Tania Desloge, conservatrice al British Museum, scrive un articolo che illustra le procedure di restauro e conservazione di un’armatura giapponese del 1700, ricco di belle immagini.

Using funds from the JTI Japanese Acquisition Fund, the Department of Asia has recently acquired a fine set of Japanese samurai armour and accessories dating from the 1700s. During the Edo period (1615–1868), Japan was largely at peace, so armour was more for ceremonial occasions than for battle. It was a beautifully decorative ensemble of finely crafted materials, including metal, lacquer, textile, leather and horn. Each of these presented different challenges for the team of conservators at the British Museum. The samurai armour required extensive conservation and mounting before it could be put on display. This is because it had been privately owned with no known previous conservation records.

Dopo una valutazione iniziale è emerso che l’armatura era coperta di polvere e sporco, aveva danni alla lacca e tessuti degradati, oltre a necessitare di un supporto strutturale per il montaggio. Durante il processo di trattamento, i conservatori hanno imparato molto sulle tecniche utilizzate per creare l’armatura, facendo alcune interessanti scoperte lungo il percorso. L’armatura è anche stata sottoposta a una quarantena per garantire l’assenza di parassiti o infestazioni:

When the object arrived at the Museum it was quarantined for several months to ensure that no pests or infestations were present. Usually objects will be frozen to kill any insects, but due to the amount of lacquer and metal (which can break when quickly expanding or contracting due to changes in temperature), quarantine was the best option. Many of the wood and horn pieces from the armour and its storage box showed signs of damage by pests. While wood damage can be seen as unsightly, interestingly some horn damage can be seen as a sign of affluence that the owner was able to afford real horn as opposed to a substitute.

Dopo quasi otto mesi di paziente lavoro di conservazione, l’armatura dei samurai è ora esposta in tutto il suo splendore.