Day 2: Conservation and Research

June 30, 2021
8:00 am – 10:00 am (Washington D.C.)
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (Paris)
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm (Beijing)

Lei, Yong PhD.

Deputy Director, Conservation Department, Palace Museum
Head, Key Laboratory of Ministry and Tourism on Calligraphy and Painting Conservation
4#JingshanQianjie, Dong Cheng District, Beijing, P.R.China, Post code:100009
leiyong@dpm.org.cn

Tradition Meets Science: The Palace Museum is Stepping up Conservation Efforts on Chinese Calligraphy and Painting

Conservation has a long history at the Beijing Palace Museum. At the early stages of the Palace Museum’s history, a mounting and restoration workshop for Chinese calligraphy and painting was established. Many national treasures have been restored by skilled master craftsmen in the workshop. With the recent national restoration project on the grounds and the gardens of the Palace Museum, and with the global collaboration between experts at home and overseas, the museum has stepped up its contributions to developments in theory, science and technology, and conservation treatment. Conservation specialists have made great progress in their methodology for restoring architectural calligraphy and painting in areas such as tongjing hua (通景画), or “trompe l’oeil”; tie luo (贴落), or “affixed hanging”; and ge shanxin (隔扇芯), or “partition.” These techniques have contributed effectively to other similar restorations.

The workshop for calligraphy and painting conservation has moved into a new, well-equipped building over the last decade. This new facility can hold advanced-level training courses and host a number of important research platforms and projects. The IIC International Training Centre for Conservation (IIC-ITCC) in the Palace Museum serves as a bridge between the East and the West in the conservation field. Other developments and government policies that have benefited conservation work include the establishment of the Key Laboratory of Conservation for Paintings and Calligraphies under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2016), registration in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2008), and the successful implementation of the 13th Five-Year National Key Research and Development Program. These resources provide vital governmental and financial support for the long-term development of conservation work in the Palace Museum.

Analyses conducted by the Palace Museum, especially non-invasive scientific analyses, have made important progress. Building upon the Western techniques to analyze oil paintings, specialists have considered the characteristics of Chinese calligraphy and painting and, after years of great effort, have built up techniques such as transmitted light photography and hyperspectral imaging. An effective scientific analysis scheme is starting.

The future development of conservation efforts will further strengthen the use of both scientific and traditional treatments. More emphasis will also be placed on the training of professional technicians and the education of the public. These efforts will help sustain growth and development in the field of conservation.

Biography

Dr. Lei Yong is the deputy director of the Conservation Department at the Beijing Palace Museum and the head of the Key Laboratory of Conservation for Paintings and Calligraphy, overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Since his arrival at the Palace Museum in 2004, his research interests have spanned colored paintings, ceramics, lacquerware, and organic dyes. He is particularly interested in the identification of pigments, dye and polychrome stratigraphy, research of organic dye identification and fading, micro- and nano-scale analysis of ancient materials, and noninvasive analysis of calligraphy and painting. He holds degrees in both conservation science and archaeological sciences from the Northwest University (BA), Peking University (MS), and the Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (PhD). He is a fellow at the International Institute for Historic and Artistic Works (IIC). As the chief scientist for the 13th Five-Year National Key Research and Development Program, “Research on Value Interpretation and Key Technology of Organic Cultural Relics,” he is currently engaged in scientific analysis and the conservation study of Chinese organic cultural relics.

雷勇 博士

故宫博物院 文保科技部 副主任
文化和旅游部书画保护重点实验室主任
中国北京市东城区景山前街4号，邮编：100009
leiyong@dpm.org.cn

传统结合科学：故宫书画保护的发展

故宫的书法和绘画保护历史悠久，很早成立的书画装裱修复组拥有众多、技术精湛的修复大师，先后成功修复过一批重要的书画作品。随着故宫古建大修项目和乾隆花园保护国际合作项目的开展，经过故宫保护专家的努力，国际专家的系统参与，故宫的书画保护在理论、保护处理和科学技术结合方面取得了长足的发展。通过这些国际合作和项目，故宫古建筑原状书画保护摸索了一套完善和系统的保护方法，故宫的书画修复专家在通景画、贴落、隔扇芯的保护中积累的经验，成功地应用在故宫其他建筑原状的书画保护中。

故宫书画修复组所在的文保科技部近些年来的快速发展、相关科研项目和培训平台的建立为书画保护的大发展提供了良好基础和外部激励条件。国际文物保护修复协会（IIC）培训中心在故宫的建立提供了定期与世界级文物保护专家相互交流的机会，促进了故宫书画保护与世界同行沟通和共同发展。文化和旅游部书画保护重点实验室的建立、成功申报国家级非物质文化遗产、承担 “国家十三五重点研发计划”项目都为故宫书画保护的长期稳定发展和科学研究提供了重要的政策和资金支持。

故宫的书画保护科学分析，特备是非侵入式科学分析得到重点发展。在借鉴西方油画分析技术的基础上，故宫的科学分析专家针对中国书画的特点，重点发展透光摄影、高光谱大尺寸面扫描技术等专业分析方法，初步建立了一套有效的书画系统分析方法论。

未来中国书画保护的发展既要加强科学与传统保护技术的深入结合，同时要强调专业培训与公众教育为书画保护的长久发展创造更加良好的生态环境。

作者简介

雷勇，男，西北大学文博学院史学学士，北京大学考古文博学院史学硕士，中国科学院高能物理所理学博士学位。在故宫博物院长期从事文物的保护与科学研究。现任故宫博物院文保科技部副主任，研究馆员。2004年到故宫博物院供职后，主要从事彩绘、陶瓷、漆器、有机染料的科学分析与保护研究工作。特别是在颜料和层次鉴别、有机染料鉴别和褪色研究、古代材料的微、纳米尺度分析、书画的非侵入分析等领域开展科学研究。作为十三五重点研发计划，“有机质文物价值认知和关键技术研究”项目首席科学家，目前主要致力于国内有机质文物的科学分析与价值认知研究。

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Jennifer Giaccai

Conservation Scientist
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Smithsonian Institution
giaccaij@si.edu

Identifying Different Types of Soot-Based Inks Using Raman Spectroscopy

Traditional ink can be made from either pine soot or lampblack. In more recent times, industrial carbon black has also been used, making it even more challenging to discriminate among different types of ink.
Although produced in very different circumstances, the soots are chemically very similar and have proven difficult to differentiate on works of art. Samples from ten modern soot and ink workshops in both Japan and China have been collected and analyzed using a variety of scientific techniques. Much remains to be studied, but our results have shown that Raman spectroscopy is a potential method of determining if the ink is made from lampblack without requiring a sample to be taken from a work of art.

Biography

Jennifer Giaccai is a conservation scientist in the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. She has degrees in chemistry and materials science from Macalester College (BA) and The Johns Hopkins University (MSE). She has previously worked at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute and at the Walters Art Museum. Her areas of interest are inks and pigments used in Asian paintings, the use of natural resins in cultural heritage, and non-invasive methods of investigating museum objects.

Jennifer Giaccai

保存科学修復部の保存科学者
フリーア・サックラー・ギャラリー
スミソニアン
giaccaij@si.edu

ラマン分光法を用いた墨における複数の煤の識別

伝統的な手法で作られる墨は、松から採れる煤、もしくは菜種油から採れる煤のいずれかから作成されます。 最近では工業用カーボンブラックも墨の製造に使用されており、さまざまな種類の墨ができたことで、その識別はさらに困難になっています。このように製造状況が全く異なっていても、化学的に見ると煤自体は非常に類似しています。芸術作品にどの墨が使われたかを区別することの難しさは、既に先行研究でも言及がされています。

本研究では、日本と中国の伝統手法を用いた墨工房から最新のサンプルを10種類採取し、さまざまな科学的手法を使用して分析を行いました。まだ多くの研究が必要ですが、分析の結果、ラマン分光法によって油煙から作られている墨が同定されました。これにより、ラマン分光法は芸術作品からサンプルを採取することなく分析が出来る、すなわち非破壊による一研究手法としても有効であることが示されました。

経歴

スミソニアン米国立アジア美術館フリーア・サックラー・ギャラリー保存科学修復部の保存科学者。マカレスター大学にて化学と材料科学を学び学位を取得、ジョンズ・ホプキンズ大学にて材料工学で修士号を修める。その後、スミソニアン研究機構の保存修復研究所、ウォルターズ美術館（ボルチモア）で勤務した後、2014年から現職。研究分野は東洋絵画で使用されている墨・顔料や天然樹脂、また美術品の非破壊調査方法など。