Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco seeks to conserve and improve storage conditions for a Thai painting in its collection, "Standing Buddha flanked by two disciples, supported by the monkey hero Hanuman" (Thailand, 1850-1900). The intended result is to restore flexibility of the painting's primary support and to stabilize the flaking paint to allow for its safe display and handling. The stabilized painting will be displayed in the fall 2016 special exhibition, "Rama Epic: Hero, Heroine, Ally, Foe," and subsequently displayed for the public and made available for study by scholars of Southeast Asian art and painting. In carrying out this treatment, the museum will preserve an important and rare Thai painting, enhance its expertise in Thai painting conservation, share findings and methodologies with peer institutions with Southeast Asian collections, and disseminate project results with museum visitors and scholars of Southeast Asian art.