A Research On The Conservation Of Color-painted Sculptures Of Houtu Temple In Jiexiu Shanxi Province

Houtu Temple is located in Jiexiu Shanxi province, which is a national historical heritage and conservation site. There are more than 1,000 Color-painted sculptures from Ming and Qing Dynasty, occupying high historical, artistic and scientific value. Caused by the natural environment and other factors, more than 700 current statues have occurred many deteriorations, and the disruption of plaster is the most serious problem, even can be destructive. Since 1993, these sculptures have been stored in Heritage Treasury, but the deteriorations were stiu on-going. Therefore, it's very urgent to treat the status.Basing on the current condition investigation, we made an analysis of deterioration mechanism in lab. Focus on the deterioration of color-painted sculpture, this paper studied the relationship between mechanism of deterioration, original materials and environment, the results of original materials analysis proved that a great amount of soluble salts existed in the plaster of status concerned with preserved condition of sculptures, we thought the environmental contamination was one of the main sources for soluble salts. The alteration of temperature and humidity was a big reason to cause the disruption because of being dissolved and crystallized of soluble salts repeatedly. In the stage of selecting repair materials in lab, we studied the mechanism of deterioration, on the basis of current deterioration of sculptures, we have tested different physical and mechanical properties of three concentrations of five prepared consolidants in permeability, contraction performance, breathability, flexural and compressive properties and anti-aging properities. As a result, the gelatin and polyvinyl acetate emulsion which have better performance possibility and work properties were chosen as consolidants for treating the sculptures.