‘Made in China’—techniques when approaching the conservation of three China trade paintings

This article presents information on the history and treatment of a special and little-discussed group of objects, namely oil paintings made in China at the end of the eighteenth century for export to the European market. China did not have a tradition of producing oil paintings, and these objects combined traditional Eastern techniques with materials introduced from the West. The oil paint was painted on paper pasted onto a cotton/jute canvas. This mixture has led to particular conservation problems which will be discussed, along with the treatment strategies and results. Research on the history of the objects carried out in recent years is presented, as well as the results of the research on the materials and structure of the paintings.