Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
Commemorating the Freer Gallery of Art’s centennial, this volume of papers presented at the seventh Forbes Symposium offers a multidisciplinary examination of a rich expanse of art from across Asia. It presents technical studies of objects—from Chinese bronzes and Japanese lacquerware to Korean ceramics and silk paintings—analyzed through advanced scientific methods. Using a combination of traditional and cutting-edge methods, the studies reveal the secrets hidden within ancient materials. The essays highlight collaborative research between conservators, scientists, and art historians, revealing insights into material composition, degradation processes, and cross-cultural influences. They demonstrate how interdisciplinary approaches can enrich curatorial narratives and inform preservation strategies, while showcasing the evolving role of technical art history and conservation science in deepening our understanding of artistic practice and historical context.
Foreword
List of Contributors
Introduction
New Appraisals of Angkorian Copper-Based Metallurgy (Ninth to Fourteenth Century): Mines, Foundries, and Cast Products
Brice Vincent and David Bourgarit
Using Neutrons as a Probe for Technical Study of Solid- and Hollow-Cast Asian Bronzes
Sara Creange, Francesco Cantini, Francesco Grazzi, Yueer Li, Lambert Van Eijck and Nikolay Kardjilov
Metallurgy in the Arc: Technological Choice and Resource Management Strategy during the Late Shang Period (ca. 1250–1046 BCE)
Ruiliang Liu
Decoration Techniques in Shang and Zhou Bronze Casting: Evidence from the Analysis of Ceramic Casting Molds
Matthew L. Chastain, Jianli Chen, and Xingshan Lei
The Characterization of Heavily Corroded Bronze
Peter Northover and Donna Strahan
Born to Kill? Metalwork Wear Analysis of Bronze Weapons in Late Shang China
Qin Cao
Production Insights into Jade, Bronze, and Turquoise Shang Ceremonial Weapons
Ariel O’Connor, Donna Strahan, Katherine Eremin, Blythe McCarthy, Georgina Rayner, and Angela Chang
Technical Investigation of Bronze Strip Inlay on an Eastern Zhou Bronze Vessel in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Marlene Yandrisevits, Federico Carò, Zhixin Jason Sun, Omid Oubdashi, and Adriana Rizzo
A Technical Study of the Historical Text of Repairing Ancient Chinese Bronzes
Ke-Shiuan Tracy Han, Sara Creange, and Ching Ling Wang
Exploration into the Composition, Nanostructure, and Color Formation of Numbered Jun Glazes
Lucy Cooper, Katherine Eremin, Susan Costello, Emeline Pouyet, Marc Walton, Andrew Shortland, Laure Dussubieux, Stephan Kraemer, and Jules Gardener
Discovering White Porcelain: Cultural Integration and Technological Transformation
Shan Huang and Ian C. Freestone
A Technical Study of a Head Attributed to Hadda, Afghanistan
Angela Chang, Katherine Eremin, H. Greg Lin, Georgina Rayner, Sarah Laursen, and Patrick Degryse
Ultrasonic Velocity Measurements on Buddhist Clay-Based Sculptures
Birgit Angelika Schmidt, Wanja Wedekind, and Lilla Russell-Smith
Using Noninvasive On-Site Analysis to Decipher, Understand, and Compare the Enameling Techniques of Imperial Enameled Artifacts of the Qing Dynasty
Philippe Colomban
Many Colors, One Composition: Exploring Production Techniques through Replicating Qing Dynasty Realgar Glass
N. Astrid R. Van Giffen, Robert A. Schaut, Lianne Uesato, and Gregory A. Merkel
Comparative Analysis of the Stratigraphy of V&A Asian Lacquer Objects
Valentina Risdonne, Lucia Burgio, Herant Khanjian, and Michael Schilling
The Lacquered Skin of Guqin: Technical Studies of the Surface Coatings of a Traditional Chinese Musical Instrument
Aidi Bao and Catherine Matsen
Parthian Silver Rhyta in the Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum: New Insights on Composition and Construction
Jessica Arista, Susanne Gänsicke, Monica Ganio, Erik Risser, and Marie Svoboda
Chemical Composition and Granulation Techniques Used in Silla Gold Artifacts
Shin Yongbi
Comparison of Coating Behaviors on Japanese Metalwork
Matthew L. Clarke, Blythe McCarthy, Shirley Z. Johnson, Lorrie A. Krebs, and Donna Strahan
A Technical Study of Tobatsu Bishamonten, the Guardian of the North, with His Retinue, a Late Twelfth- to Early Thirteenth-Century Japanese Painting in the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Jacki Elgar, Anne Nishimura Morse, Richard Newman, and Tatsuya Yamauchi
Combining Chinese and Western Pictorial Techniques: Seeing Leng Mei’s Paintings through Noninvasive Analysis
Lei Yong, Li Guanghua, Gu An, Gao Xiang, Chen Lu, Lu Ying, Han Tong, Chen Yao, and Duan Peiquan
On the Materials and Construction of an Iranian Twelfth-Century Copy of the Qur’an
Nina Owczarek and Julie Ream
Mapping Color in History: A Case Study of Pigments on Painted Palm-Leaf Manuscripts from South Asia
Erin Mysak, Jinah Kim, Richard Newman, Katherine Eremin, Michiko Adachi, and Penley Knipe
The Viceroys Gallery of Goa: Technical Study of an Indo-Portuguese Portrait Collection
Teresa Reis, Sara Valadas, Ana Machado, Luís Piorro, Ana Cardoso, Fernando Pereira, Peter Vandenabeele, David Teves Reis, Ian de Noronha, Kishore Raghubans, and António Candeias
Pigments Used in Rajasthani and Deccani Pichwai in the Collection of the National Museum of Asian Art
Jennifer Giaccai and E. Keats Webb
Japanese Sugito: Investigation of Painted Decorations Reveals Unusual Copper-Based Green Pigments
Beth A. Price, Richard Newman, Tim G. Fawcett, Katharine Shulman, Georgia A. Arbuckle-Keil, Federica Pozzi, Federico Carò, Daniel P. Kirby, Kate Duffy, Peggy A. Olley, Sally Malenka, and Felice Fischer
Copper Green Pigments and Silk Deterioration in a Korean Buddhist Temple Banner
Christina Bisulca, T. Joseph Leach, Zhongrui Li, and Aaron Steele
The Characterization of Pig Blood–Based Binding Media in Traditional Polychrome Wooden Objects in Taiwan: A Case Study from the Longshan Temple in Lukang
Yu Lee, Chun-Chieh Chen, Saskia Wu, Ching-Tai Wu, and Hsiao-Hsuan Chao
Material Characterization of Two Chinese Painted Wall Fragments at the Yale University Art Gallery
Marcie B. Wiggins, Anne Gunnison, Gabrielle Niu, and Anikó Bezur