Conservation Issues
Preservation of ukiyo-e prints is an involved process. The types of materials
used in these prints, such as the pigments and paper, have a profound effect
on the kind of care and attention needed to preserve these works of art. Environmental
elements, such as UV light and humidity, can severely damage the original compositional
beauty, thereby affecting the appearance and ultimately the value of the print.
The pigments used in ukiyo-e prints come
from various sources: some are synthetic, such as the Prussian
blue that was introduced from the west in the nineteenth
century. Others are natural: reds, pinks, yellows, purples, greens
and blues can come from organic material. Inorganic materials
such as lead, clam or sea
shells and iron oxides provided white as well as red. Mineral and metal
powders were also used in prints to give a sparkly quality.
Ukiyo-e prints were typically made
on paper from the inner bark of the mulberry tree. Two types
of paper
were used: kozo and hosho. Kozo was the standard paper
type. It was of average quality and was less absorbent, thus
making it less expensive but more widely utilized. Hosho was
the thicker of the two
paper types. It had
greater absorbency and was considered to be of a higher quality.
This was the paper of choice for surimono, the privately commissioned
prints that were not
for public consumption.
Preserving these fragile materials is a
challenge. The different types of pigments used are extremely
sensitive to light; most fading occurs
in the
following order:
first the yellows and greens, then the purples, red and blues.
In order to prevent these colors from fading, the prints
should be stored in an acid-free
environment,
such as “clam-shell style” storage cases, or in pH-neutral paper
folders and out of the light and damaging UV rays. Humid conditions cause prints
to bleed onto one another and therefore prints should be stored separately from
one another.
Another way to keep prints safe in storage
is by matting them. Matted prints can be kept for an extended
period of
time as long as the matting is
of pH-neutral,
or acid free, material. Matting keeps prints from
being handled while still allowing one to view the works. Plastics
are
not recommended for storage
because the static
charges that build up can lift loose pigments from
the paper surface. Museum-quality matting should be used with
a wheat
starch paste used as an
adhesive on the print:
this adhesive is weaker than the print paper and
is also easy to remove.
Preservation does not depend on the condition
of a print and whether its colors are faded or are still as brilliant
as the day they were made. All
ukiyo-e prints
should be considered worthy of special
care. Research
into the conservation of important and
fragile works of art is ongoing, but if one follows the advice
of researchers now many of these prints
will stay
beautiful and brilliant for
years to come.
Justin Peavy
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