Japanese painting
Work on Paper
A Japanese work on paper attached to a wooden board and stretcher
Oct 1, 2018
Elle Vallier
dirty edges and two circular areas of discoloration present at bottom two corners, likely due to rusty nails in the wooden stretcher the paper is adhered to. These marks are also present along top edge on turn over.
Damage Repair
Hepa-Vacuum
May 3, 2018
Initial photos; disassembly; dry vacuum cleaning of the backside (in frame), detail photos, examination, vacuum
General Cleaning
Oct 1, 2018
Brush vacuumed front and back. White areas of paper surface cleaned with white soft groom stick
Consolidation
Oct 2, 2018
Consolidated edges (torn and ripped) with 4% Methyl cellulose. Also applied diluted methyl cellulose solution to two rust stains. One small rust stain and area in gray lifting, torn paper on front of piece.
Varnish / Removal
Nov 7, 2018
Barrier layer of matte polymer varnish with UVLs applied to dark patches, to be followed by watercolor in-painting. Bottom left corner shows discoloration. Attempt to block out brown discoloration prior to watercolors being applied (Italian oil restauro). White paint applied.
General Repair
Nov 8, 2018
To rematch the texture of the paper from the heavy oil paint, a small cube of fine sandpaper held between tweezers to pare back. This exposed the slight bulge that the head of the nail has caused and areas where friable paper has also moved and caused an uneven texture. Due to this and the projected difficulty in matching the color and texture, it is decided to remove the two areas of discoloration and remove the problematic nails, replacing the paper. After an attempt to pry up the turnover edge, cut with scalpel about 1-2mm below the image face. Gentle prying off of both papers (top painted paper, thicker) and beneath it thin brown tissue with spatula. Once detached from wooden board, lifted off and placed in folder.
General Repair
Dec 7, 2018
Cut off corrosion area of the paper on the lower left corner. Patched the holes with three layers of Japanese paper and starch paste. Then patched the lower right corner with the same material. Created a piece of paper to the same size as the patch and prepared for retouching. Retouched the lower right corner.
Retouching
Dec 10, 2018
Retouched the background color of the patches to match the original yellow color with watercolors. Retouched the seal at the lower left corner.
Consolidation
Dec 10, 2018
Consolidated the retouched area with 3% methyl cellulose.
Lining Support
Dec 10, 2018
Removed the brown backing paper and cleaned the back side with eraser. Backed the painting with Japanese paper and starch paste. Flattened with heavy books.