Adapting a Japanese Facing Technique to the Treatment of an American Landscape Plan

Abstract

ABSTRACT Facings have a long history in the treatment of East Asian paintings on silk or paper to protect the surface of the painting during remounting. Materials and methods vary, but most facings involve the temporary attachment of some type of paper to the surface of the work with water or a weak, water-soluble adhesive. Contemporary Japanese practices have developed a multi-layered facing process using rayon paper and Japanese kozo paper, adhered together with funori, a natural seaweed adhesive, and wheat starch paste. The resulting composite is designed to provide a balance of protection, support, flexibility and removability as well as to extend and control treatment time. Adapting this facing process can facilitate the treatment of works on paper that are too damaged to handle safely or treatments where staff are limited. Past cases describe the removal of drawings, and historic wallpaper from secondary supports or mounts using facings. As there is limited information on Japanese facings available in published literature, this article describes the materials and methods of the original process in detail and applies its use to the treatment of a severely damaged nineteenth-century American landscape plan.