Conference: Crossing Borders - The Conservation, Science and Material Culture of East Asian Lacquer

Held at the Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre, Victoria and Albert Museum, 30 - 31 October 2009

This two-day conference built on the achievements of the Mazarin Chest Project. It brought together a group of twenty speakers from the fields of lacquer conservation, conservation science and material culture from Australia, North America, Japan, Europe and the UK.

Art historical papers explored aspects of lacquer history including the trade in lacquer in Asia and Europe. Scientific papers included lacquer analysis, the use of solvents for cleaning lacquer, stress measurement in lacquer films, and new evidence of the use of South East Asian materials in seventeenth century Japanese export lacquer.

Conservation papers discussed risk factors for lacquer collections, cleaning techniques, and the photo-degradation of lacquer and potential conservation treatments.

The keynote talk was given by Dr Christine Guth.

The conference was made possible through the generosity of The Getty Foundation.

Conference programme

Archived list of speakers and subjects:

Christine Guth
Losing Touch with Lacquer

Yoshihiko Yamashita and Shayne Rivers
Photo-degradation of Urushi: Implications for Conservation

Brenda Keneghan, Shayne Rivers and Yoshihiko Yamashita
Photo-degradation of Urushi: Preliminary Examination of Conservation Options

Shayne Rivers and Yoshihiko Yamashita
Conservation of Photo-degraded Urushi on the Mazarin Chest

Catherine Coueignoux
The Effects of Consolidation on the Appearance of Powdery Pigmented Japanese Lacquer Surfaces

Lucia Burgio
Examination of Cross-Sections of Japanese Export Lacquer

Ricky Wildman and Adel Elmahdy
Stress Measurement in Japanese Lacquer Thin Films using Phase Shifting Interferometry

Julia Hutt
How many 'Mazarin Chests' were there?

Kaori Hidaka
Maritime Trade in Asia and the Circulation of Lacquerware

Cynthia Vialle
Dutch Company Servants' Private Trade in Japanese Lacquer during the Seventeenth Century

Jeff Moore
The French Connection: A Conservation Treatment Plan for Eighteenth Century Chinese Lacquer Panels Adapted for an American Beaux Arts-style House

Suzi Shaw
A Cornucopia of Carving Techniques: An Analysis and Treatment of a Qing Dynasty Lacquered Screen

Marianne Webb
Auto-fluorescence of Urushi

Emma Schmuecker
The Cleaning of Red Lacquer on Japanese Armours

Jamie Hood
Cross Section Analysis of Lacquer from Japanese Armour: An Aid to Establishing the History of an Object

Tom Welton and Carolyn McSharry
Solvent Cleaning of Photo-degraded East Asian Lacquer

Arlen Heginbotham and Michael Schilling
New Evidence for the Use of South-East Asian Materials in Seventeenth Century Japanese Export Lacquer

Meiko Nagashima
Mid-Edo Period Lacquer Production seen through Historical European Collections

Monika Bincsik
Circulation of Japanese Lacquer Objects in Eighteenth Century Europe

Maickel van Bellegem
Problems associated with Corroded Lead Inlays on Japanese Lacquer Objects