How do museums look after the artworks in their care? The return of an important pair of Japanese handscrolls to the Chester Beatty after extended conservation treatment overseas gives us an opportunity to explore this highly specialised field.

For this talk, we welcome Conservators Andrew Thompson and Sydney Thomson from Restorient studio in Leiden, Netherlands, to find out more about the project they undertook on the Account of the Deeds of Zōga Shōnin.

Telling the story of the famously eccentric monk Zōga (917–1003), these eighteenth-century scrolls were conserved with generous support from Japan’s Sumitomo Foundation. Details of the tools, techniques and materials used by Restorient in their treatment of the Zōga Shōnin scrolls provide a fascinating insight into the practices and traditions of conservation.

Free, onsite and online lecture; no booking needed for onsite, register for online talk. Curator Dr Mary Redfern will lead an optional tour of the display following the talk for visitors onsite