Treatment of the Mazarin Chest took place within the Conservation Department at the V&A. Whilst restoration seeks to return things to a previous, more perfect state, conservation seeks to minimise deterioration and pass the object on to the future with as little permanent change as possible. The first step in the conservation of the Mazarin Chest was to understand as much as possible about how it was made. マザラン・チェストの保存修復はV&Aの保存修復部を現場として行われました。修復作業とは、対象資料を、元の、より完全な状態に戻すことを目的とするのに対して、保存作業とは、劣化を最小限に押さえ、恒久的な変化をなるべくもたらさずに、対象資料を将来に托すことを趣旨とします。マザラン・チェストの保存作業は、まず、その制作技法をできるだけ理解することから始まりました。
About the Mazarin Chest
The Mazarin Chest, renowned as one of the finest pieces of Japanese export lacquer to have survived from the second quarter of the seventeenth century, is a star item in th…
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History of the Mazarin Chest
The Mazarin Chest was manufactured in Kyoto in the late 1630s or early 1640s. It is assumed that, like other examples of export lacquer, it was either shipped directly to E…
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The Mazarin Chest project
The Mazarin Chest Project was a major collaborative undertaking involving conservators, curators and scientists from the UK, Japan, Germany and Poland. マザラン・チェスト・プロジェクトは、英国…
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The construction of the Mazarin Chest
How was the Mazarin Chest constructed? A description of how the different sections fit together plus an X-ray showing how the joints were reinforced with nails, not wooden …
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Japanese lacquer
Lacquer (urushi) has been used to produce both utilitarian objects and works of art in Japan for millennia. Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the Rhus vernicifera (T…
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Treatment of the Mazarin Chest
Preliminary work began in 2004 to examine the Mazarin Chest, to assess its condition, and to document where and why it was damaged. The key issues identified were damage as…
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Treatment of Mazarin Chest - Conservation programme
Preliminary work began in 2004 to examine the chest, to assess its condition, and to document where and why it was damaged. Five key conservation issues were identified. 20…
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Mazarin Chest conservation: Surface consolidation using urushi-gatame
Five videos showing the preparation and application of urushi-gatame, how to clean a brush with vegetable oil, and the removal of excess urushi-gatame from the surface and …
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Mazarin Chest conservation: Treating crack on lid interior
Three videos showing the lid being secured prior to treatment, preparation of mugi-urushi consolidant, and checking the repair after application of consolidant.
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Mazarin Chest conservation: Reconstructing surround to metal corner plate
10 videos showing successive steps during the reconstruction of the surround of one of the four metal corner plates on the lid, from the application of fillers to colour te…
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Mazarin Chest conservation: Reconstructing damaged areas of lower moulding
Eight videos showing the reconstruction of the chest's lower moulding using soft and hard kokuso filler, and showing the final joint sequence.
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Mazarin Chest conservation: Re-attaching the lock plate & consolidating damaged edges
A video showing conservators replacing the lock plate with its large ornate screws and testing that the steel key will still fit the keyhole.
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Mazarin Chest - further investigation & academic partners
The collaborative cross-cultural approach on which the Mazarin Chest Project is based required that both Japanese and Western conservation techniques were considered.
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Mazarin Chest - funding partners & project team
The successful realisation of the Mazarin Chest Conservation Project is critically dependent on external funding and a network of formal and informal partnerships with univ…
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Mazarin Chest - bibliographies & project related publications
A list of journals and publications covering the Mazarin Project, including project-specific publications,art historical, scientific and conservation subjects.
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You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
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Buy nowEvent - What lies beneath: Peering up the skirts of 18th and 19th Century dress
Mon 08 April 2013 13:00

FREE TALK: Enjoy a brief talk on the conservation and mounting of an 18th-century Mantua and 19th-century underwear.
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