Along the great Silk Road, numerous objects of cultural heritage survive as witnesses to the mingling of indigenous cultures with 'foreign' cultures. One type of surviving witness is mural painting and the papers in this volume are witnesses themselves of a colloquium on the subject of 'Mural Paintings of the Silk Road' attended by art historians, historians and archaeologists, scientists and conservators from East and West, held in Tokyo in 2006.
A newfound recognition of the vastness of the Silk Road, along with a genuine rediscovery of the ancient cultural exchanges that took place there is reflected in this collection of papers which examines the range of information (art styles, techniques and materials) encapsulated within mural paintings, allowing the reader a glimpse of the dynamism inherent in the cultural exchanges between East and West.
Today, parts of the Silk Road, rich in the magnificence of the ancient arts they possess, are often located in countries facing major challenges. Countless important archaeological sites are in danger of demolition or severe damage by human encroachment or turmoil. This symposium also addressed such issues - more from an Asian point of view, reaching beyond European perspectives.
This volume is published in association with the Japan Center for International Cooperation in Conservation, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo and contains the proceedings of the 29th Annual International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo, January 2006.
Preface
Shigeo Aoki
Foreword
Norio Suzuki
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Yoko Taniguchi
Colloquium and symposium programmes
Speakers and moderators
Map
Art, history and cultural exchange of the mural paintings
Mural painting in Transcaucasia
David Park
The 7th century AD 'Ambadassors' painting' at Samarkand
Frantz Grenet
Mural paintings along the Silk Road
Kosaku Maeda
Indian influence on mural paintings along the Silk Road
Akira Miyaji
Buddhist mural paintings in China
Ken Okada
Ancient painted tumuli in China
Donohashi Akio
Chinese and Central Asian connections in the Koguryo mural paintings
Kim Lena
Radiocarbon dating and art-historical studies in Central Asian mural paintings
Shumpei Iwai
Japanese mural painting
Akiyoshi Watanabe
Discussion 1. Aspects of cultural contact: diffusion, acculturation and creation
Moderators: Katsumi Tanabe and Frantz Grenet
Influence on painting techniques and materials
Impact of the introduction of Buddhism on pigments used in Japan
Nobuaki Kuchitsu
Intercultural links and trade of painting materials in the Greco-Roman period
Ioanna Kakoulli
The scientific study of binding media and pigments of mural paintings from Central Asia
Alexander Kossolapov and Kamilla Kalinina
Displaced cultural properties: non-invasive study on mural painting fragments from Bamiyan
Motomitsu Momii and Hiromitsu Seki
Painting techniques and materials of cave mural paintings in India and their conservation problems
R.K. Sharma
A comprehensive survey of the tecniques of ancient wall paintings in western China
Ma Tao, Qi Yang, Zhou Weiqiang and Yang Qiuying
Summary of painting materials and techniques of the Mogao Grottoes
Wang Xudong and Fu Peng
Discussion 2. Painting materials and techniques of the mural paintings along the Silk Road
Moderators: Kosaku Maeda and Ioanna Kakoulli
Key issues on the conservation of the mural paintings along the Silk Road
Conservation of mural paintings of the Takamatsuzuka Tumulus and its current situation
Sadatoshi Miura
The history and current situation of conservation of mural paintings in Japan Sadatoshi Miura
Conservation treatment for the wall paintings of Central Asia possessed by the National Museum of Korea
Kim Yeon-Mi and Kang Hyung-tae
Issues of conservation for the Bamiyan Buddhist mural paintings
Yoko Taniguchi
Conservation and restoration of monumental painting from archaeological excavations
Adelia Bliakher and Vera Fominykh
Conservation of mural paintings in western China and the Mogao Grottoes
Wang Xudong
Scientific examination of mural paintings of the Koguryo tombs
R. Mazzeo, E. Joseph, S. Prati, V. Minguzzi, G. Grillini, P. Baraldi and D. Prandstraller
Issues in the conservation of mural paintings: past and present
Sharon Cather
Discussion 3. Issues in the conservation of mural paintings
Moderators: Sharon Cather and Shigeo Aoki
Discussion 4. Mural paintings of the Silk Road: their conservation and future issues.
Moderator: Nobuko Inaba
List of contributors
