Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Abstract
A comprehensive examination was
conducted on a set of twenty-three
seventeenth-century Tibetan thangkas
owned by the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston (BMFA). The examination
was undertaken because of the
dearth of technical information on
Tibetan thangkas in Western literature.
Infrared reflectography was used
to document color notations drawn
on the ground layer by the artist(s)
as a guide fo r the artist(s) and apprentices.
Samples were taken from
areas displaying such notations and
multiple analytical techniques were
utilized to identify the pigments.
The existence of more than one color-code
system became evident
when the color notations and the
identified pigments from the BMFA
set were compared to those found
on other Tibetan paintings. Nine
comparative paintings were examined,
fo ur from the BMFA and five
from the Los Angeles County Museum
of Art.
Figure 1. Detail IR-riiflectogram from The
Buddha Shakyamuni Preaching at Dhanyakataka,
showing color codes throughout an
off ering bowl if jewels. Denman Waldo Ross
Collection, Museum if Fine Arts, Boston
(06.333).
An Investigation of Palette and Color Notations
U sed to Create a Set of Tibetan Thangkas
Kate I. Duffy*
Conservation Department
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90036
USA
Jacki A. Elgar
Asiatic Department
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 021 15
USA
Introduction
Tibetan thangkas are scroll paintings that incorporate Buddhist iconography.
The painting is done on cloth that is stitched into a framework of silk borders.
Along the top edge is a wooden stave from which the painting is hung. Along
the bottom edge is a wooden dowel around which the thangka is easily rolled
for storage and transport. In 1906 the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston acquired
a set of twenty-three thangkas (1). The paintings in this set had lost their
original thangka format and were mounted on panels upon their arrival.
Originally thirty-three or thirty-four paintings comprised the set, depicting
the thirty-two Kings of Shambhala, the Buddha Shakyamuni, and possibly a
Kalachakra Mandala. The existing set, referred to as the "Shambhala paintings"
throughout this paper, contains only the Shakyamuni and twenty-two
images of the Kings (Plates 15, 16). Over the years the set has been assigned
various dates and places of origin. Today it is generally accepted to originate
from late seventeenth-century Tibet.
Initially, each Shambhala painting was surveyed by infrared reflectography
(IRR), a nondestructive technique that enabled color codes on the ground
layer to be viewed (2). The color notations are handwritten in Tibetan
dbu. med script. In areas with complex juxta positioning of numerous colors
(such as offering bowls containing multicolored jewels, or garments with intricate
folds), notations were observed in abundance (Fig. 1). Once the infrared
data were compiled, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses of twelve to
fifteen areas were carried out. After examining these results, approximately
ten areas were sampled. Multiple analytical techniques were utilized, including
polarized light microscopy (PLM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR), electronprobe microanalysis (EPMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), highperformance
liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultraviolet/visible absorption
spectrometry (UV /vis), and fluorescence spectrophotometry (FS). Black pigments,
presumably carbon-based, were not studied. Decorative gold was also
not examined except for initial XRF analyses.
Preparing the support
The Shambhala thangkas are all painted on cotton cloth supports. According
to Jackson and Jackson, who documented the practices of living thangka
painters, the painting support is typically first made taut by stitching it to four
pliable sticks (3) . It is then laced into a larger wooden frame, leaving a space
of several inches between outer and inner frames. This space is crucial for
adjusting tension. The support is stiffened by sizing both sides with a gelatin
solution. A mixture of finely ground white pigment and size solution is then
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
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Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice