This document summarizes the conservation treatment and remounting of the 1860 Japanese painting "One Hundred Birds Admiring the Peacock" at the Nishio Conservation Studio in Washington, D.C. The painting had been damaged by a crude cardboard backing and the silk was brittle and dark. Conservators removed the backing layer by layer, cleaned the silk, lined the silk with Japanese paper, filled losses in the silk with replacement silk, and remounted it on a new support. The treatment addressed damage and prepared the painting to be enjoyed for generations to come.

1. CONSERVATION TREATMENT AND
REMOUNTING COMPLETED AT THE NISHIO
CONSERVATION STUDIO, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mekata Morimichi
Japanese, 1815–1880
One Hundred Birds Admiring the Peacock, 1860
Mineral pigments, ink and gold on silk
Gift of Eric and Martha Murray, ’87 and ’88
This painting on silk was given to the Ackland in
1997 by Eric and Martha Murray. Some time
before it came into their possession, the
painting had been crudely pasted onto a heavy
cardboard backing which was causing physical
and chemical damage to the painting. The
work’s silk had darkened and become brittle
with age, and the paint was beginning the
crumble off the surface.

2. Raking light reveals numerous air
bubbles between the silk and cardboard
backing. The silk was so brittle that
raised areas were easily breaking off.

3. The work’s paint is composed of ground mineral pigments and animal
glue (gelatin). The greens of the peacock’s tail are malachite and the
blues are azurite.

4. One of the first steps of conservation was to secure the many areas where the
paint was cracking or powdering off the silk. A dilute solution of isinglass— a very
pure and colorless gelatin made from the air bladders of certain fish—was
brushed into these areas.

5. Removing the cardboard backing was a laborious process, working from the
back with the painting face down. The first layers of cardboard were cut or torn
away layer by layer. Water was then applied to soften the paste between the silk
and the backings.

6. During this process, several conservators worked as a team with the painting face
down on a light box. Plastic sheeting prevented it from drying out.

7. The transmitted light from the light box helped the conservators distinguish the
cardboard backing and lining paper from the silk of the painting.

8. In a few areas of the translucent silk, there was evidence of painting on both the front
and the reverse, in which case the last thin layer of lining paper was left in place.
appearance when wet appearance when dry

9. Moist cotton swabs and soft brushes were used to remove streaky paste
and discoloration from the reverse of the delicate silk.

10. The left half of this detail has been cleaned.

11. With the linings removed and the silk dry, it is easy to see how thin the silk is.
The artist painted these birds on top of the branches.
front of painting reverse of painting

12. The next step is lining the silk with
thin, hand-made Japanese paper
which has been dyed to harmonize
with the color of the silk. Here,
several different colored swatches
are being considered.
Note the numerous losses in the old
silk.

13. Conservator Yoshi Nishio brushes dilute wheat starch paste onto a large sheet of
hand-made Japanese paper that will be used to line the silk.

14. With the painting face down and moist, the pasted-out lining paper is carefully
smoothed into place to avoid any bubbles, wrinkles, or distortions.

15. Because the painting is much larger than the sheets of hand-made paper, the
lining was applied in sections. After several layers of lining, the painting was
pasted along its edges onto a specially constructed drying board.

16. These photos show that the lining process has corrected the wrinkles and
bubbles, but the old losses in the silk are still visible. These losses will be filled
with tiny inserts cut from new silk.

17. Nishio Conservation Studio has a wide variety of traditionally woven silks, enabling
them to choose one that closely matches the weave and thickness of the original.
These silks have been artificially “aged” by ultraviolet light to make them as flexible
as the old silk. They are hand-dyed to harmonize with the original.

18. The shapes of the losses in the painting are traced with transmitted light,
through clear Mylar (polyester film) onto the replacement silk. This ensures
that the fills of new silk will fit exactly, without any overlap of the original.

19. The shapes are cut with a sharp blade and pasted into the losses from the front
of the painting. Because the specially prepared silk is very expensive, all scraps
are saved for future conservation projects.

20. These details show new silk fills in place, but not yet been inpainted to
match the surrounding area.

21. These details show filled areas after inpainting with watercolor to match the
surrounding area. Watercolor is never applied to the original silk or paint.

22. Here we see the same area before treatment, after lining the silk, and after the
fills have been toned with watercolor to harmonize with the surrounding silk.
before treatment
after lining
after toning

23. Losses and abrasions in the original paint were not inpainted or restored because such
modern additions could never be removed in the future without damaging the original
paint. They could also interfere with our understanding of the original brushwork.

24. This painting was originally designed to be a rigid panel, rather than a hanging
scroll. It was mounted to a specially constructed support made of a lattice work of
wood covered by many layers of Japanese paper.

25. The last stage of treatment was to design a frame appropriate to the period and
style of the painting. With proper care and handling, the conserved and remounted
painting may be enjoyed for many generations to come.

26. The Ackland Art Museum thanks the many sponsors of
the conservation of our Asian paintings:
The Sumitomo Foundation
The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation
Shirley Drechsel and Wayne Vaughn
Office of the Provost of The University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill
Docents of the Ackland Art Museum

27. If you would like to sponsor future conservation projects,
please contact Ackland conservator Lyn Koehnline at
koehnlin@email.unc.edu