Viscosity of Wheat Starch Paste Used in Traditional Chinese Conservation Techniques
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Rong Yu
Abstract
In traditional Chinese conservation of historic books and mounted scrolls, the preparation and use of paste is an important process step. The viscosity of the paste is a key factor to consider, taking into account various parameters such as conservation technique, paper condition, or paper thickness. This study aims to determine the viscosity variation of diluted and thick pastes used in traditional Chinese conservation techniques with a rotary viscometer. During conservation treatment, as the number of restored leaves increases, the viscosity of diluted paste tends to increase significantly. The study highlights the different requirements for viscosity depending on its use either in Chinese books or Chinese hanging scrolls and emphasizes the importance of monitoring and adjusting paste viscosity during the conservation process. The use of a rotary viscometer, along with the traditional finger test method, is a significant step forward in improving the accuracy and efficiency of determining paste viscosity.
Zusammenfassung
In der traditionellen chinesischen Restaurierung von historischen Büchern und Schriftrollen ist die Herstellung von Weizenstärkekleister ein wichtiger Arbeitsschritt. Die Viskosität des Kleisters muss dabei auf die restauratorische Maßnahme, die Beschaffenheit des Papiers und die Papierdicke abgestimmt werden. Ziel dieser Studie war es, die unterschiedlichen Viskositäten von verdünntem und dickem Kleister mit Hilfe eines Rotationsviskosimeters zu bestimmen. Während der Restaurierung stieg die Viskosität des verdünnten Kleisters mit zunehmender Anzahl der restaurierten Blätter deutlich an. Die Studie verdeutlicht die unterschiedlichen Anforderungen an die Viskosität je nach Verwendung in Büchern oder Schriftrollen und zeigt, dass die ständige Beobachtung und Anpassung der Viskosität des Kleisters während des Restaurierungsprozesses unerlässlich sind. Die Verwendung eines Rotationsviskosimeters in Kombination mit der traditionellen Testmethode mittels Finger ist ein bedeutender Schritt zur Verbesserung der Genauigkeit und Effizienz bei der Bestimmung der Viskosität von Weizenstärkekleister.
Funding source: Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project
Award Identifier / Grant number: 2020ETQ005
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Research Funding: This research was supported by the Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project (2020ETQ005).
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Technical Note
- Viscosity of Wheat Starch Paste Used in Traditional Chinese Conservation Techniques
- Original Works
- Preparation of a Novel Adhesive from Highly Fibrillated Kozo Fibre for Paper Conservation
- Managing Dust in Academic Libraries
- On the Reversibility of Spray Adhesives in Paper Conservation
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Technical Note
- Viscosity of Wheat Starch Paste Used in Traditional Chinese Conservation Techniques
- Original Works
- Preparation of a Novel Adhesive from Highly Fibrillated Kozo Fibre for Paper Conservation
- Managing Dust in Academic Libraries
- On the Reversibility of Spray Adhesives in Paper Conservation
