West Meets East: A Snapshot of Conservation in Taiwan

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CCI Newsletter, No. 35, June 2005

West Meets East: A Snapshot of Conservation in Taiwan

by Renée Dancause, Conservator, Textiles, CCI

Every country faces unique challenges in the area of conservation, and develops equally unique abilities to meet those challenges. When countries share their individual knowledge with each other, all of them benefit. CCI has always recognized the importance of sharing its expertise with others, and learning from them.

Taiwan's unique conservation challenges include the complex composite nature of many artifacts of Asian cultural heritage, and the extreme natural conditions. For example, Taiwanese museums typically house artifacts that include scrolls made of paper adhered to silk on wood rolls, large silk banners and screens that are painted and/or embroidered with metallic threads and backed with paper, costumes of silk that may have paper and/or fur linings, and costumes with extensive heavy metal or bead ornamentation, among many other types of objects. And museum professionals must protect these delicate artifacts from the ravages of a tropical climate and the frequent occurrence of earthquakes and typhoons.

CCI conservation scientist Season Tse and I recently had an opportunity to learn more about conservation in Taiwan and to share CCI's conservation knowledge at the International Symposium for Conservation of Paper and Textiles, which was held at the National Center for Research and Preservation of Cultural Properties (NCRPCP) in Tainan on December 15 and 16, 2004. We were honoured to speak about conservation activities at CCI and share textile and paper conservation case studies and research with an audience of museum professionals from all over Taiwan. Holly Kruger and Yasmeen Khan from the Library of Congress, Washington, and Boon-Nee Loh from the Heritage Conservation Center in Singapore also presented papers about conservation activities at their respective institutions. A paper by Professor Chunmei Lin of the Tainan National University of the Arts (TNNUA) illustrated condition documentation and storage of textile collections at the National Taiwan Museum in Taipei. Professor Fei Wen Tasi, also from TNNUA, talked about preservation activities for paper-based collections at the same museum. Dr. Jiuan Lin, a local conservator, summarized the environmental factors that impact on the preservation of collections in museums. All of this information will be widely available when the symposium postprints are published in 2005.

In addition to the knowledge we gained at the symposium presentations, we learned a lot through first-hand exposure to the Taiwanese museum and conservation community.

Taiwan exhibits the lush countryside juxtaposed with burgeoning development that is now so characteristic of Asia. Also evident is a strong drive toward 'cultural investment', an endeavour in which NCRPCP is a very active player. Established in 1997 to preserve cultural property, NCRPCP's focus is three-fold, including historic sites, historic buildings, and cultural relics. The Center provides service to cultural organizations, academics, conservation professionals, and the public under a mandate that includes conducting conservation research and analysis, developing treatment techniques, training specialists, writing museum policy to assist in cultural relic management, hosting symposia and other outreach activities, developing conservation standards, publishing, and exhibiting. One example of their outreach activities is the 2003 symposium Management Policy for Conservation Institutions and International Cooperation between Conservation Institutions.

NCRPCP is located in Tainan, a city in southern Taiwan that is rich in history and cultural property and also recognized for its literature. The magnificent building in which the Center is housed is a national historic site, the original Tainan State Hall. Renovated in 2003, this building is also home to the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature. Inside it is beautiful and spacious with state-of-the-art lecture hall, library, administration spaces, and several treatment and analytical labs, many of which are not yet fully furnished. The site also includes a Confucian temple unifying the historic architectural complex into a 'cultural garden' resource that is accessible to both professionals and the public.

In the days preceding and following the conference, we had an opportunity to visit and meet with conservation and collection staff of some of Taiwan's leading museums and universities.

Our first stop was the National Palace Museum in Taipei, a must-see for tourists. While there we viewed exhibits of ancient Chinese bronzes, delightful jade objects, intricate carved ivory objects, illustrated texts, etc. — incredible objects from a number of different dynasties. We were also privileged to have a behind-the-scenes look at the storage of their vast collection of scrolls, the paper lab, and the installations to digitize the collection.

At the National Taiwan Museum, where the paper and textile collections are held in the Anthropology Department, we met the conservator in the object treatment lab and examined several textiles.

Just outside of Taipei is the Chinese Textiles and Clothing Culture Center, of the Graduate Institute of Textiles and Clothing at Fu Jen Catholic University. Established in 1993, this Center collects and preserves costumes, textiles, and accessories from Taiwan Aboriginal, Taiwanese, Han Chinese, and Chinese minority cultures. The Center includes a reference library, exhibit space, treatment lab, registration area, and photography lab. Its collection is beautifully housed in compactor units.

Our last tour was to TNNUA, the campus of which is outside of Tainan in a little village in the countryside. This university is home to 1000 students and faculty, but it has been teaching conservation for only 3–4 years and only a small number of students are currently training in areas of specialization that include furniture, objects, paper, and paintings conservation. The conservation labs are housed in a spacious, purpose-built facility erected in 2003.

Season and I were delighted to represent CCI in this exercise in international collaboration. The NCRPCP and symposium organizer Ms. Hoyu Chang were most gracious and generous hosts, and the two volunteer guides that provided translation attended to our every need. We particularly enjoyed meeting new colleagues and renewing a few previous acquaintances, as well as exchanging information with other cultural professionals. The knowledge of the Taiwanese museum and conservation community that we gained from this experience can now be shared with others.