Sõura uchikae: Replacement of the final backing layer in hanging scrolls

Summary Displays of light-sensitive materials, such as hanging scrolls, at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC, are regularly changed in a six-month rotation cycle. In late 2003,12 hanging scrolls of Ukiyo-e paintings executed in the Edo period (1600–1868) were selected for display, scheduled for August 2004. The condition of each scroll was carefully examined by conservators in the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio and treatment options were discussed with the museum's curators. It was decided that three hanging scrolls would undergo replacement of the final backing layer rather than complete remounting. In this article, three of the hanging scrolls are discussed, including treatment options, condition of the scrolls and paintings, and some aspects of the treatment process will be described in comparison with a hanging scroll also executed in the Edo period which was completely remounted.