A brief introduction to Chinese mounting
Mounting is a unique technology in China. Normally Chinese paintings and calligraphy are done on thin and easily broken rice paper or fragile silk. In order to keep the artwork intact and make it please the eyes, people mounted them on thick paper and gradually the technology of mounting was developed.
Mounting as an art has a long history in China. According to archaeological findings, the technique of mounting dates back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC), 2,500 years ago. These days, as Chinese paintings and calligraphy gain popularity in the market, the mounting technology used to frame them is drawing more attention as well.
The process of mounting, put in a nutshell, consists in pasting a sheet of unrefined xuan paper at the back of the picture; this serves not only to reinforce it but also give it a smooth appearance. Then, damask silk of a matching color is pasted all round the painting to form a border. Finally, another sheet of paper is mounted at the back of the whole.
If the mounted work is to be in the form of a vertical scroll, a wooden roller is normally fixed at the bottom. This serves as the weight to hold the picture in place when hung up, and also helps to roll it up, when put away. The roller is sometimes 444 at both ends. Another horizontal stick is mounted inside on top, attached with silk ribbons for hanging.
Good mounting enhances the work of art whereas shoddy workmanship would make it less presentable. The saying that a finished painting depends for its excellence “30% on art itself but 70% on mounting” may be an exaggeration, but it does bring home the importance of mounting. Chinese picture-mounters not only add charm to new paintings, but the veterans among them can repair and remount old works that were mounted but have deteriorated. This obviously requires superb craftsmanship involving more than a dozen painstaking steps.
Mounting is a unique technology in China. Normally Chinese paintings and calligraphy are done on thin and easily broken rice paper or fragile silk. In order to keep the artwork intact and make it please the eyes, people mounted them on thick paper and gradually the technology of mounting was developed.
Mounting as an art has a long history in China. According to archaeological findings, the technique of mounting dates back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC), 2,500 years ago. These days, as Chinese paintings and calligraphy gain popularity in the market, the mounting technology used to frame them is drawing more attention as well.
The process of mounting, put in a nutshell, consists in pasting a sheet of unrefined xuan paper at the back of the picture; this serves not only to reinforce it but also give it a smooth appearance. Then, damask silk of a matching color is pasted all round the painting to form a border. Finally, another sheet of paper is mounted at the back of the whole.
If the mounted work is to be in the form of a vertical scroll, a wooden roller is normally fixed at the bottom. This serves as the weight to hold the picture in place when hung up, and also helps to roll it up, when put away. The roller is sometimes 444 at both ends. Another horizontal stick is mounted inside on top, attached with silk ribbons for hanging.
Good mounting enhances the work of art whereas shoddy workmanship would make it less presentable. The saying that a finished painting depends for its excellence “30% on art itself but 70% on mounting” may be an exaggeration, but it does bring home the importance of mounting. Chinese picture-mounters not only add charm to new paintings, but the veterans among them can repair and remount old works that were mounted but have deteriorated. This obviously requires superb craftsmanship involving more than a dozen painstaking steps.