Asian papermaking has traditionally been rural and regional.1 Abundant local plants and fibers were used, and papermakers developed methods that reflected the unique qualities of their raw materials. Paper in Asia has been made by hand continuously for over two thousand years and it is still an important part of the culture. There are many references to papermaking history in Asia, but the publications by Dard Hunter are still among the most useful when faced with the challenge of identifying historic Asian papers in works of art.2 The Asian philosophy of reproducing works of art causes many problems when attempting to distinguish originals. It is known that many forgeries and copies of historic documents exist. It is essential to observe all aspects of the work, including the relationship between the techniques and materials used and their development through the ages, as well as the artistic concept. The study of the paper support can often contribute to an object's appropriate dating and classification. For this article I studied historic Asian handmade papers using visual observation, transmitted light microscopy with polarized light, and SEM (scanning electron microscopy). The artworks were chosen from museum and library collections such as the East Asian collections of the Chungbuk National University Museum (CNUM) in South Korea; The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Asian Paper in Works of Art: A Comparative Fiber Analysis agnieszka helman-wazny The author working on a conservation survey at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India. The author analyzing fiber composition using a light microscope. All photos courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted. - hand papermaking Poland; and the Tibetan collection of the British Library in the United Kingdom. Chosen artworks represent a broad range of Korean heritage such as paper shoes, royal certificates, and printed books; as well as Tibetan books written on paper from the Himalayan region and China; and Japanese woodcuts.3 Using transmitted light microscopy with polarized light, I attempted to identify the types of fiber in the samples from the museum objects. I paid close attention to clues such as the general shape of the fibers, dimensions of the fibers (mainly width), cross markings, the shapes of the ends of the fiber, irregularities in the fiber walls (if any), and the kind and size of vessel elements.4 Many bast fibers, commonly used in Asian papermaking, are difficult to identify because the shape of fiber changes during the stamping and drying stages of papermaking. Aging also affects the fiber's morphology (dimensions, shape, and width of the lumen). SEM was also used for studying the structure and surface of the paper and the conditions of fibers in the pulp. I referenced a fiber atlas and keys for fiber identification compiled from numerous sources.5 A thorough fiber analysis is rarely carried out when restoring works of art on paper. While it is generally viewed as a non-essential step, obtaining this information can help in making a decision about a specific conservation treatment and in choosing the appropriate materials for use during conservation. And, historically, a single result in one conservation report does not mean that much in the world of conservation. However if we could form an expanded paper database by comparing the results of single tests with others' research, this would be a very helpful reference tool. Nowadays we have many detailed watermark databases, which are used for identifying historic papers, but they do not contain useful information about other paper properties. Traditional Asian papers do not often have watermarks, but it is possible to report other observations, such as papermaking mould prints (chain and laid lines), and types of raw material, as well as surface and structural properties of the historic papers.6 Taken together, these pieces of information have great research value. It is also possible to note the properties and characteristics of the artistic work on paper, a method which has been neglected for being too obvious. The distinct character of a work of art derives, more than anyone would guess, from the materials used in its creation. Fibers constitute the basic component of any paper sheet, and so determination of the fiber composition is essential in characterizing the paper. For this study, I looked at plant tissue and samples of raw materials taken directly from plants to use as a reference in identifying fibers in the historic papers. Analysis of the historic papers showed that Broussonetia sp., Edgeworthia sp., Daphne sp., and Boehmeria sp. were most often represented as raw materials. Ramie (Boehmeria sp.) was mainly found in documents from China's Dunhuang caves and in later Tibetan books that were suspected of being written on Chinese paper. When fibers were stained reddish brown with Herzberg (a zinc chloro-iodide stain), the cross-sections of fibers resembled a flat ribbon pattern, similar to that exhibited by cotton fibers. However ramie is distinctive by the enormous thickness of fibers and the manner in which it breaks into longitudinal stratifications when damaged. Bruised ramie fibers also reveal exposed primary walls. This characteristic is a trademark of damaged paper mulberry fibers, so ramie is sometimes mistaken for paper mulberry. Paper mulberry (Broussonetia sp.) was identified mostly in Korean and Japanese papers, but also in three samples taken from the A certificate, "Royal Writ of Appointment to Myong-joon Lee, Jae-shim Lee, and Jae-ki Lee." This object includes covers and four chapters of a book dated from 1756, 1785, 1783, and 1814. Collection Chungbuk National University Museum (CNUM), South Korea. Tibetan book (17th- to 19th-century) with handwritten Diamond Sutra text. Unique from a technological standpoint, this object is an example of a gold sutra written in gold ink on black paper. \[DSB 1\] Collection Pomeranian Library, Szczecin, Poland. Tibetan book (17th-century) with handwritten Diamond Sutra text. The leaves are two to three layers of thin, wove-mould papers laminated together. \[MAP 14146\] Collection The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Poland. winter 2006 - Dunhuang documents. By staining the fibers with Herzberg (reddish brown and a pale purple color) and submitting the samples to SEM, I could see blunt fiber ends, clear but irregular cross-markings, and a transparent membrane which indicated a primary wall enveloping the fiber—all characteristics of paper mulberry fibers. While the presence of a primary wall exists in other species, it is not as clearly visible as in paper mulberry. Edgeworthia sp. and Daphne sp. were found in Tibetan papers. Both species belong to the Thymelacea family and were the basic materials in papers from the foot of the Himalayas.7 It was very difficult to tell apart these two species, but after staining by Herzberg with olive-gray, I could at least distinguish them from other bast fibers by observing their broad central portions which are typical for fibers from the Thymelacea family.8 The Daphne fibers seemed to be more rigid in their general shape, and more irregular in thickness, than the Edgeworthia fibers. The broad portions were not associated with cross-markings, which occurred densely and were often visible as a "v" or zigzag shape in polarized light. Dislocations and irregularities in the fiber walls and lumens were clearly visible. The bast of Edgeworthia is usually whiter and softer than that of Daphne, but paper made of Daphne was generally considered the better paper in Tibet. Daphne paper is known by Tibetans as dug-shog, "poisonous paper," because the bark of this tree contains a substance that deters insects,9 making it naturally resistant to insect infestation and deterioration, and is even thought to have medicinal properties.10 The fiber properties of paper have strongly shaped the aesthetics of a given culture based upon the raw material used. At the same time, artists choose materials to match their creative impetus. It is challenging to make solid conclusions about the relationship between material and aesthetics because so many of these observations are subjective. Beyond the raw materials, there are other aspects of the papermaking process which influence the nature of the resultant paper, such as the degree of fiber blending, the type of papermaking mould used, and the preparation of the paper surface before a drawing, calligraphy, or a print is set upon it. The differences in ink drawings or calligraphy from Japan and China come from basic paper properties such as absorbency. Chinese calligraphy which was printed on short-fibered bamboo and rice straw paper, has an exacting quality in its geometric, squareshaped figures, and implies a greater sense of control over the medium. The best-known Chinese paper for calligraphy and other works of art is xuan zhi paper. Depending on the factory, bamboo, mulberry, or rice straw was used to make this paper.11 The other plants used for the production of traditional paper in China are paper mulberry, flax, hemp, ramie, many types of grasses, or a combination of raw materials, making fiber identification most difficult. Historically, the Japanese, as well as the Koreans, made paper mainly from the wood species Broussonetia kazinoki and papyrifera. The Japanese call it kozo and the Koreans, dak. Japanese paper was also made from mitsumata (Edgeworthia papyrifera) and gampi (Wikstroemia sikokiana). These plant species both belong to the Thymelacea family and are very similar to those found in Tibetan books as described earlier. Sometimes other materials such as hemp or bamboo were employed. Kozo paper was generally used for calligraphy in Japan. The long kozo fibers lend themselves to a certain writing style because of the way the ink bleeds through the length of the fibers, creating a soft, round, slightly dreamy character to Japanese calligraphy and ink drawings. Woodcut from an 18th-century Japanese book analyzed for fiber composition. Collection The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Poland. Photo: Eugeniusz Helbert. Japanese calligraphy on kozo paper. The title page of the book of woodcuts including the one at left. Collection The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Poland. Photo: Eugeniusz Helbert. Geometric, square-shaped figures of Chinese calligraphy from a 19th-century scroll. Collection The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Poland. Photo: Eugeniusz Helbert. This page spread shows fibers identified in historic Asian papers and plants. on this page—top left: Paper mulberry fiber taken directly from plant stained with sufranine (400x mag); top right: Ramie (Boehmeria sp.) fibers found in document from China's Dunhuang caves (1200x mag); middle left: Ramie (Boehmeria sp.) found in document from China's Dunhuang caves distinctive by the enormous thickness of fibers and the manner in which it breaks into longitudinal stratifications when damaged (600x mag); middle right: Ramie (Boehmeria sp.) in document from China's Dunhuang caves, with primary wall on bruised ramie fiber visible (600x mag); bottom left: Paper mulberry (Broussonetia sp.) fibers stained with Herzberg (40x mag) identified in Jyajeon, a Korean metal printed book; bottom center: Paper mulberry fibers stained with Herzberg (100x mag) identified in Jyajeon; bottom right: Paper mulberry fiber and a transparent membrane which indicates a primary wall enveloping the fiber visible in SEM (600x mag). on this page—top left: Highly degraded paper mulberry fibers stained with Herzberg (200x mag) taken from the cover of Jyajeon; top right: Daphne sp. fibers (400x mag) found in Tibetan book; middle left: Central broad portion characteristic for Thymelacea family–Daphne sp. (600x mag) found in ritual Tibetan book; middle right: Central broad portion characteristic for Thymelacea family–Daphne sp. (1200x mag) found in ritual Tibetan book; bottom left: Edgeworthia sp. fibers (200x mag) in modern, but traditionally made paper brought by author from Nepal; bottom right: Edgeworthia sp. fibers (400x mag) identified in the xylograph printed Diamond Sutra book showing irregular lumen and cross-marking clearly visible. - hand papermaking The distinctive character of Chinese and Japanese calligraphies can thus be seen to come directly from how the ink absorbs into the paper during writing or painting. Traditional East Asian paper was never sized, although Chinese paper was generally more absorbent than Japanese and Korean paper due to an extra stage in the papermaking process. In all three countries, the raw material was beaten in order to fibrillate the fiber. The Chinese then added another step, by using a knife to cut the fibers as well, which resulted in a paper with short, blunt-ended fibers, thereby affecting the paper structure, the absorbency, and overall writing style. In contrast to both the Chinese and Japanese traditions, Tibetan calligraphy in ancient books was created with a stylus (a bamboo pen), not a brush. The characters resemble those in medieval European manuscripts on parchment rather than Chinese or Japanese characters. Characteristics of traditional Tibetan paper no doubt contributed to Tibet's lettering style. Tibetan paper (made with Daphne and Edgeworthia fiber) was traditionally rather thick, with an uneven surface, compared to thin, silky Japanese gampi and mitsumata paper made with similar fibers from the Thymelacea family. Unlike the Japanese, Tibetan sheet formation does not involve the use of formation aid, resulting in paper with uneven fiber dispersion. To obtain a smooth surface, Tibetans glued a few layers of paper together and finished the surface with additional substances, such as wheat powder (tsam-pa), barley powder, black ink, or even plaster (as practiced in East Turkistan).12 The paper was then polished, making the surface smooth, impervious to oil and ink penetration, and virtually nonabsorbent. Only the preparation of the paper surface allowed for handlettering and printing of text using xylographic blocks. Analysis of the binding media of the Tibetan books showed that the paper sheets (three to five layers) were adhered with animal glue and the resin of coniferous trees.13 As the individual sheets of paper were never sized, the adhesives identified must have been introduced to the paper during the process of book preparation. By understanding the Tibetan papermaking process it becomes clear why so often sheets of paper made in the Himalayas do not have uniform thickness, a fact confirmed by this study. Scientific examination of Asian paper specimens reveals old methods, materials, and techniques, as well as differences in aesthetics directly attributable to the papers themselves. In this way, historic papers are a treasure of information in understanding the contributions of cultures from the past. A comprehensive list of reference literature related to this article appears on Hand Papermaking's website at www.handpapermaking.org/ magazine. Ed. Tibetan lettering style (dbu-can script) in gold ink on black paper, created with a stylus (a bamboo pen). Tibetan paper with wire marks and uneven fiber dispersion identified in a Tibetan administration document. Collection Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, India. winter 2006 - ___________ notes 1. Alice Schreyer, East–West: Hand Papermaking Traditions and Innovations (Newark: University of Delaware Library, 1988), 13. 2. Dard Hunter, Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943); Dard Hunter, Old Papermaking in China and Japan (Chillicothe, Ohio: Mountain House Press, 1932). 3. More detailed characteristics of the artifacts under study was presented in a previous article: Agnieszka Helman-Wazny, Tomasz Wazny, Nam-seok Cho, Tae-hoo Choi, "Scientific Evaluation of 16–19th Century Historic Paper Artefacts from Chungbuk National University Museum," J. Conservation Science 13, no. 1 (2004): 1–14. 4. Agnieszka Helman-Wazny, Tae-hoo Choi, Nam-seok Cho, Won-kyu Park, "Identification and Characteristics of Traditional Papers as the First Step of Conservation Treatment in Korea," in Identification and Characteristics of Archaeological Woods and Traditional Papers, ed. Won-kyu Park (Cheongju: Chungbuk National University, 2000). 5. References included: Jesper Trier, Ancient Paper of Nepal (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1972); Thomas Collings and Derek Milner, "The Identification of Oriental Papermaking Fibers," in The Paper Conservator 3 (1978): 51–79; Dorothy Catling and John Grayson, Identification of Vegetable Fibres (London: Chapman and Hall, 1982), 1–11; Marja Sisko and Ilvessalo Pfäffli, Fiber Atlas: Identification of Papermaking Fibers (Berlin: Springer, 1995). 6. Peter F. Tschudin, "Non-Destructive Optical Investigation of Paper," in Paper as a Medium of Cultural Heritage: Archaeology and Conservation, 26th Congress–International Association of Paper Historians, ed. Rosella Graziaplena, 135–141. Rome: Instituto Centrale per la Patologia del Libro, 2004. 7. For characteristics of the plants used for papermaking in Nepal and other references, see Jesper Trier, Ancient Paper of Nepal (Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1972), 50–59. 8. Marja Sisko and Ilvessalo Pfäffli, Fiber Atlas: Identification of Papermaking Fibers (Berlin: Springer, 1995), 351. 9. Yoshiro Imaeda, "Papermaking in Bhutan," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hung XLIII, no. 2 and 3 (1989): 410. 10. Manohar Upreti, "Lokta, King of Nepalese Paper," in Spirit of Paper, ed. Arne Westerhof, 236–243. Leiden, Holland: Uitgeverij Compres, 2004. 11. Elaine Koretsky, "Papermaking Today in Tibet and China," Hand Papermaking 1, no. 1 (Spring 1986): 2–6. 12. Margarita Iosifovna Vorob'eva-Desiatovskaia, "Rukopisnaia kniga v ku'lturie Tsentral'noi Azii v domusul'manskii period" in Rukopisnaia kniga v kul'turie narodov Vostoka, 334. Moscow: Glavnaia redaktsia vostochnoi literatury izdatel'stva Nauka, 1988. 13. The analysis of binding media carried out by Dr. I. Zadrozna at the Department of Chemistry of the Warsaw Polytechnic University allowed reconstruction of the sutra's creation. The composition of the binding agent was established using two independent spectroscopic techniques: gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrography (GC-MS) and infrared spectroscopy used for corroboration of the results obtained by GC-MS. Leaves from a Tibetan Book of the Dead written in gold and silver on indigo-dyed paper (fragment). \[OR 15190\] Collection British Library, London. Leaves of a xylograph printed Diamond Sutra book on a light table. Upper leaf is made of two sheets of laminated Tibetan paper. The lower leaf shows one sheet of Tibetan paper with uneven thickness. \[MAP 14141\] Collection The Asia and Pacific Museum in Warsaw, Poland. Fragment of the handwritten book Shes rab ky pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa on laminated paper. \[14532\] Collection Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, India.