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…
Read articleHistory of the Mazarin Chest
The Mazarin Chest was manufactured in Kyoto in the late 1630s or early 1640s. It is assumed that, like other exampl…
Read articleThe Mazarin Chest project
The Mazarin Chest Project was a major collaborative undertaking involving conservators, curators and scientists fro…
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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 showi…
Read articleJapanese lacquer
Lacquer (urushi) has been used to produce both utilitarian objects and works of art in Japan for millennia. Japanes…
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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…
Read articleTreatment of the 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 …
Read articleMazarin 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 …
Read articleMazarin Chest conservation: Treating crack on lid interior
Three videos showing the lid being secured prior to treatment, preparation of mugi-urushi consolidant, and checking…
Read articleMazarin 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…
Read articleMazarin 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 showin…
Read articleMazarin 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 w…
Read articleMazarin Chest - further investigation & academic partners
The collaborative cross-cultural approach on which the Mazarin Chest Project is based required that both Japanese a…
Read articleMazarin Chest - funding partners & project team
The successful realisation of the Mazarin Chest Conservation Project is critically dependent on external funding an…
Read articleMazarin Chest - bibliographies & project related publications
A list of journals and publications covering the Mazarin Project, including project-specific publications,art histo…
Read articleA report on the International Symposium on the Conservation of Ceramics & Glass, Amsterdam. 2-4 September 1991
A report on the International Symposium on the Conservation of Ceramics and Glass, Amsterdam, 2 - 4 September 1991
The Conservation and Mounting of a Jinbaori
This article discusses the conservation of a rare and unusual Japanese object. The Jinbaori evolved in the late 16th century as a surcoat worn over a full suit of Samurai armour.
Recording the changes: V&A conservation departmental archive
The Conservation Department has come a long way since 1960 when Norman Brommelle transformed a disparate group of craftsman, cum restorers, cum technicians into the Museum's first official conservation department.
Digital Weightlifing and the Conservation of Large, Heavy Objects
Few conservators would list weightlifting as an important area for professional development. Unfortunately, on the archaeological sites of Ancient Greece the demands on the conservator may indeed stretch to this Olympic pursuit. Architectural fragments can weigh hundreds of kilos and be of very complex shape.
Conservation course study trip, Rome 1993
Conservation Course Study Trip to Rome, 1993
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