Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Robin Lubbock/WBUR.
Detail of “The Immortal Magu with Wine Vessels” ink on silk scroll.

My mother had some silk scrolls from her 1930s travels in China. When my husband and I were downsizing, we were unable to interest John or Suzanne — or an auction house — in taking them. Fortunately, Niece Kate was up for it. I was so glad we could keep them in the family.

Today’s story is about the unique skills it takes to restore old scrolls — in this case, one that was donated to Wellesley College by a former student.

Artemisia Luk at WBUR’s “The Artery” reports, “In 2022, Yuhua Ding discovered a damaged Chinese scroll sitting in storage at Wellesley College’s Davis Museum. Underneath its many stains and cracks, she recognized a familiar figure: the Magu deity from the 16th-century Ming Dynasty.

“Ding is an assistant curator of collections and academic affairs at the Davis. Her research focuses on ancient Chinese art and antiques. Seeing ‘The Immortal Magu’ in poor condition, she was determined to preserve the piece.

“The artwork was donated to Wellesley by Lois Levin in 1983.  She had graduated from the college in 1942 and wanted to make the work available to students. …

“To repair the hanging scroll, Ding sought the help of conservator Jing Gao and Studio TKM Associates, a conservation studio in Somerville [Massachusetts] that restores artistic and historic works on paper. Gao trained at the Palace Museum in Beijing, and he is a world-renowned conservator of Asian paintings.

“ ‘Scrolls look so simple. You think to yourself, “Oh, it just rolls up,’ you know?” ‘ said Deborah LaCamera, partner and senior conservator at Studio TKM Associates. ‘But the structure of a scroll is so intricate and so precise that you really can’t make a functioning scroll if you’re not an expert.’ …

“In 1988, Gao became the first and only conservator for Chinese paintings in the United States upon joining the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art. He became a conservator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1995. …

” ‘He cannot really retire,’ joked Ding. ‘There are only several Chinese conservators in the United States, and they’re all in high demand. Especially in painting. People will wait for the right hands to touch it.’

“Gao lent his spare Fridays for the year-long process of restoring “The Immortal Magu.” First, Gao dismantled the original scroll, removing the old backing paper and replacing it with several layers of new backing and a custom-made silk mount. …

“When examining the ink painting of Magu, LaCamera and Gao used raking light and microscopic photography to identify creases, cracks, and stains. Upon close examination, they found several inconsistencies in the silk density and weaving patterns, clear signs that the painting had been restored twice before.

” ‘Art conservation is essential to understanding the process of art making and to reveal hidden stories of art,’ explained Ding.

“Juxtaposed against a large black frame, the cream-colored silk scroll stands out in the small exhibition room. … A woman with long fingernails sways with her feather cape. She is enveloped by the branches of a tree and three wine jars that rest by her feet. …

” ‘The number of Magu paintings in the Ming Dynasty are very rare,’ explained Ding.

“For the final stage of ‘The Immortal Magu’ restoration process, Ding and curatorial intern Berit Raines visited the Somerville studio to watch Gao in action. Gao used a traditional pressing stone to flatten the fibers of the backing paper, a process that took nearly eight hours. …

” ‘This project really, firmly established that this is the field that I want to go into,’ said Raines, a junior at Wellesley College. …

“On April 8, Ding will moderate a conversation with Gao, LaCamera, and Raines at Wellesley College. They’ll share insights and reflections from the year-long conservation project on ‘The Immortal Magu.’ “

More at the Artery, here.