Examination showed that the reverse of the painting fragment was attached to fabric scrim that was adhered with animal glue to a rigid plywood support. The ragged perimeter of the painting fragment was stabilized with plaster (not analyzed) that had been painted a purple-brown color. Paint loss had been inpainted, but not all losses were filled prior to retouching.
Technical analysis revealed the presence of two rendering layers composed of dried earth material in a vegetable fiber matrix together with small fragments that appeared to derive from painted or decorated surfaces.3 A single, white ground layer was observed in cross-section samples. Analysis revealed that the ground was composed of kaolinite and associated minerals. The thinly painted image consists of darkly outlined areas of red, dark green, blue, gray, brown, and ivory paint. Pigments identified in paint samples include red mercuric sulfide, red lead, ultramarine blue, yellow iron oxide, carbon black, calcium carbonate, calcined bone, and possible hematite. Details of the hair ornaments, jewelry, and edges of the costume were sculpted in relief and decorated with gold leaf applied over a fluorescent mordant (not analyzed). Infrared microspectroscopy detected the presence of protein in the ground and vermilion paint samples, possibly present as a binder.
Figure 1
The Female Attendant, Ming dynasty, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China,
162 X 75 cm, after conservation. The Denver Art Museum.
World History
