Introduction
The mounting of painting or calligraphy is a unique Chinese craft that has a long history of over a thousand years. Known by a variety of terms in Chinese, the mounting includes the backing of the artwork itself and often incorporates silk borders and various other portions and accessories. A work of painting and calligraphy not properly mounted is much more difficult to appreciate and preserve for posterity. Works must not only be suitably mounted but also done so in an aesthetically pleasing manner to complement the contents. In fact, back in the Ming dynasty, Chou Chia-chou (1582-ca. 1661) in The Book of Mounting wrote, "a mounter is in charge of a painting or calligraphy's fate" and "one cannot overlook paying attention to the mountings of treasured painting and calligraphy." In other words, the art of mounting is a vital part of traditional painting and calligraphy.
If an ancient work shows serious sign of damage, its mounting inevitably must be removed for repairs and the work remounted. The restored backing and remounting of an ancient artwork can bring it back to life and to its former brilliance, making this craft even more important. The collection of painting and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum includes more than 10,000 works and sets. Among the most valuable ones are masterpieces dating from the T'ang and Sung dynasties or earlier. If mounters over the ages had not fastidiously cared for these works from more than a thousand years ago, how could they have been preserved in their present state for all to appreciate now?
The formats of Chinese painting and calligraphy can be divided into the four general categories--hanging scrolls, handscrolls, album leaves, and fans, with considerable variety in each group. Hanging scrolls, for example, include large hall, narrow side, paired couplet, and continuous scenery types. Handscrolls may feature thin, covered, or wrapping borders. Album leaves come in a wide range of folding (page), butterfly (horizontal) folded, push-awning (top-bottom page), and sutra-fold (accordion) mountings, while fans appear in parasol, circular or rounded, and folding varieties.
In many exhibitions of painting and calligraphy at the National Palace Museum, most descriptions of the works focus on the artist or their contents. However, for this special exhibition, it is hoped that visitors will not only appreciate these artworks and their artists through various mounting formats, but also learn more about the unique "behind-the-scenes" art of mounting and some of its technical aspects. With a better understanding of this often overlooked craft, audiences can discover more about it and the techniques involved in mounting and restoring Chinese painting and calligraphy while also gaining greater appreciation and respect for the effort of craftsmen both now and in the past.