AIC's 52nd Annual Meeting

This talk will focus on extensive testing undertaken to find a way to stabilize significant damage while maintaining the traditional hanging scroll format of a rare example of Japanese Buddhist embroidery in the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA). Shūbutsu, or Japanese Buddhist embroideries, are a very important form of religious expression popular in the Kamakura (1185-1333) and Muromachi (1392–1573) periods. Even within Japan, embroidered Buddhist icons are relatively rare (around 150) and there are very few examples in North America. Their rarity and their classification as a “craft” has resulted in very little research being published until recently and most of it written in Japanese.

The CMA has one example of shūbutsu, Embroidered Welcoming Descent of the Amida Triad (1966.513), from the Muromachi period (1400’s) that is in very fragile condition. Composed of two layers of silk, silk embroidery floss, and human hair, the piece is mounted in a traditional hanging scroll format. Due to the nature of silk, embroidery, and the action of rolling and unrolling the scroll the silk substrate and the embroidery have become fractured, leading to significant silk delamination and frayed silk embroidery floss with numerous losses. While these conditions necessitated treatment to stabilize the embroidery, it was important to the Curator that every attempt be made to maintain the hanging scroll format.

Because of the lack of published research and treatment experience outside of Japan it was decided to test possible treatment methods first. Six embroidery samples were created and artificially aged to mimic the characteristics of the Welcoming Descent of Amida Triad embroidery. Each sample was treated with a different method, varying from the traditional approach used in Japan similar to remounting a painting on silk to a conservative textile conservation approach using a crepeline overlay, with combinations of traditional and textile approaches in between. While none of these treatment tests were ultimately successful, they did reveal issues and flaws with certain methods while the semi-successful treatment methods offered some promise and guidance for further testing in the future. It is our hope that sharing these tests will promote discussion and solicit feedback on ways to move forward.