The Walter Ames Compton, MD Gallery (Gallery 280) was transformed into a public conservation studio in the fall of 2018, to allow treatment of the Japanese Buddhist sculptures from the adjacent Temple Room (Gallery 279). The public studio was enclosed by glass walls featuring a Dutch door, through which visitors could engage with conservators as they worked. The MFA Associates, Senior Associates, and Weekend Guides were also frequently in the gallery to explain the conservation work as it unfolded and share findings from the project with the public.
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, September 2023
Conservation and Collections Management
Thursday, December 21, 2023
The conservation studio set up in the Walter Ames Compton, MD Gallery (Gallery 280) closed to the pubic in December 2022, dismantled to make way for a…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, April 2022
Conservation and Collections Management
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Treatment of two more sculptures, Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light and the elaborate Dainichi, the Buddha of Infinite Illumination with mandorla…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, August 2021
Conservation and Collections Management
Sunday, August 1, 2021
The conservation studio in the Walter Ames Compton, MD Gallery (Gallery 280) reopened to the public in early February, welcoming visitors once again…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, September 2020
Conservation and Collections Management
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Conservators have recently returned to the project after several months away as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the conservation studio…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, March 2020
Conservation and Collections Management
Monday, March 16, 2020
The gilded Dainichi, the Buddha of Infinite Illumination was the last of the sculptures to be deinstalled from the Temple Room, now closed in…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, December 2019
Conservation and Collections Management
Saturday, December 21, 2019
Treatment of the project’s second sculpture, Bishamonten, the Guardian of the North , is complete. The Guardian of the North is named Tamonten, one of…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, November 2019
Conservation and Collections Management
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Conservation of the first sculpture, Fudō Myōō, the Immovable One , is now complete, and the object has been installed in a display case next to the…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, Meet the Conservators
Conservation and Collections Management
Monday, April 15, 2019
Abigail Hykin Abby Hykin is Conservator in the Objects Conservation Laboratory and lead conservator for “Conservation in Action: Japanese Sculpture in…
Conservation in Action: Japanese Buddhist Sculptures, Introduction
Conservation and Collections Management
Saturday, December 15, 2018
The Temple Room, one of the most beloved spaces in the MFA, was designed in 1909 to evoke the contemplative atmosphere of a Buddhist temple. Until…