| ■Tokyo National Research
Institute for Cultural Properties |
■Center for Conservation
Science |
| ■Department of Art Research,
Archives and Information Systems |
■Japan Center for
International Cooperation in Conservation |
| ■Department of Intangible
Cultural Heritage |
|
Physical property test
As part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA)’ Project for cooperation with the Conservation Centre of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM-CC), a training course on “Japanese Paper for Conservation Treatment (Fourth term)” was conducted for two staff members who are in charge of organic conservation of paper such as papyrus in the GEM-CC from the 8th to 17th June.
This training course is the last one of a series of four that we have held to apply the traditional Japanese conservation technique called “SOKO” to the conservation of papyrus. Trainees learned the outlines of Japanese conservation of cultural property as well as the basic SOKO technique such as lining in the NRICPT and conservation ateliers in Kyoto for eight weeks. In addition, we gave lectures and held practice sessions on methods of dyeing Japanese paper with natural dyes, as per requested. Having such a keen interest displayed through their diligent asking of questions and discussions with instructors indicated that they had learned much from the training.
They learned a method for constructing various physical property tests such as “Determination of tensile properties” and “Determination of stiffness” by using papyrus samples in this session. They also developed an understanding of data collecting and sorting, and how to analyze it.
This project seeks to foster and enhance cooperation among staff of the GEM-CC so that what is taught in training courses can spread and raise the standard as a whole. This is achieved by having trainees describe and teach what they have experienced and learned to their colleagues. They will design an action plan to apply the knowledge obtained to actual daily work after the roll out.
The outer appearance of the Phya-sa-shwe-gu temple
Investigation of the inner side of a structural crack by using an endoscope
Excavation survey to investigate a foundation structure
This project is intended to contribute to enhancing the conservation management system of historical buildingscomprising Myanmar’s Bagan monuments, and provides technical assistance aiming for updating the monument inventory and establishing a method to assess the conservation state of structures. At the same time, the project is also aiming for contributing to the human resources development for the Department of Archeology and National Museum (DoA) of Myanmar’s Ministry of Culture, which is in charge of the conservation and management of the monuments. We have been working on the two-year project since 2014.
Commissioned by UNESCO, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, has been taking part in the project, mainly the assessment of conservation states of architectural structures. So far, we have been putting our efforts into drawing up a rapid condition assessment sheet to effectively understand in a short time the overall conservation states of all buildings in Bagan built during the Bagan Dynasty period. As a next step, we started a study on methodology for an in-depth condition assessment of structural problems that are detected by a rapid assessment. Even among the monuments in Bagan, individual historical architectures differ significantly not only in their scales and structures, but also in locations and damage conditions. Thus, it is difficult to standardize the process of the in-depth condition assessment as we did for the rapid condition assessment, while it is considered possible to develop a certain pattern for detecting basic problems and creating a work flow. So, we decided to select the Phya-sa-shwe-gu temple (No. 1249) as it is an architecture with a typical scale and structure that has not undergone a full-scale restoration so far, and conduct a pilot case study for an in-depth condition assessment at the temple.
In a field study from June 11 to 19, we conducted detailed recording of crack distribution, non-destructive tests using a Schmidt hammer and an ultrasonic gauging device, a study on the inside of walls using micro drilling and an endoscope, and an excavation surveyto investigate the foundation structure together with an Italian expert in structural engineering, Myanmar engineers and staff members of DoA. On the last day, we discussed about an indoor strength test on brick samples taken from the temple at a research institution in Yangon.
The temple building’s structural degradation has been significantly progressing, and the outer wall of the back of the corridor is in a particularly dangerous condition. Through analysis of information and data obtained in the latest survey, we will examine the cause and mechanism of damage and continue the study aiming for presenting an appropriate diagnosis flow.
Production of onigawara roof ornament
Hand-spun ramie yarn in Miyako Island
Production of Ryukyu indigo
Bud picking of kozo plant that is used to produce Udagami handmade paper
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation conducts surveys on Selected Conservation Techniques to present their information overseas as traditional techniques to protect and support Japanese cultural properties. In June 2015, we conducted surveys on Roof ornaments, Hand-spun ramie yarn in Miyako Island, Ryukyu indigo and Udagami handmade paper.
For the tiling roof of temples and shrines, several types of tiles and ornaments are used, and it is necessary to hand down the traditional advanced skills and the techniques that can be used depending on the purpose to later generations. With the cooperation of Yamamoto Kawara Kougyou Ltd. in Ikoma District, Nara Prefecture, we surveyed the production processes of onigawara roof ornaments and other products.
In Miyako Island, there is a traditional technique to extract the fibers of ramie and hand-spin them to make ramie yarn. While it is an important technique for preserving and transferring Okinawa’s textile techniques including Miyako-Jofu designated as the Important Intangible Cultural Properties under the Japanese law, the ageing of skilled workers and training of their successors are becoming an urgent task.
Ryukyu indigo, which is also used for Miyako-Jofu textiles, is a dyestuff using a different type of indigo used in the main island of Japan, and the main production area of the material is currently limited to the Izumi area of Motobu town on the main island of Okinawa, indicating how valuable such materials are.
We also conducted a survey on the production process of traditional handmade Japanese paper using home-grown kozo plants (paper mulberry) at Fukunishi Washi Honpo in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture. The Udagami paper of Yoshino is used mainly as the backing paper of hanging scrolls. It internationally receives high evaluation in the conservation and restoration of cultural properties such as calligraphies and paintings, and is widely used for such purposes. We will compile the results of the surveys in a report and produce a calendar for overseas.
The investigation conducted at the Izu-no-Chohachi Art Museum
For research on materials and structures of cultural properties, non-destructive and non-contact methods are required frequently. Therefore, investigation techniques using X-ray play an important part. With X-ray radiography, one of the techniques using X-ray, it is possible to investigate the inner structure and the layer of materials, both of which cannot be visually confirmed, in a non-destructive and non-contact way by using the difference in X-ray transmission levels resulting from a difference in density and thickness of the material composing cultural properties.
The latest research was conducted on works of Chohachi Izu, a kote-e (plaster relief) artist who was active from the late Edo period to the early Meiji era. Chohachi left a large number of statues and kote-e works – paintings drawn with plaster using a trowel, a tool used by plasterers to plastera wall. To investigate the techniques for producing these works, we conducted an investigation into the inner structures of these works using X-ray radiography on the second floor of the Izu-no-Chohachi Art Museum in the town of Matsuzaki, Kamo-gun District, Shizuoka Prefecture, on May 19 and 20, 2015. As a result of our research, we identified the layered structure of a kote-e work sets in frames, the inner structure of statues and their production techniques.
Receiving an explanation of the display in the Institute’s Lobby
13 visitors from the Graduate School of the National Taipei University of Education in Taiwan
As a part of student training, visitors from the National Taipei University of Education visited the Institute on April 3 to learn about the Institute’s projects and the results of its research. The visitors toured the Library of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems and the Performing Arts Studio of the Intangible Cultural Properties Section. The visitors also viewed a display of the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques on “Conservation of Modern Cultural Properties: The role of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo” at the lobby of the Institute. Leading researchers in each sections explained their work. In the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, researchers described the Institute’s international efforts.
The moment during the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee when an announcement was made that Mt. Fuji would be inscribed on the World Heritage List
The Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems held a seminar on April 21. Entitled “Problems with the World Heritage Committee and Their Solutions: Capitalizing on Those Approaches to Safeguard Cultural Properties under the World Heritage Convention,” the seminar featured a presentation by the author, who has been observing the World Heritage Committee since 2008. In her presentation, the author analyzed what was discussed at Committee sessions.
The public is highly interested in World Heritage, and flocks of visitors visit World Heritage sites. Many of the books on World Heritage cover specific heritage sites. In contrast, only a few books in Japanese specifically discuss the World Heritage Committee and related issues.
During her presentation, the author described the process from nomination of a site to its inscription on the World Heritage List, and she also explained how sites were considered during Committee sessions. The author described how the Committee Members are chosen from 21 of the State Parties to the Convention and how the Advisory Bodies act as expert advisors to the Committee. The author also noted the issues facing the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Secretariat of the World Heritage Committee). In addition, the author offered her own views on the utility of the World Heritage Convention from her perspective as an expert in safeguarding cultural properties.
The original role of the World Heritage Convention was to establish a framework to safeguard and preserve cultural heritage and natural heritage for posterity. The nomination dossier nominating a site for inscription on the World Heritage List must describe how the site will be protected. The process of nominating a site for inscription on the World Heritage List involves a process of verifying and improving the framework for protecting that site. This approach facilitates international support for effective protection of the site. Gleaning the tendencies of the World Heritage Committee should allow Japan to more effectively prepare nomination dossiers and reports on the state of conservation of given sites. Thus, Institute personnel plan to study the World Heritage Committee and World Heritage Convention in the future as well.
English-language version of the TOBUNKEN Research Collections search page
The Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems has now made databases that were created by departments of the Institute publicly accessible. Information that is essential to research on cultural properties is available via the TOBUNKEN Research Collections (http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/).
On April 30, 2015, an English-language version of the TOBUNKEN Research Collections was made available. A button for Japanese and English on the top right of the page allows uses to switch between Japanese and English language versions of the page. This project is one of the results of “Shaping the Fundamentals of Research on Japanese Art,” which is a project that the Institute conducted with the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC) in England. In addition to the page having an English-language version, the following features have been added.
＊Within References on Cultural Properties, a search limiter has been added for Information on Japanese Art Outside of Japan (compiled by the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures).
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E8%B2%A1%E9%96%A2%E4%BF%82%E6%96%87%E7%8C%AE%EF%BC%88%E7%B5%B1%E5%90%88%E8%A9%A6%E8%A1%8C%E7%89%88%EF%BC%89/
Five databases of art-related publications have been accessible thus far, but these databases have now been joined by a database of foreign publications on Japanese art (approximately 718 sources that were published since 2013, which is when the project began) compiled by the SISJAC.
＊A page to search Information on Modern-Contemporary Art Exhibitions and Film Festivals was added under Information Search.
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/archives/%E6%83%85%E5%A0%B1%E3%81%AE%E6%A4%9C%E7%B4%A2/%E8%BF%91%E7%8F%BE%E4%BB%A3%E7%BE%8E%E8%A1%93%E5%B1%95%E8%A6%A7%E4%BC%9A%E3%83%BB%E6%98%A0%E7%94%BB%E7%A5%AD%E9%96%8B%E5%82%AC%E6%83%85%E5%A0%B1/
Compiled by the SISJAC, this information includes exhibitions and film festivals (approximately 520 events that took place since 2013, which is when the project began) that took place overseas (primarily in Europe and the US) in English.
The Art-related Publications database was made publicly available online by Tobunken. The SISJAC collected information on Japanese art overseas, and this information is now publicly available in the Institute’s Art-related Publications database. This work was done to help provide a platform for research on Japanese art in Japan and overseas. Hopefully, the databases will prove of benefit to users, and plans are to add subsequent data in the future.
Signing of an agreement between the Institute and the Tokyo Art Club
An art catalogue is a brochure that is handed out before items in an individual or a family’s collection are sold at sale place on a certain date. An art catalogue features photographs and it lists the name and medium of artworks such as paintings, calligraphic works, and art objects. Such a catalogue is a vital source with which to determine an artwork’s provenance. Such catalogues enjoy a limited distribution, so only a handful of facilities nationwide curate auction catalogues as a whole.
In its collection, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo has a total of 2,532 art catalogues that were printed from the late Meiji Era to the Showa Era. The Institute has the largest number of these catalogues among public repositories in Japan. The Tokyo Art Club has long been involved in the sale of artworks since its founding in 1907.Over this period, the Tokyo Art Club has amassed a number of catalogues it has published.
In the past, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo recorded information in art catalogues on cards with attached photographs and made these cards available to researchers in the Institute’s Library. However, original art catalogues were often poorly preserved. Thus, the Institute joined with the Tokyo Art Club to start a project to create digital copies of art catalogues.
This project will fully reproduce older art catalogues (i.e. catalogues printed prior to 1943) in the collections of the Institute and the Tokyo Art Club in digital format. These images and information will then be shared in an effort to preserve these important sources.
Reproducing images and information in these art catalogues in digital format should further enhance databases of important materials in the Institute’s collection.
Report on the 9th Conference on the Study of Intangible Folk Cultural Properties
The 9th Conference on the Study of Intangible Folk Cultural Properties was held on December 6, 2014, and a report on that Conference was published at the end of March. The theme of this year’s conference was “Local Identity and Folk Performing Arts: Relocation/Resettlement and Intangible Cultural Heritage.” How will folk culture be passed down and what role does folk culture play when people are relocated and resettled? The answers to these questions were posited and discussed through specific examples from the past. The Great East Japan Earthquake led to a reappraisal of the value that people attach to folk culture as a basis for their identity. This discussion is warranted both for communities that were stricken by the Earthquake and for areas with fewer young people and growing proportion of elderly.
A PDF version of the report is available for download from the website of the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
A lion dance in the port. In the background, one can see the village being relocated to higher ground.
The Intangible Folk Cultural Properties Section is conducting surveys to create an ethnography in order to document intangible cultural heritage in areas where residents were forced to move or relocate as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake. One of the sites currently being surveyed is the Town of Onagawa, Oshika County, Miyagi Prefecture. A survey was conducted on April 29 in conjunction with the Tohoku History Museum. The survey team visited the Takenoura area. Soon after the Earthquake, residents of a village of about 60 homes evacuated to the City of Senboku, Akita Prefecture. Temporary housing was subsequently built, but evacuees were scattered among 30 or so locations. There are few opportunities to bring this disjointed community back together. One such opportunity is the lion dance (“lion shake”) at New Year’s. A mikoshi (a portable shrine) is carried from a shrine and brought down to the pier in the new port. There, the lion dance takes place. The village’s landscape is changing as the village relocates to higher ground. Documenting life in terms of intangible cultural heritage such as festivals and performing arts will hopefully help the community to reunite and recover.
During a joint study of works in the Sannomaru Shozokan collection
On March 30, 2015, the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and the Imperial Household Agency concluded an Agreement on Joint Studies of Works in the Sannomaru Shozokan Collection. Pursuant to the Agreement, works in the Sannomaru Shozokan collection that need to be conserved in the future and works that are significant to art history will be studied. Materials in these works will be analyzed and high-resolution photographs of these works will be taken in order to ascertain what materials were used in these works and how they were used.
An initial joint survey was conducted at the Sannomaru Shozokan on April 6-15, 2015. High-resolution photographs of 3 paintings were taken by SHIRONO Seiji (the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems), and X-ray fluorescence analysis of those works was performed by HAYAKAWA Yasuhiro (the Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques).
Joint studies are scheduled to take place over a 5-year period ending in March 2020, with individual studies being conducted 2-3 times a year.
A lecture underway
A post-conference workshop
From April 8 to 10, 2015, a conference entitled “Adapt & Evolve: East Asian Materials and Techniques in Western Conservation” took place mainly at the Brunei Gallery at the University of London. The conference was organized by the Book and Paper Group of the Institute of Conservation (colloquially known as ICON) in the UK.
The conference consisted of tours of relevant institutions in the City of London, group events (presentations and question-and-answer panels), and various workshops. MASUDA Katsuhiko (an emeritus researcher at the Institute, currently a professor at Showa Women’s University), HAYAKAWA Noriko (a senior researcher at the Institute), and KATO Masato (a head of the Resource and Systems Research Section at the Institute) reported on the results of projects such as international training in Conservation of Japanese Paper (JPC) and the Cooperative Program for the Conservation of Japanese Art Objects Overseas as well as studies of the materials used to restore cultural properties. In addition, post-conference workshops were conducted after the conference. HAYAKAWA Noriko and KUSONOKI Kyoko (an associate fellow of the Institute) explained the traditional adhesives used in the field of conservation in Japan, and showed how to make starch paste and they instructed attendees in its application.
According to the conference organizer, the conference was attended by about 300 people from around the world. During the question-and-answer session, the conference chair asked the audience about the JPC, and the answer revealed that 30 or more individuals who had completed the training were in attendance. Individuals who had completed other workshops organized by the Institute were also in attendance. Thus, the Institute plays a major role in introducing East Asian materials and techniques to Western conservation. In addition, many of the attendees asked that the Institute continue to provide information about conservation.
Making ornamental metalwork
Weaving gold brocade
Making a loom shuttle
The Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation has conducted surveys of Selected Conservation Techniques. The Center interviews the technique holders, asking about topics such as their work process, the circumstances of their work, and how societal conditions are affecting them. SHIRONO Seiji (an artificer in the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems) photographed them at work, their tools, and other items. In April 2015, surveys on the making of ornamental metalwork., gold brocade, and loom shuttles were conducted in Kyoto.
MORIMOTO Yasunosuke IV, the fourth-generation director of Morimoto Traditional Ornament Metalwork Co., Ltd., showed how to make ornamental metalwork and ritual decorations for temple and shrine buildings. Making ornamental metalwork involves a series of steps from shaping copper sheets to engraving a design, gold plating, and then finishing the metalwork. These processes were observed during this survey.
At Hironobu Textiles Co., Ltd., which makes traditional textiles (such as gold brocade) for mounting, HIROSE Kenji discussed the current state of Nishijin textiles, and he showed how to make gold brocade by weaving gold thread into the weft of a fabric. A tool that is essential to weaving fabric is a loom shuttle, which is a wooden tool that is passed through a loom to weave the weft of a fabric. HASEGAWA Junichi makes loom shuttles. HASEGAWA explained the various types and uses of loom shuttles and he showed how he makes shuttles.
Cultural properties need to be preserved, but the materials and techniques used to make those cultural properties also need to be preserved. The results of these surveys will be compiled in a report. In addition, plans are to create a calendar for overseas countries in order to publicize Japanese cultural properties and the materials and techniques used to create and preserve those properties.
The seminar underway
A seminar was held in the Seminar Room in the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems starting at 2:00 PM on March 24 (Tues.). The seminar featured a research presentation from KAWAI Daisuke, an Associate Fellow of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems, on “Anti-art, De-subjectification, and Anonymity: Focusing on the Yamanote Line Event and AKASEGAWA Genpei” and a research presentation from KIKKAWA Hideki, another Associate Fellow of the Department of Art Research, Archives, and Information Systems, on “A Panorama of Sightseeing Art at Tama: Mount Fuji, locomotives, girls, and wells”.
KAWAI’s presentation mentioned the “de-subjectification of works,” which is one of the features common to art from around the world in the 1960s. This “de-subjectification” became evident as “anonymity” in Japanese art of the period. KAWAI substantiated this point through an analysis of materials related to the Yamanote Line Event put on by NAKANISHI Natsuyuki and other artists in 1962 and the activities of AKASEGAWA Genpei at the time (since AKASEGAWA was affected by the Yamanote action).
KIKKAWA’s presentation covered An Exhibition of Sightseeing Art at Tama, which is the first event put on by the Tourist Art Research Institute. KIKKAWA used the drawing A Panorama of Sightseeing Art at Tama and the video piece Das Kapital by NAKAMURA Hiroshi to look back at the exhibition. KIKKAWA’s presentation included information that was presented at a symposium commemorating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the PoNJA-GenKon listserve in September of last year as well as subsequent research he had done.
The seminar was attended by the painter NAKAMURA Hiroshi and the artist and post-war art researcher SHIMADA Yoshiko. NAKAMURA arrived after KIKKAWA’s presentation and provided attendees with an explanation of the Tourist Art Research Institute and his own work at the time in a question-and-answer session following the presentations.
Imaging of A Painting of Mahamayuri
Bijitsu Gaho(The Magazine of Art) is an art journal that was first published by Gahosha as Nihon Bijitsu Gaho in June 1894. In addition to “new works” by artists at the time, the journal also featured artworks and handicrafts dating from before the Edo period as “reference works.” The journal provides a glimpse into what works were considered classics in the Meiji era. The name of the journal changed to Bijitsu Gaho in 1899, and the journal continued publication until 1926.
A database featuring images from Nihon Bijitsu Gaho and Bijitsu Gaho is now available for public access via the Institute’s website. The database allows searches by the names of artists and the names of pieces.
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/gahou
The database currently contains images from Japanese Art Pictorial Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 1894) to Vol. 5, No. 12 (May 1899). Plans are to make images from subsequent volumes available as well. In addition, volumes prior to Vol. 3, No. 12 (June 1897) can be viewed with a book viewer, which users can peruse like flipping through a book, so we invite you to have a look.
KUNO Takeshi left an indelible footprint on the history of Buddhist sculpture. KUNO’s collection has been organized, and a catalogue of photographs and other images of Buddhist sculptures in Japan and elsewhere around the world is now available to the public. The collection is massive, with more than 7,000 images, and was assembled by KUNO, who was a researcher at the Institute. After KUNO passed away in 2007, his family donated the collection to the Institute.
KUNO joined the Institute of Art Research (the forerunner of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo) in 1944, and he researched history of Buddhist sculpture for 38 years until he retired in 1982. After retiring, he founded and sponsored the Buddhist Art Research Institute near his home. He collected materials over a number of years and made those materials available for use by researchers (a brief biography of KUNO can be found at the link below).
http://www.tobunken.go.jp/materials/bukko/28393.html
Most of the photographs are of Buddhist sculptures that have been categorized by the temple or shrine where they are found in prefectures and major cities. Providing an extensive view of Buddhist statues throughout Japan, the photographs convey the zeal of an extraordinary person. The photographs are extremely important materials and include images of Buddhist statues as they were being restored. KUNO oversaw the editing of A Compilation of Buddhist Statues (Gakuseisha), and some of the photographs can be found in that work. A Compilation of Buddhist Statues features descriptions of major Buddhist statues in different regions.
The catalogue allows searches by the name of the shrine or temple where the statue is found and by the name of the piece. If you would like to view this collection, please fill out the Application for Use Form (word / PDF) and submit it to the Library.
Recording SEKINE Shouroku
Noh chants from Sotoba Komachi were performed by the preeminent SEKINE Shouroku, a lead actor in the Kanze school of Noh, and recorded on March 13. A Noh play intended primarily for the initiated, Sotoba Komachi features the part of an old woman that can only be performed by veteran actors with years of experience. Somewhat more complex techniques than are normally used are used to portray the old woman’s mindset. Plans are to continue with this recording work after April and record the old woman’s part.
During lecture
ISHIZAKI Takeshi, the former Deputy Director General of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo (NRICPT), retired at the end of September 2014. He has continued his research as a professor at the Institute for Conservation of Cultural Properties of the Tohoku University of Art and Design. He delivered a lecture about the results “Conservation of Cultural Properties and Their Surrounding Environments: A specific focus on water-related problems” (Fri. March 6 2015, at the Seminar Hall in the basement) describing the results of his previous and current research.
Professor ISHIZAKI, he clearly explained how moisture in soil freezes to form ice lenses and he described the movement of these ice lenses based on soil physics, his field of expertise. He described his study of rainwater penetration to stone through an analysis of moisture and heat transport. He also cited examples that explained the causes of the weathering of the stone Buddhist statue in Ayutthaya and low temperature control method during the dismantling of the stone chamber of the Takamatsuzuka Tumuli. These topics illustrate how he has focused on moisture movement in porous materials such as soil, brick, and earthen walls. He also talked about applying the outcomes of his research to the conservation of historic buildings, storehouses with plaster walls, stone structures, and exposed archeological remains. He remarked on the fact that there are few researchers in the field of safeguarding cultural properties, and he encouraged joint studies with universities and other research institutions.
Since retiring, he has participated in research as an emeritus researcher and visiting researcher at the Institute’s Center for Conservation Science and Restoration Techniques. (The audience included 53 attendees who were not affiliated with the NRICPT)
Photographing mural paintings unearthed at the Penjikent site
Piecing together mural painting fragments unearthed at the Khulbuk site
From March 3 to 8, unearthed mural painting fragments were researched, pieced back together, and photographed at the Tajikistan National Museum, the Khulbuk Museum, and the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan.
Four mural paintings (dated to the 7–8th centuries) that were unearthed at the site of the medieval fortified town of Penjikent in Sogdiana are being stored and exhibited at the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan. These are a valuable scholarly resource given the limited number of similar paintings. The painting techniques and the state of their conservation were researched and the paintings were photographed in detail in order to better understand their value in terms of art history and the state of their conservation.
Fragments of mural paintings (dated around the 10–11th centuries) were unearthed at the Khulbuk site in the early 1980s. Since then, those fragments were simply stored in the Khulbuk Museum without any effort to piece them back together. During the research, these fragments were pieced back together and photographed. The mural painting fragments had been piled up in a wooden box for storage, so work began by transferring individual fragments to a plastic container and assigning each fragment a reference number. Fragments in each container were photographed and the condition of each fragment was recorded to provide basic information for use in conservation work.
Fragments of mural paintings (dated around the 8th century) from the Kala-i Kakhkakha 1 site are being stored and exhibited at the National Museum of Antiquities of Tajikistan. The current condition of them was recorded, and the fragments were visually inspected in detail.
The results of this study should effectively facilitate future conservation of mural painting fragments in the Republic of Tajikistan.
Practice conserving simulated mural painting fragments
As part of the “Networking Core Centers for International Cooperation in the Conservation of Cultural Heritage Project” commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, 2 mural painting conservators from the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (DoA) of the Ministry of Culture of Myanmar were invited to train in Japan from March 9 to 13, 2015. The training consisted of lectures on conservation of mural paintings and practice conserving those items, a visit to a restoration studio, and viewing of temple murals. The training further educated the Myanmarese conservators about conservation of wall paintings in Japan.
During the first half of the training, the conservators received lectures on aspects of Japanese murals (decorated kofun [ancient Japanese tombs], mural paintings in kofun, mural paintings on plaster found in temples, panel paintings, etc.) such as their history and the materials and techniques used to make them along with examples of their conservation. The conservators also received lectures on the materials and techniques used to conserve kofun mural paintings, and they practiced conserving simulated mural painting fragments. The trainees were highly interested in learning about materials and techniques, and they actively asked questions. In addition, trainees visited a restoration studio that restores Japanese works such as paintings and books. Trainees observed actual restoration work and they talked about basic policies regarding conservation in Myanmar and Japan. During the latter half of the training, trainees visited Kyoto and Nara and they viewed surviving murals in Houkai-ji, Horyu-ji, and Yakushi-ji. Trainees discussed the conservation of mural paintings with Japanese representatives as they closely observed mural paintings that were described in the lectures. The hope is to continue cooperation in the future so that the information taught during training will benefit projects to conserve mural paintings in Myanmar.
