Mission accomplished! The National Palace Museum Taiwan (NPM) has completed the restoration of the Qing dynasty mirror case known as the “Tang Dynasty Immortals Mirror”, which we first talked about here on the blog in 2011. The piece is part of the Xi Qing Xu Jian collections, stamped with the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong’s seal.

This restoration project is the BNP Paribas Foundation’s first heritage conservation partnership in Taiwan. It is also the first collaborative restoration project of the NPM, combining expertise of the Museum’s researchers from a number of different specialties.

The restoration of the mirror case was finished at the end of July 2012, after a year and a half of detailed work. During this period of time, museum researchers collected and studied the insect specimens on the mirror case, which have now served as a valuable reference for conservation methods against insect deterioration. Museum researchers also gained a better understanding of the interior structure and painting pigment of the mirror case using X-ray and Raman spectra investigations.

Through careful and time-consuming work, including cleaning, repairing holes, stabilization of art work and reframing, the mirror case has now been brought back to life in its original form, thanks to the support of the BNP Paribas Foundation and BNP Paribas Taiwan. The research and conservation findings have been published in the museum’s publication, The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, Issue No. 352.