Morgan Burgess and Sarah Lavin
Abstract
Two monumental Buddhist murals were installed in the Penn Museum Rotunda Gallery shortly after their acquisition where they remained untouched for the better part of a century. The murals were deinstalled in 2016 over concerns for their stability due to nearby construction. Upon deinstallation, it was noted that the panels of one mural were supported by three different methods: poured plaster, hand troweled plaster, and paper board.
The current treatment campaign was spearheaded by a pilot study that examined the panels supported with “paper board”; their specific condition issues and completed an overall assessment of their stability with the ultimate goal of developing a treatment protocol that would allow safe reinstallation and long-term display. This project has involved a deep dive into the Penn Museum Archives, research into the early 20th century dealer, experimental archaeology and materials testing, non-invasive non-destructive analysis, the careful treatment of large, delicate painted surfaces and friable substrates, and has afforded us the opportunity to host international colleagues.
Like any treatment, we began with research and testing. Our research spread over several conservation specialties: sources in archaeological conservation, painting conservation focusing on reduction of coatings and overpaint, and architectural conservation with focuses in earthen architecture and painted surfaces. We looked at the available published information on the few known similar murals in museum collections and found that while the provenance and size are comparable, the history of treatment varies enough that most information was not useful for our search into treatment options.
We needed to test which conservation materials and methods would work best to stabilize and clean the murals. We created our own layered mud plaster “mural panel” and selected a variety of adhesives; we performed solubility tests on the surface coating, restorative overpaints, and fill; and as we’ve progressed with treatment, we’ve been able to include non-invasive non-destructive analysis into the scope of our project. As we move forward with treatment, we look forward to the continued possibilities of expanding on research and testing and future collaborations.