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CHINA

The

chapel

is

situated

in

the

third

floor

of

Mr

Gelek’s

house,

in

the

village

of

Wayao,

in

the

Sichuan

region.

The

restoration

project

was

part

of

the

training

program

state

of

preservation

The

pictorial

cycle

of

the

chapel

was

painted

directly

on

a

wooden

separation

wall

on

the

north

side

where

some

water

leakage

had

partly

washed

away

some

of

the

paint

layer.

The

paintings

on

west

and

south

wall

were

painted

on

a

thin

layer

of

clay,

with

a

varying

thickness

because

of

the

different

shapes

of

the

underneath

stone

based

wall.

On

the

east

side,

a

wooden

altar

stands

with

its

carved

and

painted

panels

and

cupboards.

The

ceiling

was

made

out

of

interlocked

and

painted

wooden

panels.

The

architrave

and

the

pillars

were

painted

as

well.

The

structural

wall

of

this

chapel

was

made

of

stones

piled

up

apparently

without

binder.

A

coating

of

clay

mixed

up

with

straw

was

applied

to

create

the

flat

surface,

hosting

the

pictorial

layer.

The

thickness

of

this

coating

varied

according

to

the

voids

left

by

the

construction

stones.

One

side

of

the

pictorial

cycle

was

painted

on

a

wooden

wall

made

of

planks

joined

together

with

glue.

The

binder

of

the

paint

layer

is

water

based

in

all

the

three

painted

walls.

A

water-soluble

varnish

was

applied

so

as

to

protect

the

wall

paintings.

The

paint

layer

was

extensively

covered

by

a

coating

of

clay.

Where

the

paintings

were

lying

on

a

render,

the

latter

was

randomly

detached

from

the

stone

based

wall.

The

wall

paintings

had

no

varnish

at

all.

A

darkened

varnish

was

present

only

where

the

paint

layer

was

applied

onto

the

architrave,

the

pillars

and

the

altar.

The

paint

layer,

where

visible,

was

damaged

by

scratching

and

accidental

losses.

The

main

images

painted

on

the

wooden

ceiling

were

covered

by

a

thin

coating

of

clay

as

well.

intervention

of

restoration

The

consolidation:
it was carried out after the coating of mud had been removed. To achieve that, toothbrushes were used together with the aid of specific fiberglass pencils for restoration. The same procedure was employed to clean off the clay from the ceiling. The consolidation procedure consisted in two phases: consolidation of the preparatory layers and consolidation of the paint layer. The former was achieved by injecting, by syringe, an acrylic emulsion in water: a surfactant solution had to be injected before the gluing emulsion. The latter consisted in fixing the flaking of the paint layer with an acrylic emulsion mixed with acetone. Wet Japanese tissue paper had to be applied by brush in the area where the flaking of paint layer occurred. Then a surfactant solution was spread by brush. Subsequently, the acrylic emulsion was applied by brush and let it to set for some minutes. The paint layer flakes were then thoroughly pushed back using sponges or spatulas wrapped in cotton. The procedure ended with the removal of eventual excess of the acrylic emulsion from the paint layer, achieved by carefully pressing a sponge soaked in distilled water onto the Japanese tissue paper, which was then removed and the paint layer left to dry. Since the amount of water in any mortar or solution will evaporate, some detachments could still not sound still underneath the surface of the wall paintings. Thence, the consolidation was checked every few weeks for all the length of the project and more injections were carried out where and when needed.

The

cleaning:
the lower section of the murals presented areas covered with soot and grime. Those areas were cleaned with cotton swabs soaked in organic chemicals. The level of cleaning needed to be balanced because some areas were cleaned and other still had traces of varnish. Those areas were cleaned alternating an EDTA disodium solution mixed with Arabic gum through Japanese tissue paper. In some cases, a mixture of organic chemicals was used directly on the paint layer for the former solution was not effective enough. The procedure ended with the application of a bland layer of Arabic gum, applied through Japanese tissue paper in 3% solution in order to enhance the original brightness of colours.

The

plastering:
cracks, fissures and holes were plastered up to the level of paint layer with a PVA binder solution mixed with a local clay. The surface had to be previously wet with weak PVA solution in water in order to enhance the adhesive power of the plaster.