|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restoration of the Vajravarahi icon
from the Khara-Khoto collection of paintings (12th-14th centuries) In 2005 the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Oriental Painting completed the restoration of the Vajravarahi icon from the Khara-Khoto collection of paintings (12th-14th centuries). In the Hermitage there are more than 300 paintings from Khara-Khoto. The curator is the senior researcher of the Oriental Department, Kira Samosiuk. They were discovered by the outstanding archeologist Piotr Kozlov during excavations made by an expedition organized by the Imperial Russian Geographic Society in the years 1907-9. The Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Oriental Painting has been working on this collection since 1998. During this time art restorers Yelena Shishkova, Marina Gambalevskaya and Karina Kashina restored 17 icons and 47 fragments of paintings. In 2005 restoration work was completed on the Vajravarahi (Diamond Pig) icon. This divinity enjoyed great fame and was especially revered in Tibet and in the Tangut state of Hsi-Hsia, as we see from the great number of icons on this subject found in Khara-Khoto. The Vajravarahi icon represents a combination of Chinese and Tibetan icon-painting traditions. It was painted in the Tibetan manner but on finely primed silk - a material that was more widely used as a basis for painting in China. The paint layer, which makes use of size paints, is rather thin but it covers well the preliminary drawing executed in thin black line. Unfortunately, the icon is missing the upper and lower parts of the silk frame and the veil of smooth silk that traditionally was used to cover a picture. The icon was kept under ground for 600 years and therefore it was in a sad state: the foundation was largely destroyed; the paint layer was covered with cracks and in places had peeled off. Large areas of both foundation and painting were lost and the entire surface of the icon was covered with deposits of clay and soil as well as spots of various sources, including traces of aromatic oils which traditionally were sprinkled on icons during religious services. Very likely after its arrival from the expedition the icon was glued onto tulle and then onto cardboard so that the damaged parts would not fall apart into separate fragments. But with time the glue on the tulle hardened, the cardboard oxidized and it posed a danger to the icon. The historical and artistic value of the icon and its poor state of preservation demanded a multifaceted approach when choosing the restoration measures to be applied. Restoration work on the Vajravarahi icon was performed by the staff members of the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Oriental Painting including the laboratory director, art restorer of the highest category Yelena Shishkova, and art restorer of the second category Karina Kashina. The restorers chose to apply Japanese methods of restoration which are based on a tradition going back many centuries and involving the use of high-quality organic materials. After partly removing surface dirt from the painting, the paint layer was strengthened using the method of local processing of damaged areas of the painting. Then came general strengthening on the vacuum table with preliminary processing in a humidifying chamber to ensure even penetration of the solvents through the structure of the paint layer and foundation. The next stage was relining the icon with Japanese paper after passing it through an intermediate operation of strengthening the tears and breaks in the silk. It should be mentioned that this operation also made it possible to provide supplemental strengthening to the paint layer from the side of the foundation. The stages of relining were accompanied by a procedure to even out the object on a kari-bari planchette with slow drying over the course of three months. In the final stage of restoring the icon, the filled in parts of the foundation were tinted to match the surrounding background (without interfering with the original painting) so as to emphasize the integrity of the picture. The restoration measures carried out were aimed at preserving all the qualities of this cultural and historical monument with its 600-year-long history. Now the icon occupies a worthy place in the exhibition of paintings from Khara-Khoto. All stages of the restoration process were photographed by a staff member of the photographic laboratory, Konstantin Sinyavsky. Analysis of the paint layer and binding agent was carried out by an employee in the Department of Scientific Examination, DSc Kamilla Kalinina. |
|
|||||
|
Copyright © 2006 State
Hermitage Museum |
