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Goberge, shimbari, go-bars: the use of flexible sticks for clamping
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present a versatile clamping system to apply controlled pressure during the consolidation of objects or when adhering parts into position. Known as shimbari in Japan, this technique uses flexible fiberglass or bamboo sticks braced against a frame to provide clamping pressure. This paper describes readily available equipment that can be used and discusses how the principles can be adapted to solve a wide range of clamping problems. Additionally, the paper presents case studies to illustrate the use of the shimbari technique along with several variations. This method works well for objects that do not allow for conventional clamping and can be applied to a range of lacquered, japanned, painted, veneered, or inlaid surfaces.
... Areas of delaminating lacquer surface were consolidated with 5-10% w/v Paraloid ® B-72 in xylene, with pressure applied to the surface using the shimbari method ( Fig. 6) (Bainbridge et al., 2015). Xylene was selected as the solvent used for consolidation as it is an efficient solvent for Paraloid ® B-72 and is less likely to swell or blanch the lacquer surface (McSharry et al., 2011). ...
This paper examines the conservation treatment of a lacquered Buddha sculpture undertaken by a Buddhist conservator as part of a postgraduate heritage conservation training programme in London. This creative process selects from a mixture of ideas and practices as a specific response to the people, time, and place of the conservation treatment. Rather than seen as a polarized choice between versions of ‘Eastern’ and ‘Western’ approaches, the conservation practice is interpreted though a Buddhist understanding of the sculpture in relation to the secular requirements of the current owner. The treatment addressed issues of the physical stability of the object, the reversibility of applied treatments, and the accommodation of Buddhist concepts of ‘completeness’, ‘toplessness’, and ‘no killing’. The result was a Buddha sculpture made into a ‘plausible’ conservation object that represents the compromises necessary at the time and place of the conservation intervention. © 2016, © The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works 2016.
A longcase clock attributed to Jean-Pierre Latz from the
collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art was treated at the J.
Paul Getty Museum in 2012. The clock is dated to 1744 and is
decorated with Boulle-style marquetry and elaborate gilt-bronze
mounts. As part of the treatment, the tarnished brass marquetry
was to be cleaned and brought into visual balance with the mounts’
gilded surfaces. The application of a peelable protein poultice
proved effective in removing copper corrosion products from the
brass elements without compromising the marquetry and its
engravings. Accompanying research has pointed out the
vulnerability of aged turtle shell to the heat and alkalinity related
to the application of the protein poultice. As a result of this,
precautionary measures could be identified.
The Mazarin chest is one of the finest pieces of Japanese export lacquer (urushi) to have survived from the first half of the seventeenth century. Much of the value of this piece lies in the decoration, which is finely executed using a wide range of techniques. To date, the conservation of Japanese lacquer has been characterized by distinctly different approaches in Japan and the West. In an effort to reconcile these differences, a unique collaborative Anglo-Japanese approach has been adopted for the conservation
of this object. In 2005, 12 Japanese and western consolidants for metal foil were compared, ranging from synthetic resins to collagens and urushi-based adhesives. In the absence of urushi-gatame treatment of the
photo-degraded surface, Paraloid B-48N was selected for consolidation of metal foil (hyomon, kanagai and kirikane) decoration on the Mazarin chest.
. Conservation of furniture
- S Rivers
- N Umney
Rivers, S., and N. Umney. . Conservation of furniture.
Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. .
. Conservation of the photodegraded surface of the Mazarin Chest
- Y Yamashita
- S Rivers
Yamashita, Y., and S. Rivers. . Conservation of the
photodegraded surface of the Mazarin Chest. In East
Asian lacquer: Material culture, science and conservation,
ed. S. Rivers, R. Faulkner, and B. Pretzel. London:
Archetype. -.