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4 Cover story Art
restoration by
Marjorie Husain6
Cover story
Restored... a
painting reborn
by Nyla Daud9 Cover
story Japanese
measures by Zubair
AhmedMadani 9
Cover story
Preserved works
by Frands Kelly
12 Baby and child
This, no home-
work 13 Talking it Abidi by Asif Noorani Humble offer-
over On the 23 Health Take a ings byZahrahNasir
bow-wow by Paul 29 What are they
White House by
HillaryClinton14 G. Donohue rea d Ing....? .
Mini-interview M.D. 24 Mansoor Saeed
Sign o' the Eight days a by SulaimanAnsari29
times 16 week Cinema, Off the rack Toy
Fashion
Cotton cou-
page
14 l style, eyeliner
27 Savvy The
soldiers by Uneza
, Akhtar 30 Eating in
ture Photographsby executive cook Finger in the pie
ArshadTareen20 by Maliha Bhimjee2. by ZahrahNasir ,
~ ,~ Profile Raza AIi Nature watch AKhalida
Tuesday Review, Dec 17 - 23, 1996 3
 he preservation and ,.-.. French language, often slipping
restoration of art in I French words and phrases into

T Pakistan is an area few .

artists have explored. Dr ) '"
AjazAnwarofthe N.C.A. '
Lahore, completed a post~
~

w"
""
his lecture demonstration. He
explained that the words best
used to describe the art
'patience and science' are
graduate course on the sub- ,.
ject, and Zahurul Akhlaq is
perhaps the onlyartist to I
. much more akin in sound in
the French pronunciation
than in English.
Both Mariam
have studied Che!9istry
related to art in the UK.
Zubair Ahmed Madni,of .
the Karachi National ~.
!. " ~ ',0
Saeedullah and Subah
Hussain, who studied art

/ in Japan, had told me,

' '!!!i,

Museum, has also. --. ... .

on various occasions,
experienced restora- of the difference in eti-
tionworkin Japan. In,.
Karachi, there are"'
artists who turn to j
; ~ quette and method of
teaching in Japan. Art

scientists for
advice in order to ~ 'fi!!I' ~. ~ 'I ",'iiL~' ,.. is considered a life-
time study, encom-
passing ongoing
links with a master.
experiment with J
There is no hurry
unusual
als andmateri-
pre-6j .. . -~ - . I ~~
11>.-- or short cut.
serve th~ir. Title discovered: 'There's light ahead' by Bashir Mirza; owned by Wahab Jaffer Apparently, the
works, for It IS student does not
an extremely learned maestro teaches the restoration ask questions in
delicatearea. techniques of oilpaintingsand practise of class. He or she watches the teacher in
At the New Delhi Museum of Modern Museology. respectful silence, learning by example,
Art, Amrita Sher-GiI's works have been The Professor who had studied art in fully concentrating on the teacher's
overpainted to a damaging degree. Japan, Paris and Brussels, is fluentin the actions. Subah obtained special permis-
COVER STORY
By MarjorieHusain

I Heavily coated, in time, the damage will sion to question her professor, explaining
make its way through the added layers of that she had limited time in Japan.
r. paint. That the artists are keen to avail the In Karachi, Professor Kuroe laughingly
I opportunity to explore restoration was rebuked artists with their many questions,
apparent recently when a three-day work- eager to learn various stages. "You want
t. shop and demonstrationon the preserva- to run before you can walk," he told them,
tion and conservationof oil paintings and as he insisted they fill the basic 'prescrip-
~ water-colours, was arranged by the tion' form, retailing details of the painting,
~i. Pakistan National Council of the Arts. the age of the artwork, materials used,

.'.... Hosted by the Indus Valley School of Art

and Architecture,localartists and students
~ became absorbed in the techniques and
the transforming processes, impatient to
get some 'hands on' experience.
Demonstratingthe delicateart of restor-
ing damaged oil paintings on canvas,
ProfessorMitsuhiko Kuore explainedthat
a masteryof the subjectrequiresten years
of study covering chemistry, painting and
the history of art. The Professor's son,
Masahiko,who assisted him in the work-
shop is half way there with five years of
study to his credit.
. Much in demand for the restoration of
easel paintings, Kuroe San has a studio of
his own in Yokohama. Since '93, he has
size, title, date and name of the artist, and
later the restoration methods used, all had
to be set down for later reference.
Working on a 1940 painting by the
British artist Berger, Professor Kuroe first
cleaned the picture with dry pads, examin-
ing it painstakingly with an electric magni-
fying glass. With infinite patience and care,
11\1 ends of threads were drawn across tears
in the canvas, then melded with resin wax
melted with a heating spatula. The picture
.~, began to look better immediately. The next
stage was to cover the areas affected with
a mixture of rabbit glue and chalk. The
glue-chalk mixture when applied, was
, --. 01 flf/MI °"1i& ,~!
scraped down to fit in with the texture of
the original painting. The last stage was

fA-
presided as Chief Professor of the Faculty -J
the inpainting, in which the expert strives
of Conservation of Cultural Properties in ~.:~ to match the original artwork. While the
the Department of Arts, at the Tohoku Professor Mitsuhiko Kuore professor restored 'Berger', Masahiko qui-
University of Art and Design. There the and son Masahiko etly worked alone, restoring an early
4 Tuesday Review, Dec 17 - 23,1996
 Sadequain painting that had badly flaked. ers using interleaving
Inan adjoining room, Mari Yamaryo sheets. Materials con.
conducted a workshop on the care of taining rubber should be
works of art on paper.With a background avoided as rubber-
encompassing a course of study at the based spray, commonly
Smithsonian Institute, Washington, used to back paper
Professor Mari encouraged student partici- works, turns the artwork
pation. While she worked on an early yellow.
Bashir Mirza drawing, .students worked A fascinating and
simultaneously on two more paper works. very useful experience,
The professor explained that paper is a senior artists joined in
vulnerable material - but it can last for the workshop with ani-
centuries if properly made and cared for. mated enjoyment. Deja
Paper is damaged by mishandling, insects vu. There was an echo
and environmental conditions. of the first experience of
The paper works were prepared for print-making in Karachi
treatment, with old matting materials and in '69, when the
pressure sensitive tape removed. 'Dry American print-maker,
cleaned', backed by tissue-thin waterproof Michael Ponce de Leon,
material, the pieces were floated in a shal- set up a three-month
low water bath. Age marks were gently workshop complete with
brushed with a water-spirit mixture and the a press. It set up a flurry
back of the painting reinforced by a back- of print-making; I sus-
ing technique. As B.M.'s painting showed pect the recent work- ,.
signs of improvement, removing a time- shop will be followed by
stained ancient mount of the drawing a flurry of 'restoration'!
revealed a title - Hope for the Future- Salwat Ali imagined a
that Wahab Jaffer, who owns the paper, longer workshop to
had been unaware of. restore the Faizee
Both the professors were adamant on Rahamin collection and
the gentle handling of artwork, and insisted enable artists to acquire
surfaces should not be touched with at least a basic working
hands. Professor Mari insisted that knowledge of the art.
unmounted paper works should not be lift- Such a workshop in
ed by the corners. Instead, a sheet of blot- Karachi would be incal-
ter or rag board should be slipped under culably valuable,
the work, and the support be held. besides saving Faizee's
Pastels, charcoals and miniature works paintings and enhancing
should never be placed face down. Paper the skills of local
works in storage should be placed in fold- artists..

J
'"

i!. .it~
Expert Mari Yamaryo watched by Wahab Jaffer (above);
Atiya Faizee's portrait by Faizee Rahamin (right)

Tuesday Review, Dec 17 - 23, 1996 5

_.~
c-
COVER
Restored...
paintingreborn
NylaDaudmeets ProlesorMohammad
Asil and Prolessor
Bashir
Ahmed of the NCA In Lahoreand learnsabout
the painstakingwork Involvingrestoringan art-
workto Its originalglory And what littlethere Is
In It for the restorerhimself
estoration...?" the professor
laughs off my question with
"R unbridled irony. "What we
need here is 'conservation', if
you ask me. A painting is like
a living, breathing human. It has to be
provided with an environment that can
sustain its life, but all that the people
here have learnt to do is to 'buy' a paint-
ing and put it up in their drawing room. It
can die a silent death because of
change in temperature but then it can
always be removed to make place for a
new one. Who cares?"
Period.
~ Professor Mohammed Asif at the
I NCA seems unmoved at a journalistic
query about the art of 'restoration'.
Although a personal interest made him
train in the art from a German school, he
I simply refuses to acknowledge any local
tradition of the discipline whatsoever.
Perhaps he, like his other colleagues, is
far too disillusioned at the way things
stand. Perhaps he would like to work
systematically whereby a genuine
appreciation of art should precede its
'restoration' . totally unfeasible - a sadly ironic statis-
"Look at this," the flourish of his hand
leads your gaze to a tattered canvas on
which a dancing figure stands in a silent
whirl of ecstasy. A Lai/a Shehzada origi-
nal, it testifies to what can happen to a
painting in just thirty-plus years, if it is
not treated with care.
"This belongs to myoid friend Faqir
Hussain Saga, the dancer. Laila painted
this when Saga was ayoung man and
now he wants me to restore it."
And will Asif agree to the painstaking
task? Yes, even if it is going to mean
hours and days, perhaps months to
restore it and what should ultimately
evolve with a semblance to the original.
It is going to be a debt of honour to a
friend and that is about all. "A restored
painting," he admonishes, "should on
principles of ethics, continue to give a
clue to the time period that it was origi-
6 Tuesday Review, Dec 17- 23,1996
STORY
a
nally painted in. To try and paint over
the history of the piece amounts to pla-
giarism because, restoration essentially
means to provide the missing parts with-
out touching the original portions. The
idea is to revitalise the original. But what
happens in untrained hands is that the
original is lost and with the passage of
time it mellows and environment. So, it
becomes all the more important that the
restorer is both an artist and a crafts-
man, a chemist and a technician."
Professor Asif initially trained at the
Dresden School of Art as part of a
scholarship programme; the only person
on the contemporary art scene with a
valid foreign training in the 'art' of art
restoration, he has the expertise, even
the will but there aren't many people
around who could form a clientele. And
even if there were, the professor could
say no. The reason being that restora-
tion of paintings is a painstakingly
lengthy process with little remuneration.
In a set-up where art by itself is not
something that can be your bread and I show the initial scribbling that the artist
butter, restoration of paintings becomes may have done. I have seen a Reubens
photographed so expertly that you could
tic. see through the first drawing on the can-
"When you undertake a restoration vas; the idea is to get down to the
project, even if it is a contemporary details. In a way this is detective work
painting, you need to go back in time to because sometimes during the investi-
find out the details of the paints, the gations you may even discover that the
materials, the techniques used. When I artist had painted over another canvas."
started doing Laila Shehzada's painting, The Laila Shehzada painting awaiting
I first went into the reason for the deteri- its fate in Professor Asif's studio is going
oration. You see restoration is not cre- to need time before it can go up on the
ativity alone. It requires an in-depth wall again. The treatment procedure will
technical know-how about the chemistry restore first the worn off edges and then
of the technique initially used. There is a varnish solution washings will clear the
lot of science and research involved. paint from the chipped portions.
"Abroad, like in Germany where I stud- Probably left on a wall next to the
ied the details of this art, the first thing kitchen, its layers of paint are peeling
you do is to get a laboratory test done. off, giving it an air of decadence."
The next step is to get the piece pho- However, all is not lost, for Professor
tographed through infra-red or ultra-red Asif has a planned schedule involving
rays in order to find out what is under- the use of testing benzene and wax.
neath the final surface. This is such a "After the washing and the drying I will
sensitive procedure that it can even do the retouching. Ethically, I should not
 has been allowed into the hallowed por- Ali's people but the project fizzled out for
tals of restoration projects. This is a tra- lack of interest in the rightquarters.
dition of the British Raj who called upon However, since oil painting is not an
geologists and local smalHime crafts- indigenous tradition, neglect of related
men to do restoration jobs. Ajaz Anwar works for restoration can be overlooked
of the NCA, himself an artist, feels that if not totally ignored. It is the genre of
though these craftsman are very skilled miniatures, the real tradition in our part .
in technical know-how regarding pig- of the subcontinent, that really needs
ments and motifs but they still need the more in-depth study and attention.
supervision of a reputed artist. In an Again NCA Professor Bashir Ahmed of
undertone however he adds, "but the the Department of Miniature painting is
real artist will at times consider it below a person totally consumed by restora-
his dignity to take up a restoration job." tion work. Having gone through a gru-
Obviously an undertaking somewhere elling training schedule under the old
miniature masters of
his own day, Bashir
Ahmed undertakes
restoration projects
once in a while but
only if an old friend is
in need. Money does
not count really since
nobody with a frayed
miniature wants to
spend on it. Doing it
for the love of art
alone, Bashir Ahmed
often spends sleep-
less nights and rest-
less days, gently
scratching beneath
unfathomable sur-
faces "My first con-
cern is to find out the
technique used.
Miniature paintings
have been done in dif-
ferent styles in this
region and each area
has had its own tradi-
tions which have to be
taken into account
before I can proceed.
And this includes
even the restoration of
. reproductions."
Past masters:" 'Tobias. ' and' the Angel' - follower of Andrea Del Verrocchio (left); Tracing his
genealogy backUstad's
to the
an
d Ch ht t (
u9 al spain 1n9 !19 ht)
I reign of Humayun,
retouch with oil because if after thirty between self-expression and craft, Bashir Ahmed boasts about a practical
years it needs restoration again, the per- restoration is really a service to the old more than a theoretical knowledge of
~I
son doing it should be able to see the masters. In no way can it be called cre- the art. "I learnt all the techniques practi-
original surface through ultra-red pho- ativity; hence the added reluctance on cally. Restoration is not something you
tography. Also I will give a written and the part of artists to do the job. Another can learn by rote from a written text. (
visual documentation of what I have parallel tradition that seems to be cur- Maybe that is why it is not a part of the
done." rently developing is a racket... Lesser NCA syllabus). At times when I am on a
Traditionally, the restorer should be a painters are producing versions of origi- restoration project I am not quite sure of
person extremely well-versed in the nal Chughtais and Allah Buxs. what I have done it is such an involv-
techniques of the masters. Only some- Interestingly, these very $ources could ing process."
body with a total command over the be tapped for restoration work at the He continues in a tone of pain, "at the
work methodology of the masters can official level, allowing at the same time a Lahore Fort they do have a restoration
do a restoration job, because the first recognition for their surreptitious efforts section but they do it at random, Look
step in the procedure is the time and as well as quality work in restoration what they did at the Wazir Khan
technique placement of the painting. projects. But this too, is a long story Mosque they coloured Iow tempera-
punctuated with taboos and policies. ture tiles with high temperature glaze.
IRONICALL V, WHATEVER At the collector's level, restoration and as a result the tiles fell off the
RESTORATION work is being done at work, probably due to its time-consum- minaret by the time they started work on
the official level locally, is the result of a ing and financially exhausting nature, is the next minaret!"
strange red tapism. Due to some incom- being totally neglected. Some time back Miniature Moghul paintings come to
prehensible reason no artist as such Professor Asif was contacted by Shakir Bashir Sa'hib for restoration and he

7
Tuesday Review, Dec 17 - 23,1996
 "I learnt all the techniques
practically. Restoration Is not
something you can learn by
rotelrom a written text. At
times when Iam on a restora-
tion project I am not quhe
sure 01what I have done n
Is such an Involvingprocess."
takes them on at a whim. A recent
miniature belonging to a local was treat-
ed by him in almost three and a half
years; time is a necessary constraint in
the procedure because sometimes one
step requires days or months of matur-
ing before the next can be worked upon.
He rummagas about in the pile and tri-
umphantly produces a lovely one of the
Taimuri Court. "Here, look at this one. I
researched about Persian miniature art
for months. Then I experimented with
various materials so that they could be
applied in the correct proportions. Of
course, the materials used originally
were local and even today I have
access to most of them, but I needed to
know how they were used. Sometimes it
is not only the paint work that requires
restoration; the paper also needs
restoration. That becomes even more
difficult because different artists used
different techniques in their paper
works."
Conversations with the Lahore artists
J
who have some experience of restoring
,,'
paintings, reveals that there is a strong
consensus aiming at the need to pre-
serve art in this area and that the pro-
jects will have to be taken up at the insti-
.- tutionallevel. Individual artists, however,
deaicated they may be, cannot handle
the responsibility. Finances, survival,
time, are big factors; so big that they far
-~ exceed the limits of individual
.* endurance. These are all huge entities
.'"
.. and responsibilities that can only be
handled through channelised dedication
::
., and that too at state level. Otherwise,
"
what we are going to have in this belea-
guered part of the world is a lot of
antique art going to waste.
The nouveau riche will decorate their
houses with paintings selling at the
towns galleries. They will, in the inter-
ests of interior decor, place them at ran-
domly. Perhaps on a wall that will
become too hot in wild summers, or in a
room where load-shedding will play
havoc with the painting and when the
paint starts to peel off and the edges
begin to decay as a result, then replace
them to make way for new ones. Art
then will suffer the fate of discarded
clothes and the work of many an artist
Restoration for art's sake: Allah Bux' s painting (top); will be consigned to lie in dark store-
and Faizee Rahamin's self.portrait (above) rooms..

8 Tuesday Review, Dec 17 - 23, 1996

 COVER STORY One of the few paper conservationistsin the country,Mr S. ZubairAhmed Madani,
attendeda paper conservationcourse in Japan in 1992,and since then has presided
ByZUbairAhmedMadani over well-equippedconservationlaboratoriesin the NationalMuseum of Pakistan.For
over a year he has been working on the restorationof a delicatethough large-scalefab-
ric piece inscribedwith calligraphy.Zubair Madani,who has used his expertise torepair
numerousold and damagedminiature paintings,on his return from Japan, shared his
-
experienceofthecoursein'a writtenintroduction. M.H.

J
apanese paper conservation
methods are employed today in
conservation studios throughout
. the world. They are highly
appreciated in the west as they
are based on a long and unbroken tra-
dition. The application of different types
of Japanese hand-made paper and nat-
ural adhesives, such as wheat starch
of high quality tools have contributed to
their high reputation. Specific conserva-
tion procedures, e.g. drying of paper
artifacts on the karibariboard, are also
considered by western conservators to
be extremely sensitive treatments as
they respect the original texture of the
object as much as possible.
Washi, Japanese hand-made paper,

measures paste and animal glue in mounting pro-

cedures, as well as the use of a variety
as the carrier and support of Japanese
paintings and calligraphy and the main

cause deep cracks and wrinkles which are difficult to rec-

.S, ]:. 0
C 0 V ..1;:.;& iR ~ tify. Pilint ~pptied in tl)in turpentine wasl)es(~,technigue
r . . """""r
'

'. ..""""'"
-. ..""'..'" r't"""""'ili!Il"'.'m"""""l1
'.' . ~
r/!
favoured by>4he"impressionists) Pfoffers~pro~;I~m fqtthe .
futyre. The opposite extreme, paint applied in unusually
By Francis KeDy thick1ayers with insufficient drying time allowed between.
coats, will ultimately cause disfiguration.

Preserved:worka Cr~cksh1 modern paintipgs ar~ 9~en tpe co~seqI,f7nc~,~.

'ofusingin(~rior !J1aterials.@ver!yabsor!)ent$uppqi'fs.\.qf,~
priming will suck the bihding media from the paint, aC;cel-
erating unnatural drying, resulting in cracks. The addition
n understanding 'Ofthe anatomy of a painting, the of excessive dryers and extenders or foreign elements,
mat~rials~nd t~~ ..!TI YSE1db¥;~~,~st.san~the ,s~chas .~~ndir\tr9dLlced to create atexh.lr~, is al.so

A
51 t! 'caos-esOf ~ete~ld(fl;ttigt1er Withtt1~.abuItY to 're'sP9hsible~for
recognise former restora ions or overpainting, are
.
cracking, . .~ ".~.
In recent years, restoration authorities intbel.Jhitedii
.

essential for effective examination of pictures and States have replaced the term 'retouching' to 'inpainting'
their ultimate preservation. Artists sometimes use te,ch- in order to emphasise that colour should not.pe allQwed
~

niq ues",,~nd .Q)at~,~~I,~ '. th~t".I~!~rP~,~Y~,~~sta~I~.Otl1~.r ~i.thef inteqtionally or ~ccid~~tallxto oy;~rl~p£he 9~iginaJ'
artists,applytmts.act1dQ'l~zes\'whlcijMnYe'afstq,Come;lf "aint. Artisfs often have to retouch theit ownfpalnting$.,
unrecognised, might be lost in the process of cleaning. This often results in large areas ofoverpainting.
The restorer, in carrying out his ~xamination, must be Paintings kept in a highly humid atmosphere are vul-
constantlyaware of the pitfallsthat mightlie ahead in the nerable to fungoid attacks. This appears as ftuffy white
consolidatio~~n~t,917~ .
Theprote15t!ve""I1iye .
'Q,
"'ff~V~\$'!)defg9I'1e
.
spor~s clUster~d on tbe surface,J9f tI)7P~iQting'J'h~it,
appel;1rance.at the back of a'pa:inHpgiq"icate$ thti~tfley,i
many chemical chapges. are attacking tlie glue sizipg irj
Varnished pictu(~s may be the fabric support. If left
affected by extremes of dar\(- untreated, th7,)' will eventually
~, ness. a.Od.
by over-exposure\!itc
d.APJP; pt. c P~;r,meC1.te ttJ.~ fl;t!:>ric;!anQ"
destroy the fibres. .~
and heat. Scratches and acci- Fungus growth,(Oildew and
dents of all kinds may have condensation pose a constant
pitted the sUrface, Ust and problem~-for t~ preservatIonof
gIrt will ~CCpnlull;tt7 aq obj~..~t.~, ~P~c'P!:,
«revices unless th~61 cal. climates, Scie ra~
is removed and a new y.arnish tus contributes greatly t\) oUt
applied. knowledge in the field of art
A painting's cOQtinu~dsur. restoratiqn. It~ sucC~ssful. use,
a vival.9,tt~Jlq~R~ hc>~e v~&W"}s. \Q;pvet!2~P !.~t,':
artist's selectio s~iIIof tl1epersonlfin$I~!1"""11
and his technique. in applying equipment and interpreting the
them. Mistakes in the con- information pfovided..
struction of a p~intiQQ' may
limit lhe~~t~'?I~~, .\(.1\1'
restoration; for e,<amfugi~
(F(omAfjui {f~
and Preseifiatio of I
tive colours cannot be revived. Art by Francis Kelly}. ~
The excessive use of oIls and 'The GrahamChildren': A painting by
dryers in the pigment~ may
~ - ~ u
WiUiaml:togarth
... ... -
Tuesday Review, Dec 17 - 23, 1996 9

..
,:"""'- :~." .." .'.',,""", .,.,>,' .".,.c,.",>,."",~~._,.::' ,'p', "~,,,,~"""n'o"""'i:°~'*""~""'_:~""~"- ': ...~~._~~--" ~". :". -.. .,"",,--,., ""_.

and textile supports. Hyogu may be

called the art of water and brush, and in
the literal sense also means to frame a
picture such as a hanging scroll.
Originating first in China, conserva-
tion techniques and materials quickly
spread to Japan where they developed
into the refined art known as Hyogu.
To become a qualified Hyogushi, a
mounter, one can easily spend ten
years of strict training and steady appli-
cation. The Hyogushi as a highly spe-
cialised professional is not only able to
conserve and repair various kinds of
pictorial art, such as scrolls (Jikuso)
folding screens (Byobu) and sliding
doors (Fusuma), but is also expected to
create new art obj~cts by mounting and
assemblillgarid to present them in their
correct cultural context. He/she must
know the (ippropriate style of mount fdr
any subj'ecf aQc!be aware ofthe mean-
ings a§s6ciated with the materials
used." Tpe" Hyogushi mus,t also know
how (indwhere an object will be used
becauseithese works of art have (i pre-
cise function, apart from their aesthetic
and cultural role. The objects are made
to be opened and closed, rqlledand
unrolled. ,"
Apart from meeting the demands of
conservation and aesthetics, the
Hyogushi must always consider that
these objects are to be constantly han-
dled and not merelilooked at.
Ihrou~hqut its long history, Hyogu,
dating back to the Asuka period (AD
538-644), has been transmitted from
one craftsman to another. ~eing based
on the master-apprentice principle and
therefore exclusively on practical skills
to be learned and perfected by experi~
ehce, ttle whole process was never
systematically recorded and document-
ed. AltQough research in th'e field of
Washi had been tarried oLlt, a com-
plete ariQ integrated study on Hyogu
Was cOlT1pletelymissing.
In .,1974, the, Tokyo National
Research In'stitute of Cultural
Propert.iJ~s (TNRICP), initiated a
Deep impre~sions: Leonardo da Vinci's'The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne research project on the subject. This
and Saint John the Baptist~ study led in 1977 to the publication of
"Conservation Science of Hyogu - a
material applied in their conservation, is the increasing interaction between east Scientific Study of the Conservation
now used worldwide not only for the and west, and working experience has and Restoration of Painting and
mounting and repair of paper artifacts been successfully exchanged to Calligraphy Scrolls in Japan." It was the
but also as an indispensable material in enhance better preservation and con- first time that the Hyogu process had
all fields of conservation due to its spe- servation of our cultural heritage for been fully recorded and photographical-
cific properties. future generations. ly documented, including a detailed
Apart from these general factors, the description of the materials and tools
international conservation community used."The publication and its translation
has shown an increasing interest in
Japanese mounting and conservation
Hyogu- Japanesemountingand in English contributed to a deeper
understanding of Hyogu ill the west and
procedures. The interest is reciprocated conservationprocedures stimulated further studies and research
by Japanese conservators studying the Japanese paper conservation in the tra- in the field.
western approach to adapt it to the con- ditional sense is based on mounting Jikuso - Japanese scroll paintings
servation and restoration of their arti- techniques. The Japanese term for Japanese scrolls, Jikuso, fall into two
facts. International meetings and tech- mounting is Hyogu which also includes
principal categories: the hand scroll,
nical publications have contributed to conservation and restoration proce- Makimono, which is rolled out flat on a
dures applied to works of art on paper
10 Tuesday Review, Dec 17 - 23, 1996
 horizontal surface, and the hanging
scroll, Kakemono, which is hung on a
wall to be viewed.
Due to these functions, the. conser-
vation of scrolls requires the Hyogushi's
greatest attention and highest skills.
Early forms of hanging scrolls were
generally used as a vehicle to convey a
single pictorial message to large num-
j bers of people at an appropriate time. It
seems almost certain that the prototype
of the modern hanging scroll was the
l Tibetan banner painting, and that it was
1\. Buddhism, during the first millennium of
the Christian era, that was responsible
for its develop'ment and transmission to
~.,
!u
countries beyond India., From an early
stage, two types of hanging scroll can
be distinguished: the banner and the
hanging picture.
The hanging picture is a painting
executed on cloth with materials and
techniques similar to those used on
plaster. It would have had simple cloth
borders with loops on the top to enable
the painting tO'be suspended on a per-
manent or semi-permanent basis, prob-
ably in religious establishments.
The banner was usually a long, deli-
cate strip of silk, often painted with
images of Buddhist tradition. Banners
were carried on long poles and were
probably used on occasions such as
religious processions. Throughout its
TuesdayReview,Dec 17 - 23, 1996
long and varied history, however, this side walls and shielded from the light.
art form has always maintained its origi- Traditionally, neither the Tokonoma nor
nal identity as a banner; a picture to the main room have overhead lighting,
see at an appropriate time, and then to and direct sunlight is excluded by
roll up and put away for a future occa- paper-covered windows.
sion. The specific time for the display of
Today, the Hyogushi distinguishes scroll paintings generally relates to the
three major categories of hanging subject depicted in the painting itself. It
scrolls according totheir fbrm, shape is often linked to the seasons of the
and function; Butsu hyogu, and Bunjin year or to a specific ceremony or reli-
hyogu. The form bf the Hyogu, the gious holiday. This timing is respected
choice of textiles, their colours and pat- both in the private environment .and in
tern, as well as the way they fit with the public institution such as museums.
rest of the materials used will be deter- One of the most important uses for the
mined by the subject, size, type and hanging scroll is during the tea ceremo-
function of the painting or calligraphy to ny, when it is displayed for the appreci-
ation of the guests.
The scroll is hung in
the Tokonoma for only
a short time. It will then
be taken down, rolled
and put away i.n its
proper storage box. It
is extremely important
to keep .in mind that all
forms of scrolls are
simply not designed,
either aesthetically or
mechanically, for
extended periods of
display. The traditional
storage of scrolls in
double boxes, in which
Hans Holbein the Younger's 'The the inner box is' made
Ambassadors' (a,?ove); and of Kiri, paulownia,
Rembrandt van Rijn's 'Margaretha wood (Latin name:
de Geer' (left) Paulownia Tomentosa)
and the outer box is
lacquered, not only
Far-easternpictorialart prevents mechanical
doesnotlit easilyInto damage but also has
been proved to have
western concepts01 the greate.st capacity
conservationanddisplay.A for maintaining con-
stant temperature and
modernconceptshouldbe humidity up to two
months. High-quality
basedona broader view, storage boxes are,
whichalsorespectsthe cul- therefore, essential for
the protection and
tural andsocialenvironment curative conservation
be mounted. of scroll paintings.
Far-eastern pictorial art does not fit
Apart from the specific structure and
easily into western concepts of conser-
composition of each type of hanging vation and display. A modern concept
scroll, an extremely important consider- should be based on a broader view,
ation, from both an aesthetic and con-
which also respects the cultural and
servation point of view, is the setting in social environment. Some museums no .
which the Kakemono is displayed. In
longer display their far-eastern paint-
Japan; the hanging scroll is generally
ings on a permanent basis and also
hung in the Tokonoma, or alcove. Prior
investigate ways to present their collec-
to that it was also displayed on walls
and of her places. Nevertheless, the tions, bearing in mind their cultural
Tokonoma is historically the focal point requirements. There is also a trend
towards establishing conservation stu-
in the Japanese house, temple or dios based on far-eastern traditions.
palace. It is set apart from the rest of
the room by a Tatami-covered platform These developments are a first hint that
the link between form and function in
which is usually slightly higher than the
rest of the flooLln its proper place, the far-eastern pictorial art has begun to be
scroll is protected by the ceiling and the appreciated. .
11
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