A visiting scientist from the Palace Museum in Beijing working at the National Museum of Asian Art recently uncovered a surprising story behind a single Chinese album leaf, Children playing in a garden. The work was revealed as a pastiche of two different paintings, confirmed through the identification of different types of silk. The findings suggest that past artisans removed several figures from a Song dynasty painting and united them with a Ming dynasty painting background. Recent studies explore the different pigments and histories of the two parts of the work. Join conservation scientist Jennifer Giaccai as she discusses this discovery in Children playing in a garden, on view at NMAA later this fall. 
 
This talk is part of the monthly lunchtime series Sneak Peek: New Research from the National Museum of Asian Art, where staff members present brief, personal perspectives and ongoing research, followed by discussion. This year, the online series focuses on the theme of word and image—including calligraphy, seals, inscriptions, manuals, narratives, and poetry—in the collections of the National Museum of Asian Art. 
 
Jennifer Giaccai is a conservation scientist in the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, where she’s worked since 2015. She previously worked at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Her current research interests include the study of black inks used in both prints and calligraphy in Asia, and changes in pigments used over time throughout Asia.