Freshly mounted!

The Japanese hanging scroll with a circle (enso) by Ikeda Harumasa (1750–1818), ink and minimal colours on paper, 54.9 x 64.9 cm, was restored and re-mounted in Japan in 2013/2014 with funds made available by the Circle of Friends of the Museum of East Asian Art. Harumasa was the fifth-generation daimyô of the fief of Bizen-Okayama, and for a time the shôgun’s marshal and treasurer. The circle symbol (Jap.: en) was executed vigorously with a thick brush. In Zen Buddhism the circle stands for the perfection of Buddhist teaching or the equality of all living organisms, but also for the central text of the Lotus sutra.

Steps in the restoration process:

- The main picture photographed in raking light prior to restoration with parts of the mount
- Detail of the circle prior to restoration
- The old mount is removed from the reverse
- The residue of the reverse mount is removed
- A sheet of paper soaked in aged wheat-starch is applied
- The reverse mount is completely removed: picture support from the rear
- The main picture with parts of the mount after restoration
- Detail of the circle after restoration
- The hanging scroll with mount after restoration.

Steps in the restoration process

The work, which was torn in places, was re-mounted at the renowned restoration workshop in Tokyo by Kimishima Takayuki in a process taking several months.

Collection

Exhibitions

From Japonisme to Zen. Paul Klee und der Ferne Osten. 18 October 2014 to 1 February 2015

Deutsch

Opening times

Tuesday to Sunday
11am – 5pm
Every first Thursday in the month
11am – 10pm (except October 3, 2024)

The museum is closed due to the Cologne Marathon on 6 October 2024.

Closed Mondays; open on All Saints' Day
Museum is closed on December 24th, Christmas Day (25 Dec), New Year's Eve (31 Dec) and New Year's Day (1 Jan). Museum is opend on Easter Monday, Whit Monday, German Unity Day and December 26.