What is the art of enamel?
Enamel is a type of decorative art originating from Europe, China, Japan to create paintings and decorations with colors that last over time. Products made of copper or copper alloy, the surface is enameled with decorative paintings and decorations, then heated at a certain temperature to protect the color of the object for a long time.
The restored enamel decorative panels were installed in the Thai Hoa Palace restoration project.
Bui Ngoc Long
The late painter Pham Dang Tri once explained that "phap lam" originated from the word "pha lang" used by the Chinese to refer to a type of enameled ware that Western missionaries had previously instructed them to produce and then introduced the technique to Vietnam. The word "pha lang" (France) after being introduced to Vietnam was misread as "phap lam" to avoid offending Lord Nguyen Phuc Lan.
During the Nguyen Dynasty, enamel was widely used under the reigns of King Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, and Tu Duc, then gradually declined. Currently in Hue , engineer Do Huu Triet has researched and successfully restored enamel techniques. He has a company specializing in producing enamel for interior and exterior decoration and jewelry for sale on the market.
Counting at Thai Hoa Palace, there are a total of 295 Chinese poetry and decorative paintings in both enamel and gilded wood. The enamel art alone has a total of 125 panels, of which 7 panels are completely lost, the remaining 118 panels remain but most of them are damaged, peeled, and deformed due to time and war.
Mature and meticulous
Mr. Ho Huu Hanh, Director of Hue Monuments Restoration Joint Stock Company (the contractor), said that for the restoration of the enamel paintings, the company has adopted the painting restoration technology of expert Andrea Teufel (Germany), who has spent 20 years researching conservation at the Hue Monuments. From there, a restoration process was developed and approved by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center Council.
Workers clean the Chinese characters on Thai Hoa Palace for restoration.
Bui Ngoc Long
Before dismantling, the construction unit digitized the location and order of the enamel decorative panels. The enamel panels were preserved, evaluated and classified for the level of damage to propose a restoration solution. The positions of the enamel panels that were completely lost (7 panels) will be restored according to the decorative themes in accordance with the approved design documents and documentary photos. The intact enamel panels will be cleaned and the back side will be painted with Polyurethane paint. The enamel panels with peeling enamel, missing some decorative details, and part of the Chinese characters, will be restored.
Enamel restoration is carried out according to a strict process, requiring skilled workers and knowledge of paint. With lost patterns, it is necessary to rely on traditional artisans who specialize in painting decorative panels on relics.
First, the workers clean the surface of the enamel panels. For peeling, warped, punctured and broken panels, they first use pliers, wooden hammers, rubber hammers to straighten and tap them flat, then use brushes, sandpaper to clean them and use specialized razors to peel off and remove rust spots. For the remaining enamel panels, the calcification is cleaned and removed to clean the surface. For torn or punctured enamel panels, copper sheets (as the original material) are used to join and patch them.
Next, the craftsmen use solvent to clean the surface to remove the peeling parts, use copper plates to connect the broken and punctured parts with glue and paint hardener. Next, use primer to paint, use Polyurethane paint as the base and use tracing paper to redraw the decorative patterns and poems... All of this restoration work is based on the 3D images taken before and based on documentary photos from the scientific records (submitted to UNESCO for recognition as documentary heritage) and similar enamel panels to restore. "The most difficult job for the artisans is to mix the paint color to match the background color and the decorative color with the existing color. The artisans use pens to draw to restore the background and patterns of the lost panels, and use paint to paint the back to preserve the enamel panels before re-assembling them into the structure," said Mr. Ho Huu Hanh.
Mr. Hanh explained that the reason why it is impossible to restore the original enamel paintings using enamel technology is because the original enamel technique no longer exists. Meanwhile, some units that have researched the restoration of enamel paintings all have to use heat-firing technology, so if these existing enamel paintings are put into the furnace, no one can guarantee that the patterns and motifs on them will not melt or deform.
"We restore and preserve the lost enamel panels with 2-component PolyUrethane paint because this paint is colorfast, durable in tropical environments and resistant to acidic and alkaline environments. The entire process is measured and recorded in pictures to preserve which parts are original and which parts are restored to serve the settlement and completion work later," said Mr. Ho Huu Hanh. (to be continued)
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-nay-lam-viec-xua-cong-phu-phuc-che-phap-lam-185231124234721526.htm
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