Case Study

Gilt bronze “Eight Buddhist Treasures” ritual ornaments inlaid with turquoise

Qing dynasty

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"Eight Buddhist Treasures” are ritual ornaments used for offering. These eight artefacts are inlaid with turquoise. The Palace Museum’s collections of inlaid works often use precious materials such as ivory, amber, etc. A usual defect of inlaid works is fallen-off or loss of inlaid parts due to the aging of adhesive. To conserve this artefact, the conservators use the same type of raw material as the missing insets, and through cutting, carving and polishing processes to produce the replacement. They are then bonded onto the respective places.

Missing inset replacements

Adhering

After conservation

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