The Sumitomo Foundation Grant for the Production of Specialty Materials for the Conservation of Japanese Paintings in the Collection of the Freer Gallery of Art (Fiscal Year 2010)

The Freer Gallery of Art was named one of the recipients of The Sumitomo Foundation Grant for the Protection, Preservation, and Restoration of Cultural Properties outside Japan for fiscal year 2010. Grants are awarded annually so that cultural properties of Japanese origin in foreign collections can be preserved for the benefit of future generations. These cultural properties include works of art, archaeological artifacts and sites, and structures of significant historical or artistic value.

The purpose of the Sumitomo Foundation grant is in close accord with the larger goals of the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio (EAPCS) and the Hirayama Program. Our conservators, scientists, and curators collaborate closely with colleagues, materials producers, and other experts in Asia and America to increase understanding of the materials and methods of traditional Japanese painting production and mounting while broadening public awareness about Japanese art, its care and conservation.

The generous grant was used towards the production and purchase of specialty materials (mounting fabrics, repair papers, scroll knobs and cords) from Japan that were necessary for the conservation and remounting of four Japanese paintings in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art: A Muromachi period (16^th century) portrait of the Buddhist Patriarch Lin-Chih (Jp: Rinzai Gigen) and the Tale of Shuten Doji, a set of three, Kano school hand scrolls from the Edo period (17^th century).