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go to the bottom of the page to see a March '97 photo from Baiya
![Expedition bus stops at Qiao'er Shan on the way to Dege.](../small/ce09_s.gif) |
Expedition bus stops at Qiao'er Shan on the way to Dege. |
Bang, bang, bang! A team of three strong men is using wooden hammers to pound a
painted image of Sakyamuni. It crosses my mind that beating the founder of Buddhism might
be breaking an ecclesiastical law, so I glance at Lama Tenzing, who is in charge of this
Tibetan monastery, to see if he disapproves. To my relief, Tenzeng looks impassive, and so
the pounding goes on. Soon the mural, which has been covered with layers of fixative,
gauze and glue, is hanging free from the wall. The men roll up the painting; then they
carry it outside where it sees daylight for the first time in its 270 years.
This is my fifth visit to Baiya Monastery, and by now Lama Tenzing trusts that my team
is only trying to preserve Tibetan architecture and art. On this expedition I brought
three Italian experts with me to detach Baiya's murals from its collapsing clay walls. One
of the experts is Guido Botticelli, Italy's foremost authority on detaching wall
paintings. Thanks to his experience and that of his two companions, Carlo Giantomassi and
Donatella Zari, that this work can take place.
![Damage to a trail means that the expedition equipment must be carried up this hill of dirt to where the horses are waiting to take the team to Baiya.](../small/ce17_s.gif) |
Damage to a trail means that the expedition equipment
must be carried up this hill of dirt to where the horses are waiting to take the team to
Baiya. |
It hasn't been easy. First, there was the journey. My team of foreign experts, Tibetan
apprentices, and support staff reached Baiya only after four days by car, then half a day
in a caravan thirty-one horses long. Since we started work the expedition has been plagued
by lost and defective materials, moreover the cold, rainy weather is hardly conducive to
glue-drying. Yet Guido and the other two experts have overcome all the problems, and after
much trial and error have decided that pounding the painting is the surest way to separate
the mural from its underlying clay.
Baiya Monastery's murals are one of the few surviving examples of the Dege style of
painting, Dege being an ancient enclave that once ruled twenty-five tribes on the eastern
plateau. Now Dege County is the center of a Buddhist art revival, yet today's young
painters cannot match the skill of their ancient predecessors. To ensure that Baiya's
sublime images survive to inspire and instruct future generations is the purpose of this
CERS project.
![The team loosens a mural from its underlying clay by hitting the
gauze-covered mural with mallets.](../small/ce22_s.gif) |
The team loosens a mural from its underlying clay by
hitting the gauze-covered mural with mallets. |
Now, in our rustic mess hall in another part of the monastery, the patient lies flat
upon the table. The surgeons--Guido and his two assistants--carefully attach a new lining
to the back. Then comes the final, crucial step. They daub the front of the painting with
hot water to dissolve the glue, then peel away the layers of gauze to expose the paint
beheath. Slowly, the graceful form emerges, like a shapely youth stepping out of a steamy
shower.
Throughout the conservation procedure, our four Tibetan conservation apprentices have
been assisting the experts. The best of them, Deshi Yangjin, who joined our program last
year, is already able to undertake cleaning jobs on her own.
![latest photo from Baiya](../small/baiy97_s.jpg) |
The most recent photo from Baiya. |
This year's expedition is nearly over, but the job is not finished; for Baiya
Monastery's damaged walls, rotten timber, and leaking roof must be repaired. Then comes
another expedition to re-mount the murals. I look forward to seeing a reborn Baiya
Monastery.
9/1/97 from the editor: Pamela Logan recently sent Asianart.com this photo of
renovation work at Baiya, " It shows the main temple interior, lit by daylight
because the roof has been taken off. Workers are hoisting one of the new columns. The
murals are covered and so not visible. It was taken in March or so of this year
(1997)."
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