the concept of sustainability, current V&A will be participating in this problems (not to mention ease and in other fields of conservation such as 13 SIMS Analysis in Conservation Surface Studies celebration. The V&A was founded cheapness of travel), Australia has preservation of biodiversity and the Pedro Gaspar, Marina Robinson, Charlotte Hubbard, David McPhail, around the time that Japan ended its more in common with Thailand, global environment. It is impossible to Alan Cummings long period of seclusion from the Indonesia and Malaysia than it does preserve original arrangements of outside world in the mid-nineteenth with the UK despite historic political molecules but it is possible to 16 Introduction to Chinese Traditional Book Binding century and has been adding both liaisons and current exchange of soap preserve ideas, design, spirit, skill and Editorial Board Jane Rutherston, Senior Book Conservator, Books Conservation Jonathan Ashley-Smith historic and contemporary Japanese operas. Australia shares a time zone relevance. Such an appraisal allows Head of Conservation Department objects to its collections ever since. with Japan, which is more than can be the radical restoration of museum Mike Wheeler, Senior Paper Conservator 17 The Train Stops at Gloucester Road – Futures and Values in said for the relationship between objects such as the Hereford Screen Conservation Department Conservation In this edition of the Journal we look England and the bulk of it’s new (p.19) and is relevant to discussions of at some interactions of institutions in Sophy Wills, Metalwork Conservator William Lindsay, Head of Conservation, Royal College of Art associates in Europe. the conservation of contemporary Conservation Department South Kensington with ideas and installation where the exhibits have objects from areas to the east of Conservators are fascinated by the Pedro Gaspar, PhD Student 19 The Resurrection of the Hereford Screen not been subject to historic natural RCA/V&A Conservation Diana Heath, Senior Metals Conservator, Metals Conservation Europe. Many years ago there was organised complexity of Japanese selection. The document stemming something called the ‘Near’ East, but metalwork, by the variable Fran Griffin, Paintings Conservator from 1994 Conference on Conservation Department 22 New Staff the Americanisation of the British robustness of urushi lacquer objects Authenticity held at Nara in Japan, world-view has meant that even the and the extreme transience of some Victoria Button, Senior Paper Conservator promotes the idea of allowing local Conservation Deportment nearest parts of the Levant are called pigments in ukyeo-e woodblock cultural interpretation of authenticity 24 Staff Chart the ‘Middle’ East. In contrast to this prints. Paper conservation in this Esther Jones, Conservation Administration Assistant yet there is strong Western pressure Conservation Department political de-orientation, I recently met country has been transformed by the for Japanese conservators to adopt a someone from the British Council adoption of materials and techniques Production and Managing Editor less interventive approach. The last Laura Martin, Conservation Systems Administrator whose remit was the ‘Far’ East, which that derive from the Japanese large festival of Japanese Culture was Conservation Department for him included Australia and New tradition. However there is a distinct nearly ten years ago. In an age of Designed by V&A Print Unit & Zealand. This strict geographical divide between the mid-set of UK globalization it will be interesting to Danny Norman, Conservation Mounting interpretation of the world was and North American conservators see whether distinguishable Photographs are credited individually initially at odds with my received and the concept of conservation in philosophies of conservation will be notion of a strong relationship Japan. The Western passive non- © Victoria & Albert Museum. ISSN 0967-2273 detectable in 2010. All enquires to: Conservation Department Victoria & Albert Museum London SW7 2RL, UK Telephone: +44 (0)20 7942 2091 Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 2092 Email: [email protected] The cover and contents page illustrations by Danny Norman 2 3 CONSERVATION JOURNAL Museum. His research concerned the buffering effects I spent a few days as a guest of Mr. Yasushi Yakoo, the A Study Visit to Japan against fluctuations of the ambient relative humidity of managing director of the Masumi Corporation (suppliers SUMMER 2001 several traditional storage cases, including a kiri bako and of conservation materials). He arranged visits to his main Simon Fleury a lacquered outer box, (daisashi). It was particularly kiri box supplier, Mr Yamazaki and his frame core maker, Conservation Mounter, Paper Conservation interesting to learn from Mr Kamba about the use of Mr Makino. Even with Mr Yakoo’s sophisticated in-car lacquer urushi as a barrier against fluctuations in humidity navigation system the intricacies of the Tokyo highway and temperature. We also touched on the traditional system caused problems. After several telephone calls It was dusk when we eventually left the workshop of Handa Kyuseido Oriental Painting Restoration Studio at Japanese storage houses or kura. we were met by Mr Makino who had run down the the Ohsaka family, makers of paulownia wood boxes the Tokyo National Museum we left with Mr Handa to lane to meet us, an impressive feat considering his The following day I met Dr Inaba at the moated for scrolls and other art. I stepped into the traffic filled visit the Ohsaka family workshop in the Shinjuko area of seventy-four years. His family has made the cores for entrance to Tokyo’s Imperial Palace to visit the recently Tokyo street, clutching a bag of hand made wood nails central Tokyo. We were greeted by Mr Ohsaka’s wife folding screens, sliding doors and traditional Japanese built Imperial Archive and Mausolea, in the grounds. Mr and a box of Japanese sweets. It was my first who directed us to a small backroom workshop. Mr frames for paintings (wa gaku) for generations. In one Kushige, chief librarian, explained that the new building experience of specialist craftsmen working in twenty- Ohsaka and his son were seated on the raised wood corner of the studio were several assembled frames and replaced an older store and was built along traditional first century Tokyo and a fascinating introduction to the floor working at their benches. The room was lit by piles of cedar wood. Mr Yakoo and I sipped green tea lines for the safe storage of fine art and archive materials. contrast between traditional and modern Japan. two bare bulbs suspended six inches from the floor and brought by Mrs Makino while Mr Makino continued Approximately one million objects are stored in the five an ancient table saw was the only visible piece of building a folding screen core. He explained the My trip followed an interest in several Japanese storey building which also houses offices, a reading machinery. Every available space was filled with timber construction and we discussed shyaku, the traditional methods of conservation and preservation; particularly room and conservation department. The smell of and both men were surrounded by tools. Ohsaka Japanese unit of measurement. the tradition of box making (kiri bako) and the camphor was overwhelming in the wood lined store senior is eighty-three years old and his son is fifty-eight. construction of the cores for folding screens, sliding rooms. A central passage ran the length of the room That afternoon we visited the home and workshop of After our introductions they continued working on a doors and drying boards (kari bari) all known as hone. with shelf stacks at regular intervals. On the paulownia Mr Kizou Yamazaki. Working with his son, Atsushi and hand scroll box for Mr Handa, including a futomaki (a kiri In Japan and the Far East, wooden boxes are shelves were boxes, containers and cabinets of all another craftsman they supplied most of the boxes sold wood roller used to increase the diameter of the traditionally used for the storage of hanging scrolls, hand shapes, sizes, age and design. At the end of each row of by the Masumi corporation. They predominately used roller). It was immediately obvious how specialised the scrolls and other art objects, including books and shelves were windows that, along with a large door American grown paulownia, but would also use home whole construction was, from the choice of timber and household utensils. The fashioning of containers from were regularly opened to control temperature, grown Aizu kiri, regarded as the best quality paulownia. tools; in particular the planes used to fashion the paulownia wood (kiri-bako) has developed over humidity and air flow.