KANJI –€“ Tsuglag-khang

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Kanji, begin of a Kagyüpa lineage, main wall;
photo Christian Luczanits.

Paintings and sculpture – work techniques

by the conservation science and painting conservation team

» see also Scientific investigations

Wall paintings

The supporting structure is made of river stones and adobe bricks, covered by 2 layers of earthen plaster. The coarse layer is made of earth and sand with gravel (grain size 0.1- 2 cm) mixed with plant fibres, straw and hair. It is about 3- 5 cm thick. The materials are local and obviously collected in and around the village. The second, fine layer is about 0.1 cm thick and consists of a very fine clay known as ‘markalak’ in the region of Ladakh. It was probably smoothened to prepare the surface for the following layer, the the priming. The priming is coating is about 0.1 cm thick and consists of weathered rock material, called ‘Karsi’. It contains the mineral aragonite, as revealed by an analysis made in 2003. That same analysis showed that the paint layer is made of natural pigments and that a protein was used as a binding medium (see also Scientific Investigations of Materials). The paint was applied onto dry walls, a technique known as secco painting.

Stratigraphy of Painting;
graphic Martina Oeter and
Steven Post.

The paintings, especially the three walls depicting mandalas, are obviously based on a geometric pattern of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines and circles.

Construction Lines for the mandalas;
graphic Martina Oeter and
Steven Post.

Here it is interesting to note, that only the northern half of the west wall includes the upper zone with the valance motif as part of the geometric pattern. The work on the other walls was apparently carried out after the width of this upper zone had been established. This might be an indication that here the artists started their work by first drawing sketches of the mandalas on the wall surface. The sketching lines were executed in paint and one can discover some of them by focusing a strong light en face of the painting (front-light).

The circular incisions are visible in a raking light.

This picture shows all circular incisions of the western mandala on the south wall;
graphic Martina Oeter and
Steven Post.

Circular insicions defining the outlines of the mandala circle;
photo Christian Luczanits.

After the walls had been geometrically divided, most probably precise sketches were made, at least for the detailed figures. But so far, we have not been able to spot any of the drawing lines.

The paintings then were executed in a freehand manner so that like details look quite different from one another.

Different shapes and details were given various coloured under-paintings. It is obvious that in most cases this has been done to achieve a special optical effect . As a result, the colours appear more vivid and differentiated with an effect of depth.

Teacher depiction showing the ‘glazing effect;
photo Christian Luczanits.

Buddha Amitāyus in the centre of the mandala;
photo Christian Luczanits.

Gatekeeper Vajrapāśa of the Śākyamunimaṇḍala;
photo Christian Luczanits.

Throughout the wall paintings, each colour usually has its own corresponding colour on the under-painting. But there are some exceptions.

Generally, all shapes and details in red and black were painted directly on the white priming. These parts of the painting are very stable. The drab ochre coloured details, though, have a bright yellow under-painting, the dark blue-green areas a bright green one, whereas and the dusky pink-violet details usually an orange one.

The analyses made in situ revealed the following results (see also Scientific Investigations): the yellow under-painting consists of rather coarse grains of orpiment, the bright green one is a mixture of orpiment and indigo, the orange under-painting is composed of ochre and vegetable black.

For the upper paint layer the following pigments were used: the red and the black that were directly applied on the white priming, are cinnabar and charcoal black. The dark blue green is a composition of mainly indigo with some orpiment. The translucent dusky pink, which was used for moulding and shading painting details, is made of one or even of more, different organic red dyes with minor admixtures of charcoal black in an abundant quantity of a binding medium.

Here one can see part of a wall painting. We took a photo of this painting detail and used it to develop plotting graphs which show the manner in which the painting was executed, starting with the geometrical orientation pattern right through to the black contour lines.

1. geometrical construction
2. underpaintings and red
    (in other parts black)
    details directly on the
    white prime coating
3. colouring
4. shading
5. red details and jewellery
6. contour lines and details in black
7. finished painting;
photo Christian Luczanits.

Sculpture

Avalokiteshvara and Green Tara
on their platform;
photo Christian Luczanits.

The basement of the sculpture platform is made of adobe, whereas its decoration and the sculptures are moulded with earthen material. Apart from clay and sand, the earthen construction material contains straw and probably animal hairs.

Doubtlessly only the extremities are solid and reinforced with a skeleton of wooden sticks. Also for constructing and fixing the lotus blossoms of the Avalokiteshvara (Chenrezik) and the Green Tara to the back wall, wooden sticks were used.

Lotus blossom construction of the Green Tara, visible in the upper right;
photo Steven Post.

Moulds were probably employed to create most of the decoration elements like the crowns, jewellery, blossom applications of the sculptures and the throne platform. The mortar is a very fine earthen material, but also contains straw and hairs.

Part of the crown of the Green Tara;
photo Susan Eilenberger.

On top of the burnished mortar the white prime coating and the paint layer(s) were applied.

Comparing the paint layers of all three sculptures, it can be stated that certainly they were painted twice.

The alterations of all three sculptures, may indicate that there have been two major sculptural repair phases:

First phase: older repairs already altered size and proportion of the repaired or replaced parts, such as fingers or points of the crowns. These repairs had been integrated well as a detailed paint layer covered the surface.

Second phase: newer repairs were done in a rather crude way with a coarse clay left unpainted.

The in situ investigation of the painting stratigraphy and the microscopic investigation (dispersion, polarizing field microscope) of the samples led to the following conclusions (see also Scientific Investigations):

Medicine Buddha;
photo R.Küng.

Medicine Buddha

At three areas a second paint layer could be determined a second paint layer. The visible body colour, a dark grey-blue, was in the earlier painting phase a lighter blue colour. The colour of the Buddha’s dress remained the same, a bright red. In various spots where the painting of the dress is slightly damaged, we are able to see the earlier red paint layer underneath the present painting. There is evidence that the sculpture received a white priming before the paint layer was applied.

The sample taken from a lotus petal revealed that the white priming on the sculpture is identical to that on the walls. The blue colour is composed of two layers, a green under-painting consisting of orpiment with indigo, and an upper paint layer consisting of indigo and some grains of azurite (remains of an older paint layer or a contamination of the brush). The red colour is cinnabar admixed with charcoal black.

Avalokiteshvara;
photo Martina Oeter.

Avalokitesvara - Chenrezik Yigedrupa

The paint layer was investigated in three areas . Obviously the sculpture was painted twice. The white body paint, also the second time, seems to be distributed over the entire sculpture and the coloured details are repainted afterwards.

A microscopic investigation of samples has not been carried out yet.

Green Tara;
photo Christian Luczanits.

Green Tara

As with the other two sculptures also here two painting phases could be determined. Underneath the present blue-green body colour exists another layer of blue-green.

According to the microscopic analysis this light green is identical to the green colour, as employed for the wall painting.

The investigation of the deity’s right hand supports the hypothesis that this hand has been enlarged during an earlier repair. Underneath the present painting is a layer of clay, and underneath this layer, there is an older painting in a similar skin tone.

Pieces of fragile parts must have broken off at some time. The head dress with the pointed crown and the hanging loops has been repaired before.

There are some peculiarities concerning the crown:

1. The shapes of the points are not identical, therefore it is unlikely that a mould was used to produce them.
2. Three points each have a small hole; their significance is not known (middle point and the two left of it). Possibly, metal ornaments were attached representing jewellery.
3. The point right of the middle is bigger than the others and has a blue-green background colour. The background of the other points is dark ochre.
4. The basic colour of the points is a warm yellow. On this, precious stones are painted in blue and red, the background in a dark and dull ochre.

Northwall west:mapping of investigations
and sampling;
graphic Birnthaler.

Northwall east: mapping of investigations
and sampling;
graphic Birnthaler.

On all samples taken from this sculpture there is a white priming.

The bluish green tint of the body has the same stratigraphy and composition as the common blue: an orpiment based under-painting covered with indigo. On the front of the sculpture the colour appears dark blue, whereas in the undercuts and on the backside the colour is a lucid green. One sample is taken from an area of a more recent sculptural reconstruction. The microscopic investigation reveals that the area does not have the common composition of two layers of colour. Instead, there is only one single green paint layer, a mixture of indigo and orpiment. The in situ investigation of the body shows that this green colour is not a small area of inpainting, but a complete over-painting. The mixture of abundant indigo and a small amount of orpiment allows the formerly green body to appear today as a dark blue-green.

The paint of the yellowish beads above the lotus petals is composed of orpiment with the addition of charcoal black and red ochre.

One sample of the blue lotus petal shows the same stratigraphy as the samples of the Medicine Buddha and those analyzed from the wall paintings: an orpiment-based underpainting covered with a layer of indigo.

In contrast to that, there are two other samples taken from the lotus petals, which clearly show a different composition. The indigo blue has no underpainting and its colour has bled into the priming. The sample from the red has also dyed the prime coating and consists of a red dye (in contrast to cinnabar admixed with charcoal black on the lotus petal of the Medicine Buddha).

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