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Compilation of four images showing scientists using multispectral imaging, Raman, x-ray fluorescence, and fiber-optic reflectance spectroscopy instruments with four pith paintings.
Library of Congress scientists and colleagues from Nottingham Trent University ISAAC use various imaging and spectroscopy techniques to analyze the pigments and substrate of pith paintings from the Library’s collection. Credit: Shawn Miller.

International Outreach: Examining Pith Paintings from Lima to Canton

Posted by: Bobbi Hinton

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The following is a guest post by Meghan Wilson, a preservation specialist in the Preservation Research and testing Division of the Library of Congress.

The spark of inspiration and discovery spurred on by collaboration is always exciting to rekindle. In April, the Preservation Research and Testing Division hosted colleagues from Nottingham Trent University’s ISAAC Research Lab (Imaging & Sensing for Archaeology, Art History, and Conservation) as they explored the Library of Congress’ collection of pith paintings. Their international research project “From Lima to Canton and Beyond: an AI-aided Heritage Materials Research Platform for Studying Globalisation through Art” exemplifies collaboration on a multitude of different levels: between the cultures who produced the art, between institutions researching them in present day, between collections in multiple divisions within the Library, and even between different instruments for analysis.

3 images: A painting of a standing figure, dressed in finely ornamented traditional Chinese costume. A Painting of a man and woman dancing in traditional Peruvian costume. A Painting of a Chinese tea ceremony. 7 figures in fancy garb and headwear stand around a decorative mat next to a table and other furniture on which there is a teapot, teacups, and spread of food.
Left: [Prince], Gillman collection of Chinese pith paintings. China, ca. 1850-1900. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2010631354/?loclr=blogpres. Credit: Meghan Wilson. Right: [Couple Dancing], Costumes of the People of Peru. Studio of Tingqua, China, ca. 1830-1840. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/00651690/?loclr=blogpres. Credit: Meghan Wilson. Bottom: [Tea Ceremony], A Chinese life. Guan Lianchang, Sunqua Studios, Guangzhou, ca. 1840. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2023630185/?loclr=blogpres. Credit: Meghan Wilson.
Pith paintings were a new medium to me. Pith, the substrate onto which the paint is applied, is not like traditional paper. It’s made from hand-cutting thin sheets of the spongy tissue found in the stem of Tetrapanax Papyrifera, a plant native to southern China and Taiwan, and used to m