Painting by numbers....?

Previously we have mentioned how closely our work shadows that of the original artists' and calligraphers' and recently we discovered another fascinating insight into how the scrolls were produced.

The Princess stares wistfully at the moon

When we first examined the hand scrolls we were intrigued to see  minute characters (3mm high) written in an archaic Japanese script on the kimono sleeve of the Bamboo Cutter. It was found where  there had been loss to an area of brown pigment.

This was the only place on any of the paintings where any such calligraphy was visible.

 

A detail of the inscription seen from the front of the painting 

However, during the removal of lining papers from the back of the paintings, on a light table, we noticed another tiny inscription! Even though it was impossible to translate, it was still clear enough to see that it was reversed and had originally been written on the front of the painting prior to any colour being applied. As old paper linings were removed from the paintings many more tiny notations gradually became apparent. 

 

These images have been flipped so we can see how the characters were written beneath the current paint layer

The top character on image 1 reads as 'small' which is pronounced 'shou' which might be abbreviated from ryokusho (malachite green). The lower character though is a Chinese character for the figure '6' -  this also appears elsewhere on its own - (image 2). To confuse matters further, images 3 and 4 seem to have had different instructions but have had the same colour applied.

It seems likely that these were instructions to a team of artists on what colour to apply? With such a commission it would not be unusual that an artist sketches out the painting first and is then assisted by others to apply colour and further decoration.


We will continue to research their possible relevance and hopefully confirm our supposition.

Privilege !



Front view of painting before treatment



Painting viewed through transmitted light



We thought it might be interesting to show just how different the same painting can look during the conservation process. The painting at the top is photograped from the front prior to treatment.  The second photograph shows the same painting after being been dampened and turned face down on support papers ready for the removal of the old lining papers.


Viewed through transmitted light we are then presented with a very different image.


For example, the tiling on the rooftops and intricate patterns on the drapery are no longer visible, we can see only  the body colour which was applied prior to the details.The darker oxidised silver is also more evident. This information provides a very privileged insight into how these these extraordinary paintings were made,  usually only  seen by conservators.   


  

The Sumitomo Foundation



We were very pleased recently to welcome to the Restorient Studio, Dr Sumitomo and Mr Niiyama from The Sumitomo Foundation in Tokyo. Joining us from Dublin were Fionnuala Croke the Director of the Chester Beatty Library, Jessica Baldwin, Conservation Manager at the CBL and her colleague Rachel Sawicki. 

We very much appreciated this opportunity to explain the progress made to date and the various stages of conservation involved. There is still some way to go but work is on schedule for completion in Spring 2012.

Kusaki-zome

Firm even strokes in the same direction as the grain of the paper

Kusaki-zome is the long established tradition in Japan of using dyes from plants and other natural sources. The dye color can be affected by such factors as the plant variety, the timing of the plant cutting, the dyeing season, and the dyeing technique. 

Those especially useful in scroll mounting range from peach bark, gardenia pods, kihada bark for yellows. The latter was also a recognised deterrent for insects and so often important documents would be treated with the yellow kihada dye. The dye which is the most commonly used in scroll mounting is made from boiling Alder cones (yasha) in water. This produces wonderfully warm shades of brown and is especially suitable for dyeing papers which will harmonise with older antique papers when used for repair or linings. The paper which was prepared using the alder cone dye for the first linings of the hand scrolls was a fine mulberry fibered paper called Mino-gami.

The sheets were dried on felts after dyeing. They were then washed in cold water before being rinsed in a weak lye solution to fix the colour. One further rinse, dried again and then they were ready for use. 

Order...

The 'Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' is a very convoluted story and in part details the obscure and difficult tasks set by the Princess Kaguya-hime for her five suitors to prove their worth. Pictured is the retainer Ono no Fusamori who has supplied a fake robe of Fire Rat fur to the The Minster of the Right, Abe no Miushi, the third suitor, (unfortunately when tested the robe burned when it should have been fire-resistant !).

However a number of sources have indicated that there were sections of text and paintings which were incorrectly placed in the last restoration of the handscrolls. The task of the second suitor was to find the stone begging-bowl of the Buddha. This image had been placed prior to the scene of the five suitors of the Princess Kagua- hime when they were allocated their individual tasks.

We wanted to take this opportunity during the conservation to correct these anomalies and are fortunate in being directed by Dr Masako Watanabe, Senior Researcher at the Metropolitan Museum, New York. We are very grateful for her guidance and are looking forward to being able to place the story in the correct sequence . 

Scoop !

There will be a number of different Japanese handmade papers used in the conservation of "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter". The first linings are a handmade Mino type paper. This term used to mean a paper made in the  province of Mino, Gifu Prefecture but it has now become more of a general term for a high quality, thin, mulbery fibred paper. The best papers are made in winter when the pure cold water keeps the fibres tight and compact during sheet formation. It is labour intensive, hard physical work. 

We thought we should include this video link as it seemed a concise way of explaining how this remarkable paper is made. In future blogs we will explain why an understanding of how this paper is made relates to its use in conservation.