Bringing together Buddhism and art conservation

In 2012, the Foundation announced an endowment to set up The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Centre for Buddhist Art and Conservation at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London. Since then, one of the Centre’s main projects has been to establish and run a master’s programme in Buddhist Art: History and Conservation. The ground-breaking degree is the UK’s first integrated programme for Buddhist studies, history of art and conservation. It is run in collaboration with the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, with additional teaching provided by guest scholars.

The setting-up of the Courtauld programme followed the successful international Buddhist Art Forum, held in London in 2012. This was arranged by the Courtauld and sponsored by the Foundation. Professor David Park, Director of the Conservation of Wall Painting Department, a Forum organiser, and subsequently also Director of the Ho Centre, recalled the four-day forum interwove Buddhist art and conservation, an approach then taken up by the Centre. In addition to the MA, the Centre has set up a library for Asian art, and provides free lectures and conferences that reach out to specialists, students and the public.

The Courtauld is a global leader in art history and conservation. Under the directorship of Dr Deborah Swallow since 2004, the Institute has been keen to build greater engagement with the cultures of Asia, alongside its traditional western art focus. The Ho Centre is in the vanguard of this move, Professor Park noted, as it is the only one devoted to Asian art at the Courtauld.

The MA programme, launched in 2013, is headed by Dr Giovanni Verri, Lecturer in Buddhist Art and its Conservation, and overseen by Professor Park. Each year, it enables a small cohort of home and international students – eight maximum in total per year – to study in London as well as on-site in distant locations, such as the Forbidden City in Beijing, and Dunhuang in northwest China, home to the famous Mogao cave art paintings. A key objective is to enhance the preservation of Buddhist art by extending students’ knowledge beyond conservation to the history and principles of Buddhism, its art history and religion. “Solid evidence in each of these fields helps in determining the best approach to preserving heritage,” said Dr Verri.

The overseas fieldwork, made possible by Foundation funding, gives students from both east and west an outstanding opportunity to deepen their understanding of the needs, challenges and significance of their studies. “It would be unthinkable otherwise to take a group of students and professors off to Dunhuang for two weeks,” Professor Park said.

Scholarships allow students from emerging economies to apply for the MA programme despite the high cost of studying in London. “This is extremely important,” Dr Verri said. “Working in museums offers a highly controlled environment. When Buddhist art is on site, this is obviously not the case, and we need to reach out to individuals in countries where Buddhist art is located so they can go back and make a difference.” At the same time, students from the west benefit from gaining deeper knowledge of the background of eastern artefacts.

Following a rigorous application and interview process, the MA’s global intake has thus ranged from Nepal and Bhutan to China, the UK and France. Initial cohorts included a textile conservator, linguists, and those from art history, archaeological, religious studies and economics backgrounds.

On the professional network front, the programme’s base in the Courtauld provides useful interaction between Wall Painting Conservation students and Buddhist Art students. The Foundation’s support of permanent Buddhist art galleries at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has seen connections forged between Courtauld students and the museum’s Asian specialists, encouraging sharing of insights and practical knowledge. Students have visited the British Museum to see its conservators at work. There is also an annual trip to Paris galleries.

MA graduates have moved on to a lectureship in Asian art in the US, a prestigious Daiwa scholarship from the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, an internship at the Smithsonian, digitalising a photo library in Nepal through a British Library grant, and a job with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Others are keen to do a PhD. This is a sterling record so soon after the programme’s launch. The reasons, according to Professor Park, are two-fold: the standing of the Courtauld; and, thanks to the Foundation, the resources to ensure students gain maximum benefit from their learning experience.