t
u
b
c
h
e
n

g
o
n
p
a

NEPAL

The restoration of the monastery began in 1998 with the structural repair of the architecture and a survey on the wall paintings' state of preservation to set up a conservation program. The work on the pictorial cycle started the following year when an increasing number of villagers of Lomönthang, the capital of Mustang, have been trained over the years to become competent restorers. As a result of their work, all the most important monasteries of Upper Mustang have been restored. The project started with the restoration of Thupchen Gonpa and subsequently expanded to include

Jampa

Lhakhang

and the monasteries in the nearby villages of

Tsarang

and

Logekhar

.

The

monastery,

most

probably

consecrated

in

1472,

contains

murals

from

several

different

periods.

The

majority

of

the

pictorial

cycle,

however,

is

original,

dating

back

to

the

15th

century.

The

paintings,

realized

with

the

secco

technique

on

several

preparatory

layers,

are

present

mainly

on

just

three

of

the

four

walls.

The

north

wall

collapsed

more

likely

because

of

an

earthquake.

The

wall

now

contains

fragments

of

paintings

executed

after

the

foundation

of

the

monastery,

although

a

few

remnants

of

the

original

pictorial

cycle

are

still

present.

Our

work

in

the

monastery

included

the

restoration

of

the

wall

paintings,

statues,

sculpted

pillars,

architraves,

and

the

ceiling’s

painted

wooden

decorations.

International

consultants

were

in

charge

for

the

setting-up

of

a

program

to

repair,

conserve

and

consolidate

the

wall

paintings

in

Thupchen

Gonpa

as

well

as

the

setting-up

and

maintaining

of

a

training

program

for

to

teach

conservation

of

wall

paintings

on

site:

1999/2004

-

Rodolfo

Lujan

Lunsford

-

Lead

conservator

1999

-

Vincenzo

Centanni

-

Assistant

conservator

1999/2003

-

Luigi

Fieni

-

Assistant

conservator,

Lead

conservator

from

2004

2001/2004

-

Chiara

Tedde

-

Assistant

conservator

view of tubchen from the west

masonry

work

The

masonry

work

consisted

mainly

in

the

reinforcement

of

the

walls

and

in

the

plastering

of

lost

painted

areas.

The

masons'

team

was

trained

as

well

from

scratch

as

part

of

the

training

program

set

up

as

part

of

the

conservation

project.

Reinforcement

of

the

walls:
this task consisted in removing the buttresses built at lower areas of the inner walls during the various periods of the history of the building. Cracks and voids were filled with similar/compatible materials and plastering was carried out under the level of the paint layer of the repaired areas. Lower areas of walls were eroded forming large cavities due to water stagnating and/or infiltrating through back-filling material accumulated outdoors when upper areas of the building collapsed. Therefore the outdoor ground level varies in height with respect to the pavement’s level indoors. As an attempt to consolidate these lower areas rubble bound with mud was piled in an irregular pattern. Thence, the intervention that was carried out consisted in removing the piles of stone, scraping loosened and incoherent constitutive material of the wall and inserting cut stone pieces, according to the dimensions of the loss so as to obtain a straight and perpendicular level along the wall. This stonework was bound with a mud-based mortar mainly consisting on local clays and chopped straw with the addition of a PVA binder.

Plastering:

once the inserted stonework in walls’ voids was dry, successive layers of levelling mud-based plasters were applied. These layers were made of a mixture of local clays, chopped straw, crushed dried cow dung and PVA binder. These mud renders were applied up to 1 centimeter below the paint layer's level. A final greyish layer was applied as a combination of local clays mixed with an acrylic solution in water, spread and left just 2 millimeters below the surface of the paintings.

wall

paintings

Many

sections

of

the

wall

paintings

were

at

such

risk

of

collapse

that

the

work

began

with

their

consolidation.

All

risky

areas

were

protected

with

special

gauzes,

temporarily

glued

on

their

surface,

to

protect

the

painting

during

the

phase

of

fixing

the

preparatory

layers

beneath.

The

delicate

process

of

consolidation

and

fixation

of

the

renders

and

of

the

paint

layer

was

completed

after

two

years

of

mortar

injections

and

plastering.

In

some

cases

specific

supports

had

to

be

assembled

on

site

so

as

to

prop

up

the

wall

paintings

during

the

re-adhesion

procedure.

In

other

cases,

to

consolidate

a

wall

at

risk

of

collapse,

some

detachments

of

wall

paintings

(stacco)

were

carried

out.

During

this

process,

additional

old

paintings

were

found

inside

a

portion

of

a

recently

built

wall.

Unfortunately,

the

new

wall

could

not

be

dismantled

and

so

the

‘staccos’

were

mounted

on

a

mobile

support

and

placed

in

an

adjacent

museum

to

be.

The

consolidation:
cracks that passed through the walls were firstly cleared from former superficial plastering and thence dust and debris of various nature (bones, straw, skulls, dried manure, feathers, flees, etc.) were removed. Once cracks were perfectly cleaned with an air compressor, these were filled up to a certain point with a mud-based plaster and cut stone, inserting plastic pipes at regular intervals in order to pour the grouting material later on. The grouting material consisted in a mixture of local clays, water and a PVA binder added in a low percentage so as to obtain a viscous and dense grout. The filling of cracks consisted in wetting abundantly the interior of the crack by injecting a surfactant solution through the pre-set plastic pipes. The grout was then poured through these pipes for filling the gaps. Once dried, the pipes were removed and another plaster layer was applied under the level of the paint layer.

Then

the

work

concentrated

on

fixing

the

preparatory

layers.

Through

aging,

earthquakes

and

some

time

mistakes

in

the

technique

of

preparing

or

applying

the

plasters,

it

happens

that

these

preparatory

layers

detach

from

one

another.

This

creates

random

gaps

between

layers,

which

can

cause

the

paintings

to

fall

off

with

time.

It

is

then

necessary

to

fill

all

these

gaps

to

reconstitute

stability

to

the

support

of

the

wall

paintings.

Tapping

with

knuckles

easily

identifies

the

gaps.

When

doing

so,

a

gap

is

found

by

the

different

sound

the

tapping

produce.

When

a

gap

was

found,

we

had

to

pierce

the

murals

using

hand-drills

and

reach

the

gap.

Then

the

gap

was

cleaned

by

hand-syphon:

in

this

way

a

slight

vacuum

would

extract

all

debris.

A

surfactant

solution

was

then

injected

to

allow

the

glue

to

spread

more

evenly

through

the

gap.

When

the

gap

was

very

small,

it

was

enough

to

inject

an

acrylic

binder

solution.

When

the

gap

was

larger,

this

binder

had

to

be

mixed

up

with

clay,

thus

producing

a

mortar

that

would

fill

up

the

gap.

In

addition,

very

large

flakes

of

paint

layer

were

present

randomly

all

over

the

wall

paintings.

These

flakes

of

paint

layer

were

firstly

softened

by

a

surfactant

solution.

Then

an

acrylic

solution

was

injected

under

the

paint

layer

scales

either

by

syringe

of

by

soft

pointed

paintbrushes.

Japanese

tissue

paper

was

subsequently

applied

on

the

area

to

be

trated

and

the

paint

layer

flakes

were

pressed

back

in

position

through

the

use

of

slightly

wet

cotton

swabs.

Cleaning

procedure:
this task was a highly complex procedure. After laboratory analysis were carried out, it was possible to identify the composition of both the pigments employed by the artists as well as the dirt to be removed. In that way, we were able to determine an effective cleaning method. The original coating of varnish applied in the 15th century altered so much due to aging that the paint layer was completely darkened by it while centuries of butter lamp smoke and grime had turned the upper sections of the paint layer nearly black. In addition, large areas of the original paint layer bordering with a recent stone buttress were heavily overpainted and some sections of new paint had covered the original murals as well. Given the different reaction of the pigments to the use of the same chemical, every color often required the use of a different process and solvents to remove both the varnish, the grime deposits and the overpaintings. The use of Japanese tissue paper and/or cotton compresses soaked in different chemicals yielded a homogeneous cleaning while still protecting the paint layer. To clean the gilding and the embossed gilt jewelry, a special cotton compress, soaked in organic solvents, was applied for a long time to the exceedingly resistant varnish.

Pictorial

integration:
the retouching process was organized following two different methodologies: touch up and reconstructions. The former, used mostly in all walls, was meant to tone down abrasions and small losses of paint layer in order to balance all colors. This task was performed using a selected series of watercolors with minimal light sensitivity. The latter, proposed and later approved either by John Sanday Associates and Rodolfo Lujan Lunsford was to reconstruct a large area in the upper register of the east wall's northern side and two very damaged Buddhas in the south wall. The reconstructions were made possible by coping original elements from the pictorial cycle and by making them anew in the required areas (e.g. the half head of a Buddha or his robe). So, when all required elements for a reconstruction of the paint layer were found, life-size sketches were drawn on tracing paper and the drawing transferred to the wall with the spolvero technique. Natural pigments mixed with Arabic gum were then used as base-colors for covering the wide lacunae and the large cracks to be reconstructed. The new paintings were then completed with watercolors and fake gold where needed.

Upon

completion

of

the

conservation

work

in

2004,

the

paint

layer

was

protected

by

spraying

a

very

diluted

solution

of

Paraloid

B72.

statues

&

wooden

decorations

One

chorten

and

14

statues

were

found

in

the

monastery

and

they

all

undertook

a

restoration

intervention.

All

of

them

are

made

of

clay

but

one:

the

main

statue

of

Shakyamuni

Buddha.

This

dominant

statue

was

realized

through

the

assemblage

of

different

repoussé

cupper

plates

gilded

with

mercury.

Most

of

these

statues

are

not

contemporary

with

the

foundation

of

the

monastery

but

they

have

been

added

in

later

periods.

Our

first

task

was

to

remove

the

cobwebs,

dust

deposits

and

different

animals'

excreta

from

the

surface

and

from

the

cracks

of

the

statues.

Only

then

could

the

work

on

the

consolidation

of

each

statue

begin.

In

addition,

crowns

and

other

objects

clasped

by

the

statues

as

well

as

jewels

in

precarious

conditions

were

fixed

and

secured.

The

cleaning

process

consisted

in

removing

the

altered

varnish

applied

to

protect

some

statues

and

some

recent

over-paintings.

The

employ

of

organic

chemicals

applied

with

cotton

compresses

allowed

a

proper

and

effective

cleaning,

thus

showing

again

the

statues’

original

bright

colors.

Pictorial

reintegration

was

performed

after

a

thorough

‘up

to

level’

plastering

of

cracks

and

lacunae.

Pigments

mixed

with

Arabic

gum

were

used

to

balance

the

original

hues

and

abrasions.

The

monastery’s

ceiling,

pillars

and

architraves

were

all

finely

carved,

interlocked

and

painted

in

the

15th

century.

To

assist

us

in

their

restoration,

several

skilled

Newar

woodcarvers

were

appointed

to

consolidate

the

ancient

sections

and

carve

missing

pieces,

copying

the

motifs

from

the

nearby

segments.

A

heavy

coating

of

smoke

and

grime,

which

was

covering

almost

the

whole

woodwork,

was

removed

with

cotton

compresses

soaked

in

alkaline

solutions.

After

the

cleaning

was

completed,

abrasions

and

missing

painted

patterns

were

reproduced

with

the

employ

of

natural

pigments

mixed

with

Arabic

gum

while

the

replaced

rotten

beams

and

wood

carving

were

painted

imitating

the

colors

revealed

with

the

cleaning

process.

the

end

The conservation project ended successfully in 2004 following a western approach (with the exception of the two Buddhas reconstructed on the south wall) and treating the religious building as a museum. On the other hand, the local community was not satisfied at all with the decision of not reconstructing all the lost paintings and leave the monastery as it was. Then from 2011, following the continuous requests from the royal family, the local people and the monks, funds were allocated to reconstruct the lost wall paintings in an attempt to let the locals use their monastery once again for religious purposes. You can read about this reconstruction project by clicking

here

if you are interested in the details of a different approach in conservation.