Conservation in Action: Demons and Demon Quellers

Conservation in Action: Demons and Demon Quellers, November 2017

Conservation and Collections Management
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

With the silk borders and backing papers prepared, conservators are now ready to return the flattened painting to its original format as a hanging scroll, a type of mounting that provides the necessary support to display and store traditional Chinese paintings, which are usually painted on thin silk or paper. Because it is also the proper format from an aesthetic and cultural perspective, Chinese paintings are still normally mounted in this traditional mounting style. For Marshal Xin, this process will involve the joining of silk borders with the painting, addition of the overall backing, burnishing of the backing, and installation of the top stave and bottom dowel.

The painting is released from the work surface and squared by first loosely folding it over in half to mark two parallel lines and then trimming excess from the previously added silk margins.

Conservator squares the painting by folding it in half.
Conservator squares the painting by folding it in half.
The mounting silks are taken down from the drying wall.
The mounting silks are taken down from the drying wall.

The blue mounting silk is cut into long strips that will become the top and bottom borders.

Conservator cuts the mounting silk into two long strips.
Conservator cuts the mounting silk into two long strips.

As illustrated in the rough diagram below, four pieces of off-white silk will surround the painting and two pieces of blue silk will be used for the top and bottom borders. The dimensions and proportions of the silk borders are the same as those used in the previous mounting.

Diagram of the silk borders; the numbers indicate the order of joining.
Diagram of the silk borders; the numbers indicate the order of joining.

Hard paste is applied to the silk margins, covering about three-quarters of an inch along the outer edges.

Conservator applies hard paste to the silk margins.
Conservator applies hard paste to the silk margins.

Below, the off-white silk border is joined to the silk margin, and to ensure good contact, conservators smooth down the narrow areas of overlap by pressing with fingers and pounding with hammers.

Conservators smooth down the overlap of the silk margins with their fingers and hammers.
Conservators smooth down the overlap of the silk margins with their fingers and hammers.
The painting with all of its surrounding borders in place
The painting with all of its surrounding borders in place

Next, the previously prepared backing paper (seven sections of a three-layer laminate) is applied as an overall support, covering the back of both the painting and its surrounding silks. The process of attaching the final backing has to be completed in one day. For this important and labor-intensive task, conservators work in tandem in two teams. One team, pictured below, applies a watery paste to a section of the backing paper, carefully checking that there are no foreign objects or debris sticking to the pasted side of the paper. A second team works to lay down the backing, smoothing it down with palm brushes.

The first team of conservators applies a paste to the backing paper.
The first team of conservators applies a paste to the backing paper.
The second team of conservators lays down the backing with the help of brushes.
The second team of conservators lays down the backing with the help of brushes.

The mounted painting is then left to air dry. Using the same technique used to flatten the painting earlier, it will then be stretch-dried and released a few times. When the scroll is stretched on the drying surface, it will expand and shrink, depending on the humidity level in the air. Flattening and releasing a few times will allow the scroll to achieve a balance, eventually settling into a stable state. Meanwhile, conservators continue to fill small losses and start to inpaint the fills.