Japanese painting

Work on Paper

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ACdR Conservation

Name/Title

Japanese painting

Description

A Japanese work on paper attached to a wooden board and stretcher

Condition

Date Examined

Oct 1, 2018

Examined By

Elle Vallier

Notes

dirty edges and two circular areas of discoloration present at bottom two corners, likely due to rusty nails in the wooden stretcher the paper is adhered to. These marks are also present along top edge on turn over.

Conservation

Conservation Purpose

Damage Repair

Treatment

Acute Treatment

Hepa-Vacuum

Date(s)

May 3, 2018

Treatment Notes

Initial photos; disassembly; dry vacuum cleaning of the backside (in frame), detail photos, examination, vacuum

Acute Treatment

General Cleaning

Date(s)

Oct 1, 2018

Treatment Notes

Brush vacuumed front and back. White areas of paper surface cleaned with white soft groom stick

Acute Treatment

Consolidation

Date(s)

Oct 2, 2018

Treatment Notes

Consolidated edges (torn and ripped) with 4% Methyl cellulose. Also applied diluted methyl cellulose solution to two rust stains. One small rust stain and area in gray lifting, torn paper on front of piece.

Acute Treatment

Varnish / Removal

Date(s)

Nov 7, 2018

Treatment Notes

Barrier layer of matte polymer varnish with UVLs applied to dark patches, to be followed by watercolor in-painting. Bottom left corner shows discoloration. Attempt to block out brown discoloration prior to watercolors being applied (Italian oil restauro). White paint applied.

Acute Treatment

General Repair

Date(s)

Nov 8, 2018

Treatment Notes

To rematch the texture of the paper from the heavy oil paint, a small cube of fine sandpaper held between tweezers to pare back. This exposed the slight bulge that the head of the nail has caused and areas where friable paper has also moved and caused an uneven texture. Due to this and the projected difficulty in matching the color and texture, it is decided to remove the two areas of discoloration and remove the problematic nails, replacing the paper. After an attempt to pry up the turnover edge, cut with scalpel about 1-2mm below the image face. Gentle prying off of both papers (top painted paper, thicker) and beneath it thin brown tissue with spatula. Once detached from wooden board, lifted off and placed in folder.

Acute Treatment

General Repair

Date(s)

Dec 7, 2018

Treatment Notes

Cut off corrosion area of the paper on the lower left corner. Patched the holes with three layers of Japanese paper and starch paste. Then patched the lower right corner with the same material. Created a piece of paper to the same size as the patch and prepared for retouching. Retouched the lower right corner.

Acute Treatment

Retouching

Date(s)

Dec 10, 2018

Treatment Notes

Retouched the background color of the patches to match the original yellow color with watercolors. Retouched the seal at the lower left corner.

Acute Treatment

Consolidation

Date(s)

Dec 10, 2018

Treatment Notes

Consolidated the retouched area with 3% methyl cellulose.

Acute Treatment

Lining Support

Date(s)

Dec 10, 2018

Treatment Notes

Removed the brown backing paper and cleaned the back side with eraser. Backed the painting with Japanese paper and starch paste. Flattened with heavy books.