The State Hermitage Museum: Information

Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Oriental Painting

Laboratory director Yelena G. Shishkova
E-mail: orient_paint@hermitage.ru

The Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Oriental Painting was organized in the State Hermitage in January 1998. It was created to deal with the large number of monuments of oriental painting kept in the Oriental Department, within the Far East sector, requiring restoration work.

The main areas of activity of the laboratory are restoration of glue painting on silk and paper (Japan, China) and painting on canvas (Tibet, Mongolia, Buryatia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Burma). The laboratory staff are engaged in the restoration of scrolls, fans, screens, albums, painting on rice paper, Buddhist icons on canvas and miniature paintings on bone.

During the 6 years of the laboratory's existence, 440 works of art have been restored, and 4 different restoration methodologies were developed including 34 instructions dealing with the processes of restoration and conservation.

The most valuable collection of oriental painting, including ancient icons, comes from the medieval city of Khara Khoto (12th - 14th centuries). They were found and brought here by Piotr Kozlov during the expedition of 1908-1909. The icons from this collection are unique in the way they bring together the traditions of painting and iconography of Tibet and China. A large part of the collection was already restored in the 1950s -1970s by art restorer N.N. Maximova. At the present time this work is continuing using a methodology that combines the Hermitage's own accumulated experience with the traditional Japanese methods of restoring paintings. Between 1998 and 2002 these icons were prepared for showing at various exhibitions devoted to Buddhist painting: Buddha and Joy of Life (Japan); Buddha. Overcoming Space and Time (Australia).

During 1999-2000, research was done on the collection of Japanese fans and 28 utiva fans were restored. This popular type of fan in Japan dates back to the 6th century. Its rounded form is tied to the Chinese tradition of paper fans stretched over a round frame.

In the period from 1999 to 2001, the laboratory staff and the curator of Japanese art A.M. Bogolyubov, together with the director of the department of restoration technologies Mr Masuda and the staff in the Tokyo State Research Institute for the Study of Cultural Treasures, carried out a programme investigating the condition of the Japanese painting collection in the Hermitage. This programme was conducted within the framework of a long term project entitled "Conservation and Study of Monuments of Japanese Paintin".

In the year 2000, the laboratory's art restorers prepared four Japanese scrolls from the series The Four Seasons and The Astrological Calendar, coming from Indonesia, for the exhibition Calendar - Custodian of Time. The Astrological Calendar was interesting not only for its iconography but also for the unusual technique used, wherein a glue paint has been applied directly onto a weakly glued cotton fabric without priming.

Tangka icons from Tibet, China, Mongolia and Buryatia are made using glue paints on a canvas primed on both sides and prepared using a special methodology which is different from those used in Europe. The State Hermitage has more than 1,000 such icons. The rarest and most valuable date back to the 18th century and may be traced to the collection of Prince Esper Ukhtomsky and the orientalist Yu. Roerich. In 2001 four icons from these collections were restored for a temporary exhibition in the Apartment Museum of the archeologist and traveler Piotr Kozlov.

The laboratory's work has several times been presented at domestic and foreign conferences. The results of its activity are reflected in publications in specialized literature. The restored exhibits have been displayed at various exhibitions in Russia and abroad. The laboratory participated in the All-Russian restoration exhibition entitled "Restoration of Museum Valuables of Russia, 2002. Triennale IV". The investigation of the condition of the collection of oriental painting within the Oriental Department is being carried out as regular ongoing work.

The work of restoring monuments of oriental painting is conducted in close cooperation with the Department of Scientific Expertise. In this work we apply traditional Japanese and Chinese materials and methods of restoration. For the restoration of painting on paper and silk, we use Japanese and Chinese paper, glue made from wheat starch, Japanese brushes and instruments, as well as a kari-bari planchette or drawing board for drying and evening out the works.

We also make extensive use of European materials and equipment. At present the laboratory has equipment which makes it possible to improve on the traditional methodologies and to develop new ones. Thus, a microscope from Leica and a vacuum apparatus with moisturizing chamber and ultrasound spray from Becker Preservotec make it possible to carry out complex operations in the cleaning of paintings, as well as the plasticization of the ground and strengthening of the pigment layer of exhibits.

The laboratory staff raises professional qualifications by undergoing training programmes and taking part in both domestic and international conferences.

Restoration programmes:

1. Restoration of tanka icons from the collection of Tibetan painting of the Oriental Department

2. Restoration of the Vajravarahi icon from the Khara-Khoto collection of paintings (12th-14th centuries)

2. The field training of the Employees of the Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration of Eastern Painting of the State Hermitage Museum in the B.Y. Lam Painting and Calligraphy Mounting Research Room of the Shanghai Museum (city of Shanghai, PRC) on the subject of "The Study of the Theory and Practice of the Restoring Traditional Chinese Scrolls"

Discussing a restoration assignment
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