KANJI – Tsuglag-khang
From severe water damage to almost perfect state of preservation;
detail of photo Christian Luczanits.
Condition of paintings and sculpture before intervention
by the conservation team
Although the temple must have been cared for over the centuries for it to have survived at all, during the last century it was neglected when the caretaker family fell on hard times (removal of the second roof in the 1950s ). Roof leaks caused serious damage to the paintings on the entrance wall, and the east wall began to move outwards, developing a 10 cm gap at the southeast corner. A construction of two large buttresses against the east wall, executed by the monks of Lamayuru Monastery in 1996 halted this movement, but did not address the other problems of the building.
Example of the mapping of plaster damages,
westwall south section;
graphic Pilipp Schubert.
Wall Paintings
The paintings are extremely soiled by swirled-up dust and by earth particles that trickled down from the roof construction. The visible damages are nearly all caused by irregular maintenance and as a consequence of improper building repairs. And, of course, there are also damages due to the daily wear and tear typical of “living monuments”.
First examinations of the paintings showed that their technical execution is excellent. Therefore, the typical damages that wall paintings may have, like a powdering or flaking paint layer, are nearly non-existent in this case. The state of conservation is very good in those areas, which have not been exposed to external damaging factors.
Phenomenological appearances of damages and their possible causes
Cracks around the ceiling beams
caused by weight pressure of the roof,
detail of the north wall;
photo Christian Luczanits.
Statically induced damages to building entailing consequences on paint layer:
Such damages affect not only the paint layer, but also the plaster and the adobe bricks beneath the paint layer (see also Descriptive Documentation, Architecture).
- Movements of the entire structure of the building caused cracks that pervade all wall surfaces like a network. The painting adjoining the cracks is unstable and new lacunae of the paint layer, the priming and plaster keep developing.
- Statically induced cracks are developing primarily at the corner areas of the east wall and the east wall itself, as a result of an outward drift of that wall. Such cracks also appear on all other walls, although to a lesser extent, and the paint layer along the cracks is endangered.
- Unstable areas are developing around the ceiling beam heads, caused by the weight pressure of ever new additions of earth onto the roof. Clearly visible are the vertically running cracks with extensive flakes of entire zones of plaster, priming and paint layer.
Earth streaks caused by penetrating rainwater, detail of the south wall;
photo Christian Luczanits.
Loss of paint layer and plaster caused by penetrating rainwater, detail of the south wall; photo Christian Luczanits.
Damages due to water seepage:
- The building structure is also affected by damages of this nature that, in part, aggravates the static problems. Conversely, the faulty building static is the cause for the rainwater seepage at the edge of the roof (refer, in this connection, also to Condition of the architecture before intervention).
- In the past decades, water could penetrate the defective roof construction and then flow along the wall surfaces. The water flowing down the surfaces penetrated first the paint layer and then the earthen plaster, causing the layers to swell and then to wash out. We notice in these areas usually a complete loss of both, the paint layer and the upper, finer clay plaster while the coarser earthen plaster underneath shows signs of damage.
- In other areas, the penetrating water carried the dissolved earth from the roof leaving drips of earthen material on the wall surface. The paint layer underneath the earth streaks is still there although, in part, seriously damaged. This type of damage affecting large areas is encountered on the south part of the east wall and the entire south wall.
- In yet other areas, the rainwater penetrated the wall structure soaking the adobe bricks and the plaster. The various layers react differently as to the amount and time of retaining humidity: a soaked earthen wall will retain the moisture longer causing it to expand whereas a more brittle paint layer absorbs less water and therefore dries more quickly. As a result, the layers separate and the paint layer together with the priming will come off in flakes from the earthen plaster. This damage occurs mainly on the easterly south wall.
- Rising ground dampness is probably partly responsible for the loss of the entire paint layer and priming close to the ground floor.
Distribution of whitewash over
the
paint layer, detail of the south wall;
photo Christian Luczanits.
Loss of paint layer in the base zone
of the walls, detail of the west wall;
photo Christian Luczanits.
Damages caused by use of the temple and its poor and improper maintenance:
- Apart from the rising ground dampness, it is certain that the damages close to the ground floor are also due to the use of the temple.
- The paintings up to about 150 cm from the ground have been rubbed against by people walking close to the wall so that the painting either appears shiny or has already been fully lost.
- While the base zone was covered with a white coloured wash, the painting was partly painted over, particularly at the western south wall and the west wall. Also, a few whitish splashes are visible in the upper parts of the painted surface.
- While attempting to remove whitish splashes and/or dust, the whitewash and probably also the white parts of the priming, which was already partly exposed, were distributed in wiping sweeps over the paint layer. The painting was also damaged because too much pressure and probably too much moisture were applied during this “cleaning process”.
Sculpture
The three sculptures are in a fairly good condition. Only some smaller protruding parts are loose, missing or have been replaced by reconstructions. The older reconstructions integrate well into the original sculptures, the younger ones are executed in a rather crude manner. The protruding parts of the throne platform are broken in some areas and its basement has partly lost its moulded surface and some ornaments.
Comparing the paint layers of all three sculptures it can be stated, that certainly they were painted twice. The visible paint layer is in good condition. The basement of the throne platform is to a large extent covered by whitewashes and the platform and sculptures are soiled by soot and dust.
Example of the mapping of damages,
northwall east section;
graphic Philipp Schubert.
Phenomenological appearances of damages and their possible causes
The daily tear and wear of the temple obviously caused the mechanical damages of sculptural details which today are missing or have been substituted.
Protruding elements like arms, in combination with their excess weight caused some fine but deep static cracks.
The surface of the entire ensemble of sculptures is obscured by a thick coating of dust and earthen materials, especially in all horizontal parts and undercuts.
Furthermore the fronts of the sculptures are exposed to the ceremonial burning of butter lamps. This causes a sooty deposit penetrated into the surface. This phenomenon is especially conspicuous on the white body of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. It is possible that these sooty deposits were the cause for overpainting the sculptures.
Medicine Buddha;
photo Martina Oeter.
Medicine Buddha, detail of his right hand;
photo Steven Post.
Medicine Buddha
Losses and repairs
It seems likely that the present colouring is the original one. Repairs of the sculpture have been made probably at different times (see above).
A recent repair can be seen at the Buddha’s head, where lost curls have been replaced with earth, but have not been painted on.
Earlier repairs were carried out at his hands. At his right hand the original fingers except the thumb were lost. Replacements were made in a rather crude way, but most of the replaced fingers are lost again.
Repairs (earth fillings) were made at his left leg, close to the knee and at the lotus seat beneath his left knee.
The repair mortar is quite coarse; it has a grey colour and is rather hard.
About 20% of the hair curls are lost, including some of the replacements.
Avalokiteshvara, detail;
photo Martina Oeter.
Avalokiteshvara, detail;
photo Martina Oeter.
Avalokitesvara (Chenrezik Yigedrupa)
Repairs and losses
Damages, losses and repairs regarding the clay fabric of the sculpture are minor. The arms are cracked in several areas.
Green Tara;
photo Christian Luczanits.
Green Tara, detail of the crown;
photo Steven Post.
Green Tara
Repairs
Remarkable is, that this sculpture shows much more repairs than the other two. This is perhaps due to its many fragile parts, like the elaborated head dress.
One example for an older repair is her entire right hand. The size of this hand was probably enlarged. Most likely the original hand was fixed to the arm and then coated with clay and repainted. Some other parts, previously lost, were replaced and painted on. The flower at her right side is possibly a replacement, because the moulding style looks less professional, and carries only one paint-layer.
The crown has several moulded and painted repairs, visible through size and style of these details. At a later stage, the hanging loops on both sides of the head must have been broken off and got fixed to the head with unpainted clay.
Damages and losses
Major cracks can be seen around the small protruding lotus cushion with the right foot, and where the left arm is linked to the body. Despite the cracks those areas look stabile, due to the inner reinforcement of the sculpture.
Broken off are the right index-finger and the right point of the crown.