By Yeaseul Jung

My MA project at the City & Guilds of London Art School focused on the conservation of a Japanese Buddhist painting from the Wellcome Collection, likely depicting Marishiten, a Buddhist deity of protection, invincibility and invisibility. I expected the challenges to be mostly technical: there were extensive tears in the paper, deformations in the silk, and degraded linings. However, the aspects that stayed with me most were the ethical questions: almost every treatment stage required negotiating between East Asian and Western conservation cultures, institutional priorities, and my own perspective within both approaches. 

The short accompanying video documents the treatment process in full, from initial condition assessment to the final stages of conservation.

Fig. 1 – Recto and verso of the framed scroll. Photography by Laurie Auchterlonie; courtesy of Wellcome Collection.

Traditional practice and contemporary conservation

The conservation of East Asian paintings is rooted in time-honoured methods, with remounting playing a central role. In Japan, many scrolls are remounted approximately every 100 years, because paper and silk inevitably deteriorate. Mounting provides both structural support and aesthetic framing, and replacing worn-out elements has traditionally been part of responsible care (Koyano, 1979; Kusunoki, 2021; Uyeda, 2023; Sugiyama, 2014).

As a Korean conservator, I am aware of similar traditions across East Asia, where renewal coexists with preservation. Although my formal conservation training has been in a Western context, this perspective felt familiar: elements such as silk borders are not necessarily thought of as integral to the artwork and can be replaced to support the painting’s long-term stability. On the other hand, contemporary museum conservation emphasises minimal intervention and the retention of original material (Kusunoki, 2021; Nishio, 2001). Standing between these two approaches, I found myself asking: at what point does renewal become erasure of the artefact’s accumulated history? And at what point does retention become neglect – especially in a cultural context where material renewal has long been part of care?

Scroll or frame?

The painting had originally been a hanging scroll, evidenced by repetitive insect damage typical of rolled storage, but it was framed when the Wellcome Collection acquired it. Should it be returned to the scroll format, or should the frame be preserved as a part of its history?

At first, returning it to scroll form felt intuitively right, aligning with its cultural origins and traditional mode of display. But as I discussed this with colleagues at the Wellcome Collection and other institutions, the frame began to feel less like an intrusion and more like evidence. Its presence reflected a chapter in the painting’s biography, representing Western collecting practices and the ways the object had been valued and displayed. Removing that layer would have meant prioritising one chapter of the object’s history over another. The paper had no horizontal creases – a common type of damage in scrolls, caused by repeated rolling and unrolling – suggesting that the object was framed relatively early in its lifetime and had not been used as a scroll for long. In the end, we chose to respect the later chapter of its history. Although the frame proved too fragile to reuse, it was preserved and stored alongside the painting. That decision felt less dramatic than returning it to scroll form, but it felt right for this object in many ways. 

Fig. 2 – Details of the framed scroll. Photography by Laurie Auchterlonie; courtesy of Wellcome Collection.

The silk borders

The fragile silk borders presented a similar tension. In traditional East Asian practice, replacing deteriorated mounting textiles is part of responsible care. Yet this object now exists in a Western museum context, where its primary use is research rather than display. Also, the Wellcome conservation studio is not set up for East Asian scroll mounting, and sourcing high-quality specialist Japanese silk was beyond the scope of this project.

As discussions progressed, the question shifted from what would usually be done to what was necessary in this specific instance. Although the silk was fragile, it remained visually coherent and intact. Close inspection revealed that the borders were pieced together from small leftover silk scraps, reflecting the pragmatic approach of reusing small offcuts to create mountings efficiently and economically. 

In the end, all original components were retained except for the lining layers that posed a structural risk, which were documented, removed and stored in Melinex folders for future study. Leaving the historic mounting in place meant accepting visible fragility and prioritising material history in relation to the painting’s role as a research object rather than a display piece.

Exposing the turn-ins

When the painting was framed, the textile turn-ins were wrapped around the backing board at an approximately 90° angle and hidden from view. When it was taken out, and reusing the frame was deemed impossible, flattening the work became the most appropriate solution. Protected from the light, the turn-ins retained a depth of colour that the exposed silk had lost, suggesting what the whole textile may have originally looked like. Flattening also facilitated the relining process and improved long-term storage, allowing the entire object to be examined at a glance without further alteration.

Flexibility in treatment

The treatment required adjustments at several stages. The initial proposal involved removing all the original lining layers. However, the first lining was made from newspapers, including one dated 26 October 1897 (Meiji 30) and another originating from Nakanoshima, Osaka. (This evidence suggests that the painting underwent conservation or remounting in Osaka in the late nineteenth century, likely using relatively inexpensive mounting methods typical of the period.)  This low-quality paper was too fragile to detach without risking further damage. We therefore decided to wash the object with this lining in place, reducing acidity while retaining the delicate layer.

I initially attempted to reline the object using yasha-dyed Usumino, but the lightweight lining paper tore during pasting before it was applied, likely due to fibres weakening from repeated brushing. I then selected a slightly heavier toned Kawasaki paper, and successfully lined the object and applied it onto a karibari board. 

Following relining, concerns arose that the multiple pieces of paper and textile might behave differently once detached from the karibari board. To ensure long-term stability, the object was mounted onto a rigid, acid-free honeycomb paper board. The board was cut about 5 mm larger than the object to create a protective margin and lined with shoji paper. The artwork was then removed from the karibari board, and the trimmed edges of the lining were pasted onto the honeycomb board. It was left to dry flat for 24 hours. This lightweight but stable support functions like a mini karibari board, maintaining gentle tension and protecting the painting during handling and storage. 

The Western conservation studio setup was not ideal for East Asian techniques. Some adaptations were needed, such as lowering the bench and positioning the karibari board on the floor. Conservation rarely proceeds exactly as planned. Flexibility, responsiveness and creative problem-solving are essential.

What I learnt

Throughout the project, I found myself navigating between different conservation approaches, balancing respect for material history with practical constraints. My familiarity with both East Asian traditions and Western conservation practices made me careful in my decisions, aware of the need to balance these approaches thoughtfully.

The project strengthened my technical skills, but more importantly, it made me more confident in my judgement. Conservation decisions are rarely about right and wrong; they are about appropriateness, context and responsibility. Preserving fragile silk borders, retaining a damaged frame for historical reference and storing the removed linings as research material required careful reasoning. None of the treatment steps transformed the object dramatically, but together they reflect an approach that respects the painting as a layered historical document. Learning to make decisions within this complex interplay of priorities – negotiating between renewal and retention, tradition and context – has been one of the most meaningful outcomes of my MA journey, and I will carry this perspective forward in my practice.

Fig. 7 – Before treatment (left) and after (right). Photography by Laurie Auchterlonie; courtesy of Wellcome Collection.

Fig. 8 – Before treatment (top) and after (bottom). Photography by Laurie Auchterlonie; courtesy of Wellcome Collection.

Bibliography

Koyano, M. (1979) Japanese Scroll Paintings: A handbook of mounting techniques. Washington D.C.: Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation.

Kusunoki, K. et al. (2021) Kitagawa Utamaro’s “Standing Courtesan Reading a Letter”: The Collaborative conservation of a master scroll painting and its silk mount. Journal of the Institute of Conservation. 44(1). pp. 47–65. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/19455224.2020.1863241.

Uyeda, T. (2023) Reuse and recycling: Implications in Japanese painting conservation. Ars Orientalis. 52(10). pp. 222–243. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3998/ars.3994.

Sugiyama, K. (2014) Conservation of Japanese paintings on paper and silk: Tradition and innovation. Authenticity and Replication: The ‘Real Thing’ in Art and Conservation, pp. 13–25. London: Archetype Publications. 

Nishio, Y. (2001) Maintenance of Asian paintings II: Minor treatment of scroll paintings. The Book and Paper Group Annual. 20. pp. 15–26.

Yeaseul Jung is a London-based book and paper conservator, currently working at the National Portrait Gallery and Wellcome Collection. She holds an MA in book and paper conservation from the City & Guilds of London Art School, where her research focused on the conservation of a Japanese Buddhist painting and comparative studies of East Asian papers. She also holds a BA in book and paper conservation from the same institution, completing an undergraduate project on the conservation of a Pre-Raphaelite stained glass cartoon.