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Using Chinese Traditional Techniques to Repair and MountAncientPainting and Calligraphy in British Museum for 30 Years
Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am Qiu Jinxian. From October, 1972 to October, 1987, I have been engaged and involved in repairing and mounting ancient painting and calligraphy in Shanghai Museum. Elaborately instructed and trained by Xu Maokang and Hua Qiming, masters of domestic prestigious restore faction Su and Yang, my colleagues and I studied and explored the craft assiduously. After a few years, we were able to deal with the repairing and mounting tasks of traditional painting and calligraphy, including paper and silk hand scroll, album, vertical and horizontal slope, lenses and other different patterns. My mounting work in Shanghai Museum sustained for fifteen years until October 1987, I had an opportunity to reach London. Recommended by Whitfield, the professor of University of London, the expert of China ancient painting and calligraphy art and Buddhist art field and invited by Mrs. Lawson, the director of British Museum oriental department, I was employed by the department of restoration in British Museum. I got a long-term job in 1992 and I have been working here for twenty-nine years. Throughout the working period, I instructed interns from various countries and four of them hired by British Museum. Now two of them left and work at another museum while Valentina Marabini and Carol Weiss still work with me. For the past thirty years, I dealt with many arduous and laborious ancient painting and the methods I have always been adopting were the Chinese traditional and conventional mounting and repairing approaches. The work I coped with often got praised and appreciated by leaders and colleagues.
China is an ancient civilization with over five thousand years history. As we all know, the past dynasties handed down quantities of rich cultural heritage and Chinese precious cultural relics are collected around the world, British Museum, for instance, is one place that enshrines assorted Chinese cultural relics, especially the extremely important relic Mogao Grottoes mural, Admonitions Scroll and other renowned painting. These painting not only have great impact on the world but also function as valuable material for scholar to conduct research.
British Museum leaders and colleagues respect and trust me a lot. The artwork I restore, for example, mainly decided by me including operation scheme, mounting styles and the color and size of material. What I have achieved is highly related to the support of leadership from Asia Department and Restore and Mounting Department. Mounting repair art has a long history and distinctive ethnic characteristics in middle ages and the form of decoration and repair evolve into multiple items. Chinese ancient calligraphy and painting mainly painted on silk and paper, no matter which scroll, the material we use to restore are Geng silk and damask silk. The color of mounting material depends on the background color of core the painting, usually using monochromatic and quiet color to set off the core. As for the support paper, the paper under the painting, we use single rice paper made of cotton and the materials used are relatively thin with watery paste. After this mounting procedure, the painting therefore becoming soft if rolled it up. Chinese framed painting has accumulated abundant experience and continued to improve. Today, I talk about a few paintings I repaired. In 1984, professor Whitfield worked at British Museum Asia Department, being responsible for the management and researching of China ancient calligraphy and painting. At that time, he took many Dunhuang painting to the oriental painting and calligraphy repair room, all of them were in bad condition and the picture was all a hideous mess. Alf Crowley, a British picture framer cooperate with professor Whitfield at regular basis, rolled out the Dunhuang painting and then put the same piece of silk together and caught in the cardboard. Nearly 400 tablets demand instant repair. In 2002, the United States Mellon Foundation aid financially, hoping that the British Museum collection of Dunhuang painting all get repaired and scan into the computer, people and scholars of all nationalities can therefore appreciate and explore them. British Museum leaders appointed this task to me. In view of the huge workload, the leaders invited my former colleague Zhu Pinfang to deal with the work with me. In advance I dyed dozens of different Japanese papers in different colors, and later I was asked to paint in different colors. The preparations were all ready. We began to study each piece of debris according to the shape of the painting and the texture of the beryllium. After careful and meticulous research, they were put together into a group, slashed with a matching color paper into two layers of paper, and then brewed. On the back of the painting, the upper plate is affixed so that it becomes a painting. We have mounted 116 pieces. One of the most arduous one to repair is Dunhuang Buddhist Painting assembled by 37 pieces. Each piece was marouflaged and we have to tear every piece of paper off. This picture covered with a layer of dust and what’s worse, its color looks dim due to long time deposit. Accordingly, to begin with, we wash these pieces gently then dry them with a towel and put it on Japanese Rayon paper on the table. Second, brush the painting smoothing and remove the paper, then take a thin sheet of Rayon paper on the back of the painting and put the painting in the middle. Next, put over them together and move the Rayon paper. Matching all pieces accurately together after the painting became dry. Finally, mounting the painting with the pre dyed color paper. This painting was of large area therefore we accomplished by half and assemble and mount together in the end. The final size of this painting is 213 cm long, 200 cm wide. In 2003, I repaired a large Dunhuang painting. This painting was once set up in the British Museum. It was set up with a dark blue Japanese silk as an ornament. The heart was a script and it was painted on a dyed cloth. Because the texture of the cloth was very hard, after several decades of roll Many places in the paintings and the cloth were left open, and the picture was broken everywhere, and even some large paintings were about to fall. At that time, the head of Chinese painting was managed by the Asian department hoped I can reframe the painting. This painting is a painted bodhisattva image, with ink, cinnabar, white powder, garcinia, vermiculite and other pigments, so I used a cotton ball dipped in a little water, try on a variety of colors, whether it fades. There is no problem with other colors. Only the white powder is faded in some places. So, I use a water-soluble glue, apply it with a brush, and plate it on the discolored color. Then wait for it to dry. Wait two days and fix the color. Next, I look at the background of the painting and draw the paper. The paper on the transcript of the transcript must be close to the color of the painting, because the paper on the chewy paper will show its bottom. The preparation was done, I cut off the old outfit and put it on the painting table. I used a little bit of warm water to pry it on the row of pens and sprinkle it gently on the screen to clean it. Then I used the towel. Place it and gently dry it. This method washes three times, cleans the dirt and pickle inside, and then cuts Rayon paper, which is better than the drawing center, and brushes the water on the painting table, turning the painting heart over and brushing it at Rayon. Above the paper, put a wet towel on the back of the painting, and then cover the towel with a thin piece of plastic paper. Then start picking up the backing paper and the cloth. Together with my colleagues, I carefully picked up the backs of paper and then slowly picked them off. Because the Dunhuang paintings are very incomplete, they do not need to fill holes. So I put the dyed paper into two layers of paper and sizing the back of the painting. Then put the color paper on the top of the brush and brush it flat. After brushing with a brown brush, stick it. The painting was picked up from the table with Rayon paper, rolled over, and then Rayon's paper on the screen was gently removed. The drawing heart came out, placed on the mat, and let it dry slowly. Wait until the next day, then spray the water wet, brush the brush flat on the table, the four sides of the paste, paste the plate and other flat. Because this picture was very incomplete, I decided to no longer set up the axis after consulting with the person in charge of the Asia Department. So I took care of Geng silk, dyed the colors that matched the paintings, and after the paintings began to dry, after the four sides were trimmed, I used the Geng silk to function as inlay material, and then connected, after I measure the size of the smashing, I put a three-story double-backed paper on the back of the painting, then added the pulp on the board, and after the painting was dry, I cut it off and put it flat. On my pre-assembled Western cardboard, this will be easy to show in the future. The size of this piece of Dunhuang painting is: 188cm long and 153cm wide.
After mounting each Dunhuang painting, David Green, proficient in mounting western lens, came to measure the lens size and cut the cardboard, and then mounted into the western type lens, which is convenient for storage and display. When mounted big painting, all colleagues of mounting group will work together. Throughout three and a half months, Zhu and I cooperate with each other and finally completed this important restoration work.
In 2008, I repaired and decorated a Qing Dynasty painter Xu Tingkum (1777-1853), a character landscape paper painting. His name was Spring Festival Customs. This figure is particularly lively, but there are many Many of the incomplete, especially in the part of stone green and azurite, the rice paper has been rotted, and the paintings are broken everywhere, because this painting is cooked paper, often rolled, broken, exhausted, painting heart is not small is a four feet central scroll. Before the repair, according to the law, first check the color of the painting heart, if there is discoloration, so I use a cotton ball to pour a little water, try on a variety of colors, the results of the stone green blue color are a little fade, I use Brush the brush on the easy-to-drop color, wait a few days for the color to dry, and then look at the texture and texture of the painted heart. After finding the same texture, first use the raw soy milk to dye the paper, wait for it to dry, and then dry it. The color is used to hold the paper, but the paper on the paper must be lighter than the background of the painting heart. The preparations have been done well. You can cut off the old clothes and start painting. I first put the painting on the stage, the screen is up, because the color of this painting is a little easy to fall. Although the glue is fixed to it, for the sake of insurance, a little warm water is used. After the water is filled with the row of pens, it is lighter. Sprinkle it lightly on the screen, then gently dry it with a towel, the heart is dirty, we wash it three times, then put it on clean paper, roll it up and put it on the side Then, after cleaning the table, the Japanese Rayon paper, which had been cut in advance, was wetted with water and brushed flat on the table. Rayon paper must be larger than the painting heart, and then the painting was opened, the heart was turned over. Face down, with the back facing upwards, use a brown broom to brush over the Rayon paper, cover the canvas with a wet towel, and then carefully remove the backed paper, then slowly put the paper on it, removed the rest paper piece by piece, because the picture is larger and extremely broken, the paper is difficult to expose, Valentina and I uncovered for more than two days, only to remove the paper. When the paper was uncovered, it was seen that there was a circle of white color around each of the original holes. We did not know what material was used to repair this painting. So I used a brush and dipped it in warm water to clean it in the white color of each hole. But this color has penetrated inside, and it can't be washed. It can only be kept as it is, so I started to draw and use it behind the painting. Slash water on the pen, put the color paper on it, and fill the hole with white rice paper in the hole. After making up, put Rayon paper and the painting heart together and pick it up from the table. Turn it over and draw it to the heart. Rayon paper, gently removed, and then in each hole, with a clean brush dipped in water, wash the paste above, and then brush the heart with a brown brush flat on the table, out of the drawing heart Assist the four sides with a stencil paste on the board, wait until they dry, and cut them all around, then use a knife to scrape the edge of each hole, and put the cut color paper on the four sides, then add one. A thin layer of cotton lint paper was used to reinforce the painting heart. After waiting to dry, I made all my own soya-bean milk water on each hole. If it wasn't enough, it was the second time. After the hole was dry, the water sprayed Draw a heart and paste it on the board. After the painting is dry, it can be full-colored. In the incomplete places, according to colors and paintings, I used various kinds of Chinese mineral pigments to harmonize color. In the incomplete places, according to colors and paintings, I used various kinds of Chinese mineral pigments to harmonize color. Because in the past, the painter used the white color on the back of the hole, so the color around the front hole went deeper than the background of the painting. I carefully stroked it up and made the color and hole color uniform. Sometimes it takes all seven or eight times to get the color exactly the same as the original, and for several days, after the painting is done, it is ready to design the size and the material of the vertical shaft. Because of the British museum display cabinet is not very high, so I hope I don't framed very tall, this painting is not small, so I decided to do color framed, framed into after has 7 feet long, 2 feet, 4 inches wide. I use the dark beige color to make the embroidered material, but the color must be lightened. With such a quiet color, I can paint my heart. Because the painting is full of breaks, there are countless slivers behind it, densely packed and noodles. Then, after supporting the second layer of backed paper, after repainting the painting, it was affixed to the board. The painting was affixed to the board a few months later, and the painting was started. The placard and the lower shaft were attached, and the rope, the head and the tie were put on. Together, it will complete the repair and decoration work. This vertical axis was exhibited at the British Museum Exhibition of Chinese Art in 2010.
From 2014 to 2015, the three mounted painter in Shanghai Museum--- Chu Hao, Huang Ying and Sun Hua, was invited to British Museum and cooperated with me. We repaired two pieces of Ming Dynasty silk painting. Now I'm talking about one of them, the process of repairing the painting Renkeli. The name of the painting is "the west pantheon lion". It is a fifteenth century colorful silk painting. It is painted by a "Persian" man, who led a large lion to pay tribute. Heart is full of fracture and deformity, tapestry is very crisp, exhausted broken, draw the heart is very big, 4.9 feet long, 3.2 feet wide, the original painting is made of silk painting, often put years of volume, dozens of tapestry place out. When they showed it to me to frame, I opened the vertical axis and the painting was covered with a layer of paper. If I didn't cover the paper, the blemishes on my heart had already been dropped. So I tuned the paste and dropped it with a writing brush. Put it on the painting and add it to the pot. Return them to the tray and wait until it is fixed. Before repairing, I found my own old supplement in the collection. There was the old patch of the same latitude and longitude wire in the Ming Dynasty. Next, I check if the colors on the paintings are discolored. After checking, other colors are fine. It is easy to fall out in the white powder place. So I put gelatin in a glass beaker, boiled with water and melted with a brush. The upper and lower plates are plated in a faded color, and the colors are fixed for a few days. Then I prepared to dye the paper and make a copy of it. The color of the paper must be deep. It must be close to the background of the painting. Otherwise, it will reveal the bottom, and the painting heart will become indifferent. The preparations are all well done. After I had cut off the old armored equipment, Chu Hao and I put the painting heart on the painting table. The screen was up. I used a row of pens to dipped in hot water and gently sprinkled on the painting heart. After waiting for water cooling, I gently brushed it with a towel. After sucking dry, wash it like this way four times, wash the painting heart, and use a pre-filtered mixture of agar juice and starch paste. This paste should not be too thick or too thin. After brushing the paste, brush it on water-oil paper and make sure the paste is evenly brushed. And then put the sheets of water the paper paste in painting heart is positive, then remove the advance good three layers onto a paper in water, and three layers (water the paper paper than painting heart), and then pick up the painting, clean table, flipped the picture again, with brown brush brush flat on the mounting absorption, cover them with a wet towel and plastic, don't let heart kill, then removed the backed paper, I slowly with Chu Hao and students removed the backed paper piece by piece, began to remove silk. Because this painting is exhausted, and the paintings are hearty and crisp, we took care of it and lifted it little by little, slowly moved away from the diagonal direction, and made a whole day to complete it, and washed the old pulp. It is safe to copy the painting, and the silkworm will not move. To repair the paintings, we have been painting holes behind the paintings, using fine scraping methods, and after the paintings are done, we can scrape the holes, brush them with a clean, thick slurry of water and brush them over the holes. The warp and weft wire is aligned, fills in the hole, and then brushed with a layer of slurry. After waiting for dryness, use a horseshoe knife or a steel knife to scrape off the excess filling. After filling the hole, draw the painting heart from the platform. Then, after trimming the four sides and merging the pre-dyed color paper and the Japanese Mino paper, immediately apply a slurry to the back of the painting to apply a paste, and then place the color paper on the drawing center. Help, then turn the picture over, and then put a little water on the water-oil paper and rice paper on the screen. Slowly lift it off. Wait until the painting is dry. Then wet it with water the next day, and use lighter fingers. Lightly wipe off the paste on the paste paper. If the picture is a little dry, it will evenly draw the tidal water. After the four sides make up the paste, it will suck on the second layer of rice paper that is larger than the drawing heart. , then paste it back on the board. After the next day's work, draw it up, use a brown brush on the blotting paper behind the painting to sprinkle the twist water, and then put the painting on the outside. After waiting for the dryness, it can be full-colored. Due to the incompleteness of this painting and the lack of painting in some places, Shen and I first put the holes in a good position and then pick up the pens according to the paintings. After such a repair operation, we can achieve a seamless effect. After the painting is done well, we design the lacquer according to the color and size of the painting heart. This painting is a large church, and the painting heart is very long and wide, so you can do it all in one color. I used the Geng silk to function as inlay material, after using rice paper to hold the Geng silk, the ingredients are dyed in color, and the paste is flattened and then trimmed. The color I use is very quiet, so that the painting can be set off. Because there are many breaks in the painting heart, many slivers were picked up at the back of the painting, and then the second layer of back paper was put on. After the good painting was done, it was put on the felt and waited for it to dry. After the next day, the water was sprayed. Affixed to the board, due to the great shrinkage of the old painting, it is better to stick it on the board for a longer time, and it is easy to flatten. After the painting starts from the board, it is painted, loaded with the posts, the shaft head and the lower shaft, and worn. The ropes, heads and straps, after such a process, completed a vertical shaft repair work.
In 2008, I repeated the vertical axis of the Ming Dynasty painter Fairy Phoenix. In 2012, I mounted a silk vertical screen, Snow landscape, painted by Sheng Mao, a Yuan Dynasty painter. In 2013, I had an opportunity to repair two famous paintings, one is Double Horses, a vertical shaft painted by Zhao Mengfu, Yuan Dynasty painter; the other is Forbidden City, a vertical shaft painted by Ming Dynasty painter Zhu Bang. The two pictures are exhibits of a large-scale exhibition Chinese Ming Emperor Yongle "Flourishing Fifty Years" in British Museum in 2014. In same year, Japanese colleagues and students and I worked together to repair the earliest Chinese painting Admonitions Scroll painted by Gu Kaizhi. The Yao Chi Xianju map of the Ming Dynasty painter Zhang Jian of the Ming Dynasty painter Zhang Yi and I painted with three painters and students of the Shanghai Museum from 2015 to 2016. It is now on display at the Chinese Museum of Sir David Ho, British Museum, in 2017. In the year of 2018, I repeated the Shuangpai Diagram handwritten by Sakamoto. In 2018, I re-engraved a vertical axis of Mr. Wu Daozhi Dragon in the middle of the Ming dynasty Sakamoto Seiji Church. It is now attached to the board. After a period of time, it will be possible to finish the installation.
Mounting and restoring ancient calligraphy and painting is kind of a special technique. It is the frame work that provides people with an access to collect and appreciate. A meticulously mounting are able to help precious written cultural relics to survive and thrive, not letting them lost in transmission. Moreover, many precious cultural relics dormant in warehouse can be rediscovered and people all over the world have the opportunity to visit and appreciate them. Mounting art is indispensable and a significant career in Chinese cultural undertakings and even worldwide. As the cultural relics restoration workers, we are supposed to carefully and meticulously treat precious cultural relics, striving to possess the "magic hands" to restore painting and cultivate qualified successors to hand down the skill through successive generations. The end of the lecture, thank you.
Qiu Jingxian 2018.4.28
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发表于 2018-5-29 11:51:55
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