Observations on the conservation of Chinese export wallcoverings as both Western and East Asian works

Abstract

Abstract While Chinese export paintings resemble those used in the grand interiors of eighteenth-century China, they were produced for use in Western interiors that were assumed to be similarly grand locations. However, Chinese export paintings on silk and paper were mounted using different surface preparations that reflected the materials and trade practices as used on historic Western wallpapers. While the scale and aesthetics of these two categories of wallcoverings may appear similar, their media and support systems, and the nature of their material stability, are very different. With the widespread introduction of East Asian paper conservation techniques in Western conservation, Chinese export wallcoverings began to be treated using similar sensibilities, procedures and materials. This development will be considered along with the place of connoisseurship in encouraging a different conservation approach given the nature of their distinctive qualities.