Noh to Noah: Highlights from the new Woodworking display

If you've visited the Museum this year and made it up to the first floor (Lower Gallery), you might have seen our new display of Woodworking, part of Phase 2 of VERVE's redisplay plan. Here we take a closer look at some of the objects featured in the display.

Selecting objects wasn't easy. There are literally thousands of objects in the Museum's collections made of wood. We decided that the case would follow themes established in the previous Metalwork display comprising tools, raw materials and finished products to showcase some of the shaping and decorating techniques associated with wood from across the world.

We eventually whittled a long list of 650+ objects down to 190. Using a large table we created a 'mock-up' outlining how the material might be arranged (and to ascertain that it would all fit!)

Woodwork layout © Pitt Rivers Museum

The main sections are concerned with carpentry (including joinery), carving, natural form, pyroengraving, fretwork, and veneer/marquetry.

You can see on the centre-right we've left a space called 'NOH'. This was for the inclusion of three new Noh masks from Japan, specially commissioned by the project from a master craftsman in Tokyo. Hideta Kitazawa's series and notes documented the process of making such a mask, from the selection of 300-year-old Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) wood, to the use of hammers and chisels, urushi lacquer and 30 coats of white oyster-shell paint. The finished mask is a ko-omote mask, depicting a beautiful teenage girl.

Hideta Kitazawa making a ko-omote Noh mask for the Museum's displays © Pitt Rivers Museum

This video shows Hideta demonstrating Noh mask carving in Australia in 2015:

Another highlight in the display is a fantastic Noah's ark, known to date to before 1860. Originally thought to have been made in Worcester, comparison with other existing examples indicated that it was more likely made in the town of Seiffen in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) region of eastern Germany. Seiffen has been renowned for its wooden toy industry since the 18th century, and more than half the town's population is still employed in the woodworking trade.

Noah's Ark, Grühainichen, Germany, 19th century PRM 1956.9.70

We included this object to illustrate two separate processes - straw marquetry and tyre-turning. The sides of the ark have been painstakingly covered with glued strips of straw, which have been soaked in water for different lengths of time to produce varying shades of gold and brown. Its 255 animals and birds have been produced using an ingenious method called Reifendrehen ('tyre turning') which enabled the cheap and efficient production of lots of wooden animals. A large disc of fir wood is put on a lathe to create a tyre-like 'Seiffen ring' of 30-50cm diameter,  the cross-section of which takes the form of the desired animal. Small slices are taken from the ring, which are finished and painted by hand. Many of the makers had never seen exotic animals and so used their imaginations to create green hyenas and red camels. We've deliberately placed this object low down in the case so that children can see it.

Choosing a selection from the 255 toy animals to display with the ark © Pitt Rivers Museum

This unicorn was not part of a pair. Might it not have made it on to ark, thus explaining its 'extinction'?!

From a series entitled Reifendreher by Johannes Geyer, 2014. Reproduced under the CC BY-NC 4.0 licence

Another example in the 'Marquetry and Inlay' section is this beautiful Qur’an stand from Iran that folds out to an 'X' shape. Folding lecterns, or rahla, are among the oldest and most valuable furnishings in a mosque. Designed to support a large Qur’an, the Muslim holy book, early rahla were often made of luxury woods such as walnut or teak, and decorated with sumptuous inlay or openwork carving. This example is inlaid with wood and gold stars in a geometric pattern.

Qur'an stand, Iran. PRM 1965.12.46 A © Pitt Rivers Museum

My other favourite object in this case is neither beautiful nor remarkable, but it has a vernacular and rustic charm that is hard to resist. It is a large disc, around 33cm in diameter, carved with concentric circles of Icelandic script. It is a bread stamp, the inscription carved back-to-front so that it would appear the right way around when stamped into the bread dough prior to baking.

Bread stamp, Iceland. PRM 1900.13.2 © Pitt Rivers Museum
Original view (left) and reversed (right) to enable the inscription to be read 

One of the huge advantages of being part of Oxford University is that it is home to experts in many academic fields. We were thankful to Dr Carolyne Larrington from the Faculty of English, who teaches Icelandic, for her translation of the inscription, which turned out to be a prayer:
FRÓNI ÁRTAL 1876 JD; BLESSI HERRAN ÞETTA VORT Á BORÐI BRAUÐ; SJER HVER MAÐUR ROMI, SÁR AÐ GRENNIST SULTAR NAUÐ

“Iceland, year 1876 JD; May the Lord bless this bread on our table in order to diminish the sore pain of hunger; this every single man should say.”

As you can see, there is a lot of variety in this display. I hope that next time you visit, you have time to head to the Lower Gallery to have a look at these intriguing objects in the flesh.


Helen Adams
Project Curator & Engagement Officer

 

Kintsugi-woogi

Each year the VERVE project hosts a Visiting Maker (a micro Artist in Residence scheme). In the autumn of 2015, Muneaki Shimode and Takahiko Sato came to Oxford, all the way from Kyoto, to demonstrate and teach the Japanese method of ceramic repair known as Kintsugi.

Muneaki Shimode and Takahiko Sato © Pitt Rivers Museum

Kintsugi can be roughly translated as 'Gold Joinery' and involves the repair of broken ceramics with Urushi lacquer, and then applying gold powder to the surface before the lacquer dries. Rather than disguise or hide the damage, the cracks and chips are accentuated with raised gold lines, celebrating cherished or valuable ceramics, and allowing them to be used once more.

This approach to repairing ceramics is very different from the usual European methods where any signs of damage are hidden away and disguised with near-invisible joins.

Although only here for 10 days in November 2015, Muneaki and Takahiko managed to pack in a huge amount including an evening event looking at Japanese Ceramics in Oxford (Fired Works Night), staff and public talks, and three taught workshops for 60 people to learn hands-on kintsugi repair techniques.

Muneaki and Takahiko also carried out kintsugi repairs in the museum galleries using damaged ceramics kindly donated from the Friends of the Pitt Rivers Museum. This allowed members of the public to see the process up close and allowed Muneaki and Takahiko to share their expert knowledge and answer questions.

Kintsugi public workshop © Pitt Rivers Museum

Due to the materials and chemicals used in kintsugi, the workshops were restricted to adults, however a Children’s activity – ‘Marvelous Mending’ - explained the ideas behind the technique to a younger audience. A small case display was also installed to document the residency and showcase some of the work. All in all, no part of the museum was left kintsugi free!

So a little more about the artists: Muneaki Shimode works as a Maki-e artist, using various Urushi lacquers, pigments and gold powders to decorate Buddhist temples and altars. He does not describe himself as a professional kintsugi artist as there is no such profession in Japan. However it is common for Maki-e to carry out kintsugi as a sideline to their main work as they have the skills of using Urushi, extremely precise brush-work and handling gold powders.

Takahiko Sato is president of a family business producing the various forms of Urushi lacquer. Urushi lacquer is the refined sap of the Urushi tree, a tree native to SE Asia and a member of the poison ivy family. In its raw state, the sap is a translucent brown colour and can cause painful burns if it comes in contact with the skin. However, in the presence of oxygen and high humidity, the sap slowly hardens after which it can be handled safely.

Although Muneaki and Takahiko have now returned to Kyoto, they have not entirely left the museum.  Two of the ceramics they worked on and samples of the materials they used have been accessioned into the museum collection. These are very interesting pieces, as they both come from the first firing of the ‘Dragon Kiln’ built as part of the Oxford Anagama project at Wytham Woods. This is a special type of traditional wood fired Japanese kiln originally from the Bizen area of Japan, which has been built by a team of Japanese and UK master potters.

A repaired plate will also join the Museum’s handling collection where it will be used in future education and outreach activities to allow visitors to pick up and handle the plate and see how the repairs look and feel.

Having these objects in the collection, repaired in this traditional way, gives the museum a very unique link between traditional crafts in both Oxford and Japan and the craftspeople themselves.

Watch our short film where Muneaki and Takahiko explain the philosophy and skill behind the craft, whilst following the journey of a single broken dish - and its owner - through the repair process:

  Kintsugi at Pitt Rivers Museum from Pitt Rivers Museum on Vimeo.

Our many thanks go to everyone who volunteered their time and helped with planning and organizing events, activities, workshops, breaking plates, donating ceramics and all the visitors who came and made the project a success.

Thanks also must go to the Heritage Lottery Fund, the principle supporter of the VERVE project, and the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, who provided funding to bring Muneaki and Takahiko over from Japan. The greatest thanks of all must go to Muneaki and Takahiko themselves, who were so willing to share their knowledge.

If you missed their visit and would like to see the repaired ceramics, they are currently on display on the Museum’s Lower Gallery until 24 April 2016.

Display of Kintsigi repair on the Museum's Lower Gallery 

Andrew Hughes
VERVE Conservator

Left arm in, right arm out: Museum hokey cokey with Japanese ogre figures

As promised in a previous entry we are going to look in a little more detail at the two Japanese oni figures 1964.1.1 and 1964.1.2, which are being redisplayed as part of the project.   

Oni are creatures from Japanese folklore. They are shape-shifters, able to change their form and appearance, and are most often depicted as evil, humanoid, demonic or ogre-like figures. Oni often have horns, extra eyes, or additional or fewer fingers and toes. As you can see, our figures have horns and only four digits on their hands and feet. Oni are also often depicted wearing a loin cloth. However, both our figures are dressed in velvet kimonos with differing embrodered designs on the chest. We believe they may be around 200 hundred years old. I have tried to find other similar examples elsewhere, but so far have drawn a blank. So, if anyone reading this knows of similar objects in other collections, please do get in touch.

The figures are large (approximately 1.2 metres tall) and occupy a big presence in the Collections office and Conservation lab! They are very eye-catching, especially with their bulging painted eyes, realistic-looking limbs and only four fingers and toes.

Oni figures in their old display, high up on the south wall of the Court

Once they were removed from the case we were able to get a proper look at them and discovered that their construction is very interesting. Dressed and perched high up in the Court for more years than anyone could remember, it was assumed that each figure was solid wood. In fact, a closer look revealed they were comprised of six, much lighter, separate parts, which was welcome news when it came to moving them! -

• the torso and legs
• two detachable arms
• a detachable head
• a velvet kimono
• a silk belt

The lower sections of the limbs and head are carved in wood and then painted with gesso - a thick paint mixture, which gives a smooth surface. The body and thighs are made from a wooden frame bound and nailed with cane strips to give it a more naturalistic shape.

Once the figure was separated into its constituent pieces we were able to look more carefully at the construction techniques used. The arms and head are attached through slots in the torso. The upper arms are made using the same technique of winding cane around a wooden frame, but have then been covered with once-white textile.

Despite their hollow bodies, they are still very awkward and difficult to move.  The gesso is brittle and has separated from the wood in many places. The velvet kimono is very fragile and so far over 80 hours of conservation work has been done on one figure alone. The kimono and belt are still being conserved.

As with any object in the Museum that comprises several detachable pieces, the figures are being carefully documented. Each piece is being assigned its own number to ensure its movements through different departments at the Museum and its condition can be noted, as well as enabling us to add the maximum amount of information to our database.

At some point during these process, it became clear that at some point in their history, the two figures’ left arms had been swapped over! The limbs for 1964.1.1 are all numbered using small cream stickers with numbers written on them. Similar stickers are also placed on the body at the appropriate holes to help assemble the figure correctly. The head and arms for 1964.1.2 however, have no stickers and are labelled with the same Japanese characters, which we believe say “set one”.

The situation was further complicated by the fact that the figures’ limbs and bodies have also been numbered with roman numerals in blue pencil, but that this took place after the left arms were swapped over.

There was no mention in the accession books, card catalogue or correspondence regarding their arrival at the Museum  that the figures’ clothing and limbs could be detached. There was also no note regarding the labels, Japanese writing or blue pencil. However, this is not unusual. This kind of information was seldom included in documentation for objects donated until relatively recently. The cataloguing of these figures demonstrates how there is just no such thing as too much detail when adding information about objects. You never know what information someone will need in the future.  Therefore all the writing on these objects has been noted, including the colour and type of material used, i.e. ink, pencil.

Conservation intern Alison Foster (UCL) has spent
many hours working on one oni figure

So, what's next for these figures? Once the documentation and conservation processes are complete, they will head downstairs to our Technical Services department, who will start work designing their mounts and new display... 

Sian, VERVE Curatorial Assistant