Cheng, Wah KwanChan, Chi LeongChi LeongChan2024-03-252024-03-25202020202020https://library-opac.usj.edu.mo/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=176438&query_desc=an%3A77257https://dspace.usj.edu.mo/handle/123456789/4169Pith painting, or so-called “rice paper painting,” was known as a kind of inexpensive Chinese export painting that was popular in the 19th century until the first half of the 20th century. These paintings were produced in Canton and exported to mainly Europe. The themes typically depicted the social and daily life scenarios in China during the Qing dynasty, which attracted the attention of foreign merchants and travellers. Pith paper, as the support of pith painting, is made of the inner part of the stem of the plant Tetrapanax Papyrifer. The manufacture of pith painting can be divided into three steps: the production of pith paper, drawing, and mounting. The pigments used for pith paintings are water-based pigments, mainly Chinese painting pigments, supplemented by watercolors and gouache pigments. Due to the unique physical feature and characteristic of pith paper, the common diseases of pith paintings are dust, scratches, fractures, deformations, losses, etc. While Chinese and foreign scholars have concentrated on the study of the historical background, artistic value and technique of pith paintings, its conservation and preservation have been under-examined, whereas the demand for conserving and restoring pith paintings has been rising in recent years. As a result, there is an urgent need for research of the conservation and restoration of pith painting, especially in the cultural institutions of the Greater Bay Area. In this dissertation, five pith paintings from a private collection are studied and used for practical treatments. This research demonstrates that pith painting is very sensitive to water and will deform once the relative humidity changes; the flattening of pith painting must be done with much care and patience. This research also discusses how electrostatic is one of the most suitable cleaning methods, and that new pith paper plus methylcellulose are most suitable for consolidating and filling losses on pith paintings.enUniversity of Saint JosephThesis and Dissertations Master of History & Heritage Studies (MHHS)pith painting conservation and restoration rice paper export tradeMaster Thesis