Museum-Grade Tansu Restoration

A collection of six Edo-period tansu — varying from a small personal chest to a full-height merchant's cabinet — arrived at our restoration workshop in condition ranging from stable to severely compromised by previous amateur repairs. Working with two master Japanese woodworking conservators, we documented original construction methods, reversed inappropriate past treatments, and stabilized all pieces using only period-appropriate materials. The project took 18 months and produced comprehensive treatment reports now held in the collections of the owners and on deposit with the Art Institute of Chicago.