Conservation and Restoration of a Rectangular Gilt-Bronze Flowerpot Inlaid with Jade and Glass, Featuring an Amber Chinese Rose Miniature Landscape

The National Palace Museum collection, rectangular gilt-bronze flowerpot inlaid with jade and glass, featuring an amber Chinese rose miniature landscape, was originally displayed in the Tiyuan Hall of Changchun Palace. This miniature landscape exhibits a high degree of realism and varied colour palette, featuring flowers of different colours on the same plant. The flowerpot adopts a Western-inspired form and draws on clockmaking techniques, reflecting a fusion of Chinese and Western artistic aesthetics. Due to its long-term display in its original setting, the miniature landscape suffers from various damages, such as accumulated surface dust, loose or detached inlays, old restoration marks on the kingfisher feather (Diancui) surfaces, and an overall loose structure. To address the detachment of the inlays and the old restoration traces on the kingfisher feather surfaces, this study employed visual observation combined with laser Raman spectroscopy to analyze the materials and pigments on different flowers and feather surfaces. The results indicate that the flowers were made of 8 materials: crystal, amethyst, tremolite, glass, coral, tourmaline, agate, and amber. And the pigments on the feather surface were identified as zinc white, Prussian blue, and ultramarine. This conservation and restoration effort resolved 3 key issues: the removal of early restoration pigments, the removal of aged adhesives, and the reattachment of enamel inlays, providing a valuable reference for the future restoration of similar cultural relics.