Kala Conservation

Albrecht Durer, The Vision of Saint Eustache, ca. 1501. Engraving on antique laid paper.

This print was severely discolored, the paper acidic and brittle.  There were several small tears and losses that had been repaired with paper mends and animal glue.  The lower left corner had been cut and was replaced with a poorly drawn fill.  

The old mends were removed and the print was carefully washed to reduce the severe discoloration and acidity.  Gentle bleaching methods were employed to further remove the staining.  Tears were mended and losses were filled with a paper of matching texture and color to the original.  Using a photo of a complete version of The Vision of Saint Eustache as a guide, the fill in the corner was painted with watercolor.

Page from a Manuscript of the Qur'an, ca. 1550-1575 from Iran, Shiraz. Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper.

This beautifully illuminated manuscript page had areas of flaking paint and prior water damage on the lower edge.  Tears and losses had been repaired with bulky paper mends on the reverse side.  

All areas of flaking painting media were secured by applying a consolidant with a fine brush.  The prior mends and old discolored adhesive were removed.  The tears and losses were repaired with minimal paper fills and mends that better matched the original.  The fills were toned with watercolor to reduce their appearance.  

Standing Buddha flanked by two disciples, supported by the monkey hero Hanuman, approx. 1825-1875, Thailand. Paint and gold on cloth

This large painting from Thailand, measuring approximately 70 inches high by 35 inches wide, would have been hung like a large banner on the temple wall.  The painting was made using mineral pigments in a water-based binder applied directly to cotton fabric.  When this painting was framed sometime in the 1960s, it was dry-mounted to a linen backing. While the lining likely gave the painting stability and support for many years, over time the photo-mount tissue became desiccated and began to lose adhesion unevenly, causing buckling and creases in the primary support fabric.  At some point in the painting’s history, it was water-damaged at the top, causing staining and molded fabric and leading to the large losses in the sky area. 

In addition to the physical damage, there were numerous losses and flaking in the painting media, a problem observed in other Southeast Asian paintings because the paint layer is applied directly to a woven cotton support that can move and fluctuate.  There were large losses in the purple background, to the right of the Buddha.  Hanuman and the monkeys also had extensive losses in the white paint, exposing the preliminary drawing beneath. 

Conservation treatment began with stabilization of the painting media, a process called consolidation.  The paint layers are consolidated using an adhesive in vapor form, and in later applications with a brush.  This process is repeated several times throughout the conservation treatment to ensure the stability of the paint layer. 

The backing was then carefully removed before further treatment could proceed.  The linen backing was removed first, then the painting was placed face down so the dry mount tissue could be carefully removed with the aid of solvents.  The painting was then cleaned to remove staining and degradation products harmful to the physical stability of the painting.  This was followed by lining the painting overall with thin sheets of Japanese paper and wheat starch paste, using materials and methods adapted from traditional Japanese mounting methods that have been in use for centuries.  Finally, with the painting physically stabilized, the losses in the painting media were toned to improve its overall visual appearance.

Folio from an unidentified Jain manuscript, ca. 1500-1550. Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper.

This double-sided page in the palm leaf format had many areas of breakage and loss that followed the foliate pattern in the border.  These areas of fragility were caused by the corrosive action of the copper based green pigment on the paper support.  

Because this is a two-sided folio, the repairs had to be as minimal as possible.  The folio was mended with tiny bridges of very thin, but strong, Japanese tissue.  

Five Buddhas of the past, present, and future, 19th century, Cambodia. Paint and gold on cloth

This painting is intricately detailed and exquisitely painted, but its details were lost beneath a layer of soot, grime and insect debris. During its lifetime of hanging on a temple wall, exposure to factors such as burning incense and changes in temperature and humidity, took its toll on the physical stability of the painting.  Dark staining in the top half suggests water damage occurred while it was on display, causing loss of pigment as well as physical damage.  In addition, the painting was torn across the center into two halves and patched together with tape.  Some areas, particularly in the top half of the painting, were so fragile that it could not safely be moved until some stabilization had occurred: the central image of the stupa was so brittle, it was crumbling to the slightest touch.

The painting had to be physically stabilized before further treatment could proceed. Small bridges of Japanese paper were applied with funori, an adhesive derived from seaweed, along the many breaks and tears.  This gave temporary support and allowed proper realignment so that the painting could be mended from the verso.  The numerous losses, creases, and breaks were mended with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste.  Once an area was secured from the verso, the temporary bridge mends were removed from the face of the painting.

The painting also showed severe damage in the paint layer, with heavy losses and flaking. The pigments were consolidated, a process where adhesive is introduced first in vapor form and in later applications with a brush, to set down lifting paint.  This process is repeated several times throughout the conservation treatment to ensure the stability of the painting media. 

The painting was then aqueously cleaned to remove the dirt and other degradation products that can accelerate the aging of the primary support.  In addition, discoloration and staining are reduced, which improves the legibility of the painted surface.  All the pigments were tested for their stability in water before washing proceeded.

The two halves of Five Buddhas were realigned as closely as possible and joined with strips of Japanese paper.  To give the painting overall support, it was lined with thin sheets of Japanese paper and wheat starch paste, using materials and methods adapted from traditional Japanese mounting methods that have been in use for centuries. 

Finally, with the painting physically stabilized, the severe losses in the painting media could be addressed.  Many of the large losses in the background were toned to allow the figures to be more clearly defined.  The strategy was to choose a color that is close to the original, but lighter in color so that the areas of restoration are easily detected upon closer view.  In this way, the visual impact of the painting is made whole again without trying to recreate the original. 

Male Nude Standing, by Richard Henry Logan, date unknown. Conte crayon on laid paper.  

The drawing was torn across the right corner, through the standing figure.  The paper was darkened overall, brittle, with staining at the edges from acidic framing materials.

The drawing was carefully washed to decrease acidity and discoloration.  The tears were mended and the drawing was lined to give it overall support.

TVRCICVM IMPERIUM, Map of the Mediterranean, 1629-1706. Hand-colored engraving on laid paper (from an atlas)                   

This map had previously been mended with large patches of transparent paper on the verso.  There was breakage occurring along the green hand-colored outlines, likely painted with a copper-based pigment that has a corrosive effect on paper.  The map still had the paper strip down the vertical center from when it was bound in an atlas.  It had been matted and framed with acidic materials, which had created a dark stain along the perimeter of the map, called “mat burn.”

The acidic mat was detached by removing the tapes and adhesives and all old mends were removed as well.  The mat burn was reduced to the extent safely possible using aqueous cleaning methods. Due to the fragility of the map from the copper green pigment, it was lined with Japanese paper to give it overall support. 

Portrait of Colonel Minking, Union Soldier Civil War, photograph on thin paper with hand drawn additions mounted to board.

The portrait was severely darkened and discolored with foxing spots overall.  The print was mounted to a board that had become brittle and cracked in several places.

The print was carefully removed from the board then washed to reduce staining and acidity.  It was then lined to give it overall support.

Virginia Tucker, Map of Berkeley, color lithograph on yellow wove paper

This poster had been completely torn in half and had significant losses at the edges.  The paper had a strong curl as it had been stored rolled.

The poster was humidified and carefully realigned and mended.  The poster was then lined with thin Japanese paper to give it overall support.  Losses were filled with paper of similar weight and texture that was toned to match the original as closely as possible.  

Diego Rivera, Portrait of Edward Lasker (Retrato de Edward Lasker), 1936. Drawing in colored conté crayons on tracing paper.

This drawing by Diego Rivera was severely rippled, a problem directly related to the nature of the tracing paper support.  Tracing paper is composed of very short cellulose fibers and is often treated with chemicals to give it increased transparency.  Such short paper fibers make tracing paper highly reactive to changes in humidity, which results in cockling of the paper.  The paper support of this drawing had also become brittle and darkened, a result of high acidity that was likely inherent to the paper. 

Treatment of tracing paper is tricky since it is highly reactive to moisture.  In addition, this drawing had friable media that could be easily smudged during conservation treatment.  The drawing was humidified in a controlled environment using Goretex to limit moisture and lightly restrain the paper.  Next, the drawing was placed in a flattening package, sandwiched between materials carefully chosen to both restrain and flatten the paper while allowing enough give to prevent stress on the object.  Potential smudging of the media was also minimized in this way. 

The results were successful, as raking light photos will show.  The distortion was significantly reduced and the drawing could then be matted and framed.

Utagawa Hiroshige, Sudden Shower at Shōno, 19th century, color woodblock print

This print, from Hiroshige’s The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido, is possibly a later printing of this 1834 series.  The print had lost some of the crispness and detail and the red censor stamps at the upper and lower left had completely faded.  The paper had darkened overall and there was adhesive staining in the upper left corner. A vertical crease down the center of the print had been repaired on the verso with a narrow strip of paper.  Other small tears and losses had been repaired with rather bulky mends and thick adhesive that was staining the paper.

No conservation treatment could bring back the lost red from the stamps or the abraded printing inks.  However, the paper could be physically improved with gentle aqueous cleaning to reduce acidity and discoloration.  Old mends were removed and residual adhesives were reduced.  Tears were mended with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. Losses were filled with Japanese paper of comparable weight and texture, attached with wheat starch paste and toned with watercolor. 

Krishna killing a demon, from a manuscript of the Bhagavata Purana. India, Madhya Pradesh state, 1640-1660. Opaque watercolors on paper

This painting was in a very fragile state, with losses in the corners of the painting and numerous small tears along the edges.  The painting media was also fragile, with many areas of loss and abrasion, as well as flaking in the more thickly painted areas.  On the verso, there were many pieces of tape, so called “framer’s tape,” “hinging tape” or “archival tape,” though under no circumstances should any tape be used directly on art work. In some places it had been placed directly on the writing. 

The flaking painting media were consolidated by applying an adhesive in the form of a fine mist, followed by a localized application of the adhesive with a fine brush under magnification.  With the paint layer secured, the painting could be turned face down to remove all the tape, which upon testing had a water-based adhesive.  The tape was removed using a poultice that could control the amount of moisture applied, allowing the adhesive to release without affecting the water-sensitive writing beneath.  The many tears were mended with thin Japanese paper to minimize their appearance on the verso. All the losses were filled with paper of comparable weight and texture and were toned with watercolor.  Finally, the painting was hinged with Japanese paper and wheat starch paste, the only truly archival method for hinging an artwork for matting and framing.