Emily Wakeling, Author at QAGOMA Blog

Conserving Japanese Scrolls

Posted by Emily Wakeling ● 3 Aug 2019

Emily Wakeling continues her conversation with Kim Barrett, Conservator, Works on Paper with a focus on displaying and caring for Japanese Scrolls. The exhibition ‘A fleeting bloom’ at the Queensland Art Gallery includes a number of hanging scrolls, and we prepared these delicate works for display.

Japanese scrolls are long works on paper that are rolled up when stored or carried. There are essentially two types of scroll: emakimono (hand scroll) and kakemono (hanging scroll). While emakimono are made to be viewed horizontally and slowly opened and closed to reveal a sequence of pictures, the kakemono are displayed fully open, hanging vertically on a wall. The James Fairfax AC Bequest includes hanging scrolls from the Edo period (16th–18th century), which Fairfax primarily collected during trips to Kyoto and Tokyo in the early 1990s. Some are strictly ink on paper, but others incorporate pigments or have been painted on silk.

Emily Wakeling and Kim Barrett (left) unrolling one of the scrolls in the QAGOMA Collection Study Room / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA

Hanging scroll: Peacocks and other birds

Preparing the scrolls for display

As I mentioned in my previous blog post on folding screens, one of the conservator’s first tasks when preparing works for display is to undertake a condition assessment. Japanese scrolls such as these have a long tradition of being remounted — backing paper and silk brocade borders are often replaced when they wear out.

‘Part of the assessment we undertake on scrolls is determining if the mount is original or if it has been sympathetically remounted at some point in the past,’ Barrett says. ‘We examine the entire scroll for signs of wear and tear and to determine if it is stable for display. Opening and closing a rolled painting, which is essentially what a scroll is, adds to its wear and tear. Incorrect tensioning when rolling and unrolling a scroll can cause and exacerbate creasing and eventually lead to cracking.’

Scrolls generally have three paper layers, adhered with wheat starch. Over time this adhesive becomes stiff and brittle, and this is often when you see creases or cracks appearing, exacerbated by rolling and unrolling. Careful handling and good storage practices can alleviate these problems.

When I asked if it would be better for the scrolls to be stored flat, Barrett explained that this method would cause problems too, posing additional risks to the work. She also identified some slight tearing where the paper joins the top rod.

‘This is one of the weakest areas of the scroll,’ says Barrett while indicating the damage. ‘This type of problem can be avoided by good handling practices. I will treat this scroll by stabilising the join.’ To do this, she’ll make a small non-intrusive reinforcement to the back of the scroll using the traditional materials of kōzo paper and wheat starch paste.

This join will need stabilising before display / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA

‘Sometimes similar repairs are made on the back of the scroll to areas of creasing. If this is done at an appropriate time, this type of repair can slow down the development of the crease and extend the life of the mount. Properly cared for, a scroll mount may last a century or more. But if damage to the mount becomes too severe, the painting itself may be at risk and a new mount may be needed. To decide, always consult a qualified conservator who is an expert in scroll mounts.’

Creasing can be the result of poor handling and is exacerbated by aging adhesives and stress on the paper from rolling / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA

Caring for the scrolls

To avoid stress on the paper, Barrett recommends rolling and tying the scrolls in the traditional way, leaving no slack in the rolled scroll. She also mentions the use of futomaki, a cylindrical insert that expands the size of the rod for storage. This minimises the stress in rolling and unrolling and can help support the scroll. Futomaki are traditionally used for scrolls on heavier paper or with thicker pigments, and when used appropriately they can help extend the life of a mount.

‘When we were discussing folding screens, we talked about the important process of consolidation to save the paint layer from flaking off. This hasn’t been an issue with the scrolls in the Collection, as the paint layer is generally much thinner owing to the scroll’s ability to be rolled up.’

I ask if the type of paper differs between the scrolls and screens.

‘The paper itself would be similar to that found in folding screens, with slightly thicker sheets used for the backing layers. The final backing layer, made of kōzo fibre, is quite thick and contains china clay.’

Installing the scrolls for exhibition

‘When hanging a scroll, first ensure that it is in a stable condition,’ Barrett says. ‘The hanging cord, the metal eyelets attached to the hanging stave and the knobs on the bottom rod should all be secure. If the scroll has been unrolled for examination, it must be rolled up again before hanging. The height and width of the wall you intend to hang on will need to be larger than the scroll itself.’

Keep a steady pressure with both hands on the rod when unrolling a scroll / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA

Barrett has laid the scrolls out flat in the QAGOMA Collection Study Room, and she continues to talk through the installation process while pointing to the hanging system.

‘Have a suitable secure hook fixed to the wall to hang from. Undo the tying cord and slide it out of the way, generally to the right. It will hang behind the scroll on the wall. If there are hanging strips, as there generally are with Japanese scrolls, unroll on a flat surface to expose these and unfold, unrolling just enough for them to lie as they should when the scroll is hung. The scroll can then be hung by cradling the rolled scroll in one hand and the centre of the hanging cord in the other. Once the hanging cord is securely hooked onto the wall cradle, hold the rolled scroll with both hands and then carefully and slowly unroll the scroll down the wall. Steady the lower rod before releasing the scroll, and then straighten it by adjusting the cord. ’ Barrett explains that it can help to have another person hold the top rod, as some scrolls will have a natural tendency to roll back up again. QAGOMA conservators sometimes use small leather book weights (weights containing lead shot inside a soft leather case) to gently hold down the scroll at the ends when examining them.

In museum standards, the scrolls are classified as ‘sensitive’, and this categorisation determines the recommended maximum length of time that the works should be displayed.

‘Sensitive works are recommended for shorter display periods of up to six months, and then rested in storage for a minimum of two years before considered suitable for display again. This helps to reduce the light exposure to the works and will minimise fading. This will help make sure the Gallery can give the works a long life as well as sharing them with audiences many years into the future.’

Emily Wakeling is former Assistant Curator, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA

Hanging scroll: Young man playing a flute on an ox accompanied by three figures

Hanging scroll: Peacocks and other birds

Featured image: Unrolling Hanging scroll: Young man playing a flute on an ox accompanied by three figures 17-18th century for examination.

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Japanese painted screens

Posted by Emily Wakeling ● 24 Jul 2019

The Gallery welcomes into the Collection a major group of historical Japanese works, thanks to a bequest from the estate of James Fairfax AC – the display at the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) showcases a selection of these screens, scrolls and ceramics, which highlight an aesthetic of impermanent beauty, transitory moments and the natural world, representing key artists, schools and genres in Japan from the fourteenth to nineteenth centuries.

'A Fleeting Bloom' featuring Six-fold screen with nobleman's cart under a flowering cherry tree c.1650 — ‘A Fleeting Bloom’ featuring *Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart under a flowering cherry tree* c.1650

James Fairfax at his home in Woollahra with Six-fold screen with nobleman's cart under a flowering cherry tree from his bequest — James Fairfax at his home in Woollahra with *Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart under a flowering cherry tree* from his bequest / Image courtesy: Robert Pearce/Fairfax Syndication

‘A Fleeting Bloom’ includes ceramics, paintings, photography and sculpture that highlight an aesthetic of impermanent beauty, transitory moments and the natural world. Alongside works from the Gallery’s existing collection of Japanese art are several painted screens and hanging scrolls from the estate of James Fairfax AC, bequeathed to the Gallery in 2018. After a lifetime of collecting and philanthropy, Fairfax (1934–2017) was renowned for his distinguished art collection. His nephew Edward Simpson, director of the James Fairfax Foundation, gave some insight into his uncle’s love of Japanese art:

His first overseas trip in 1947, aged 14, was to Japan and it had a major impact on him, his cultural awareness, his developing taste, and collecting eye. Following a tumultuous few years, he returned to Japan in 1988, and again in 1990 . . . retreating to a 16th century Samurai house near Kyoto.¹

The historical Japanese works in this generous bequest were primarily acquired during Fairfax’s travels to Kyoto and Tokyo in the 1990s and 2000s. Among them are several byōbu (folding screens), a painting format that was at the peak of its production during the Edo period (1603–1868). Found only in the most wealthy homes and institutions, folding screens served a number of practical functions within the typically vast, open-plan audience halls characteristic of Japanese architecture of the period. The wide, uninterrupted picture planes of the screens allowed artists to create ambitious landscapes known as shiki-e (two or more changing seasons in the same painting), in which animals, plants and other natural elements symbolise the transient seasons and their associated meanings in literature, poetry and other arts. Fairfax’s gift of a pair of Kanō School folding screens capture seasonal elements from all four seasons: the migrating birds of autumn; the evergreen pine of winter; the plum blossoms of early spring; and the rushing waters of summer. As well as being pleasing to the eye, the lightweight and portable nature of the screens meant that they were readily interchangeable according to the season or occasion.

Related: A Fleeting Bloom

Kanō School, Japan / Pair of six-fold screens with birds and rabbits 17th century — Kanō School, Japan / *Pair of six-fold screens with birds and rabbits* 17th century / Gold leaf, ink and colour on paper on wooden framed screens /168.5 x 358cm / Gift of James Fairfax AC through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2018 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Pair of six-fold screens with birds and rabbits is from the renowned Kanō school which belong to the tradition of “yamato-e” painting, a genre concerned with Japanese subject matter including “shiki-e”, paintings of the seasons in Japan. Specific plants, animals and other natural elements signified certain seasons in Edo period visual culture.

Rushing water, seen with the river and waterfall in the background, are best associated with summer. On one screen, chrysanthemums are in bloom below red maple leaves; both being signifiers of autumn. On the second screen, the evergreen pine is of a winter and New Year landscape, as are the nearby bamboo leaves and flowering plum. The plum is often one of the first blossoms to open in the year, so they are also important for heralding in spring.

The screens also depict rabbits and a range of birdlife surrounding the body of water, including pheasants, sparrows, quails and doves, along with migratory waterbirds such as ducks, egrets and geese either leaving in autumn or returning in the spring.

Suzuki Kiitsu, Japan 1796-1858 / Small two-fold table screen with autumnal plants 1844-58 — Suzuki Kiitsu, Japan 1796-1858 / *Small two-fold table screen with autumnal plants* 1844-58 / Ink and colour on silk on wooden framed screen / 60 x 99 x 1.5cm / Gift of James Fairfax AC through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2018 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Kakemono (hanging scrolls) provide a more intimate expression of figurative painting, calligraphy and poetry, most often delivered in ink. They were typically hung in a tokonoma (alcove) of a private residence, tea house or temple, where images could be presented for worship or contemplation. The scrolls displayed in ‘A Fleeting Bloom’ depict a range of subjects, from symbolic animals and landscapes to illustrations of Zen Buddhist parables and expressive calligraphy. They often communicate a momentary sense of beauty and the impermanent nature of life — quite fitting for a form of painting that could be easily removed, rolled up and replaced to suit each context.

In addition to the recent acquisitions, the display also features earlier gifts from James Fairfax, including a pair of six-fold screens detailing the celebrated poets Li Bai and Lin Bu within mighty ink landscapes by Unkoku Toeki (1591–1644), and a narrow-necked jar from Tokoname, one of the famed Six Old Kilns of Japan. Donated by Fairfax in 1992, this clay stoneware is shown alongside ceramics from each of the other kilns — Seto, Bizen, Echizen, Shigaraki and Tamba — representing the most celebrated kiln sites of the Muromachi (1336–1573) and Azuchi-Momoyama (1568– 1600) periods.

'Six Old Kilns' of the medieval period (1186-1333) — ‘Six Old Kilns’ of the medieval period (1186-1333)

Japan has had an extensive ceramic history extending back to the Jomon period (from 10000BC) yet within the vast time span and varied production it is the ‘Six Old Kilns’ of the medieval period (1186-1333) which have a special place in the Japanese mind. The six designated kilns were situated at Tokoname (near Nagoya), Seto (now a suburb of Nagoya), Tamba (present Hyogo prefecture), Bizen (around modern Imbe in Okayama prefecture), Shigaraki (on the shores of Lake Biwa) and Echizen (on the Japan Sea coast).

Later excavations have shown there were hundreds more, all over Japan, from the north of the mainland to the southernmost area of Kyushu, producing unglazed on ashglazed bowls and dishes for everyday use. Some of the ‘Six Old Kilns’ are believed to have been producing pottery in ancient times, but all were operating in the 12th and 13th centuries and developing their products in ways that anticipated modern ceramic techniques.

Inspired by Zen Buddhist philosophy, imperfections in these ceramics — such as the Tokoname jar’s elemental glaze — were later admired by patrons as being comparable to the beauty and uncontrollable elements of nature. The jar’s rugged appearance is enhanced by fly ash, a visual effect created when fragments from the kiln’s roof land on the surface of the object during firing. This fused to the pot as it touched the high‑temperature silica components from the clay to produce the accidental glaze seen now.

These jars from the six kilns are complemented by other Japanese ceramics from the Gallery’s Collection, such as Edo-period works by Buddhist nun Otagaki Rengetsu, whose restrained vessels are inscribed with poetry that reflects on sadness, loss and life’s short-lived pleasures, often through the symbolism of nature and its changing seasons.

Finally, a collection of photography from the beginning of the Meiji era (1868–1912) captures a moment in Japanese history as new influences and technologies were beginning to interact with traditional life, and the nation was on the verge of social transformation that would signal the end of the ‘floating world’ culture of centuries past.

Emily Wakeling is former Assistant Curator, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA

Endnote
¹ Edward Simpson, ‘James Fairfax’, Deutscher and Hackett, 30 August 2017, <https://www.deutscherandhackett.com/fairfax-introductionessays>, viewed August 2018.

‘A Fleeting Bloom: Japanese Art from the Collection’ is on display in the Henry and Amanda Bartlett Galleries, Gallery 6, Queensland Art Gallery until 29 September 2019.

Feature image detail: Suzuki Kiitsu Small two-fold table screen with autumnal plants

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Conserving Japanese folding screens

Posted by Emily Wakeling ● 28 Oct 2018

‘A fleeting bloom: Japanese Art from the Collection’ is the debut exhibition for a number of historical folding screens that entered the Collection as part of the James Fairfax AC Bequest. The Curatorial team for Asian art worked closely with Conservation staff on this project and Emily Wakeling recently met behind-the-scenes with Kim Barrett, Conservator, Works on Paper to discuss some of the work she’s completed in caring for the new acquisitions; and to gain expert knowledge about caring for Japanese folding screens.

Kim Barrett and Emily Wakeling opening one of the screens in QAGOMA Collection Study Room / Photograph: Chloë Callistemon © QAGOMA

Preparing for Display

Japanese screens are made from a light cedarwood or other softwood structure covered in several layers of paper with a painted surface, often with a lacquer frame. The panels are connected by discreet paper hinges. When a work like this seventeenth-century Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart under a flowering cherry tree comes into the Collection, one of the conservator’s first tasks is to undertake a condition assessment.

Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart under a flowering cherry tree

‘The first step is to unpack, inspect and assess the condition of the work,’ says Barrett. ‘We need to determine what, if any, work is required to ensure the work is stable and safe for display.’

Given this screen’s considerable age and the delicate nature of the painted surface, some wear and tear can be expected. The screen has been subject to some previous restorations, but Barrett singled out signs of flaking in the black pigment as something to act on before the work went on display.

‘The areas of black media need the most attention. On Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart, there are large areas of solid black semi-gloss paint. The black is shinier in appearance that the other colours, likely due to a higher proportion of binder, nikawa (animal glue) and an additional layer of nikawa used as a glaze. As the paint ages, the glue tends to shrink and become more brittle, causing cracking and the paint to lift up from the surface.’

Flaking paint presents an additional challenge for handling the screens. Weeks of consolidation —the process of adhering the paint back to the surface — were required to make the screen fit for handling and display.

RELATED: A Fleeting Bloom

Kim Barrett consolidating the surface of the Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart under a flowering cherry tree c.1650 — Kim Barrett consolidating the surface of the *Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart under a flowering cherry tree* c.1650 / Photographs: Natasha Harth and Chloë Callistemon © QAGOMA

Handling and Display

A high level of care and expertise is required when handling such rare and valuable screens. To avoid potential dents, punctures and surface damage — which leads to costly and time-consuming repairs — screens should only be handled by their frame and, where necessary, the very edges of the panel where the screen frame lies below the outer layers.

Screens should only be handled by their frame / Photograph: Chloë Callistemon © QAGOMA

Stand the screen up while it’s still folded, and then one step at a time, from the outside in, move the panels out in an accordion-like shape / Photograph: Chloë Callistemon © QAGOMA

‘Always with gloves of course, and make sure your hands clamp the solid frame only,’ Barrett says. ‘A tall screen like the Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart will need two or more people. Dents and punctures can happen when you put pressure on the hollow parts only covered by paper. Gloves will help avoid abrasion of the surface on the parts you are handling. Stand it up while it’s still folded, and then one step at a time, from the outside in, move the panels out in an accordion-like shape.’

Installing A pair of six-fold screens with pine trees c.1650 — Installing *A pair of six-fold screens with pine trees* c.1650 / Photograph: Chloë Callistemon © QAGOMA

Made for the open-plan halls of Edo period (1603–1868) architecture, folding screens were a practical way to stop draughts and section off parts of a room for privacy, as well as a way to display art. They also needed to be easy to move and replace, so they were designed to be self-standing, displayed semi-folded. I asked Barrett if this would also be the safest way to display them, from a conservation point of view.

‘Yes,’ she confirms. ‘Sometimes non-Japanese collectors like to display them flat and mounted on a wall, like a Western-style painting, but this can put pressure on the paper hinges. Also, there’s the question of how to mount it, and this often leads to intrusive screws or fixings that will inevitably damage the work, usually the timber frame.’

Japanese paper

‘The best way to care for these screens is to understand the nature of the materials they are made from: timber, lacquer, paper and paint. Screens are complex in their make-up, and understanding the nature of these materials and their use in screen construction helps us determine the best way to handle, store and display these works. One very important aspect to understand, and of great interest to a paper conservator, is the unique qualities of Japanese paper’

Papermaking was first brought to Japan from China, via Korea, around the year 610. Naturally, ‘there are many similarities, but Japanese papermaking developed its own traditions.’

Of the Japanese papers, kōzo (made from the paper mulberry tree fibres), mitsumata and gampi are the most common. All require a painstakingly long cleaning process during production. Kōzo is both the strongest and the most lightweight, owing to its long and high-quality fibres. It had an important role in architecture, used for walls and windows, and is likely to have been used in these screens.

‘More research can determine the exact type of paper we are dealing with. From literary sources, I know it will vary in quality throughout the different layers of the screen,’ Barrett explained. ‘Having these screens in the Collection, along with our others, will allow for even more opportunities for study and care.’

Emily Wakeling is former Assistant Curator, Asian and Pacific Art, QAGOMA

'A Fleeting Bloom' featuring Pair of six-fold screens with pine trees c.1650 — ‘A Fleeting Bloom’ featuring *Pair of six-fold screens with pine trees* c.1650 / Gold leaf with moriage detail and colour on paper on wooden framed screens / 165 x 374cm (each screen); 165 x 62cm (each panel) / Gift of James Fairfax AC through the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation 2018 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery.

‘A fleeting bloom: Japanese Art from the Collection’ / Henry and Amanda Bartlett Galleries (5 and 6), Queensland Art Gallery / 8 September 2018 – 29 September 2019.

Featured image: Kim Barrett consolidating the surface of the Six-fold screen with nobleman’s cart under a flowering cherry tree c.1650 / Photograph: Natasha Harth © QAGOMA

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