In the fall of 2023, a fruitful collaboration between MOCA and the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, led to a number of objects from the MOCA collections receiving technical analysis and conservation treatment by four NYU graduate conservation students. Devon Lee, a current third-year objects conservation student at the Conservation Center, had the opportunity to research and treat this tánggŭ from the MOCA collections (CMTA 1989.002.450).

A tánggŭ belongs to an ancient lineage of ceremonial hall drums that have been played throughout China in different regions and contexts for centuries, including operatic and theatrical performances such as the Lion Dance, Buddhist temple ensembles, outdoor military processionals, and modern Chinese orchestra and theatre. This particular tánggŭ was accessioned by MOCA in 1989 as part of the collection of the Chinese Musical and Theatrical Association (CMTA), an association of opera performers in Chinatown that was frequently commissioned to perform for events such as the Lunar New Year from the 1930s until 2018, when rising rent costs and declining membership forced the CMTA to close their physical location.

A tánggŭ is a double-headed barrel drum that can be placed in a ring stand or suspended from four metal rings set into the widest part of the barrel, and it is played with unpadded sticks

The MOCA tánggŭ is constructed from 21 planks of wood, glued into a barrel shape and closed with two rawhide drumheads that are secured with metal rivets. The tánggŭ is painted in alternating red and blue stripes, and it rests in a circular metal stand, though there are metal rings secured to the widest part of the drum that would also allow the drum to be suspended from a stand with hooks.

The tánggŭ was brought to the Conservation Center for treatment to address a number of condition issues, including multiple tears through its upper drumhead, warping and splitting of its wooden planks, and the accumulation of heavy overall soiling. MOCA collection records contain a photograph of the drum, likely taken at the time of its acquisition in 1989, that demonstrates that these condition issues were not present when the tánggŭ was collected by MOCA.

A previous condition report was performed at MOCA as part of a collection-wide survey conducted in the aftermath of a fire that broke out in the MOCA Collections and Research Center at 70 Mulberry Street on January 23, 2020. This report notes that in addition to the torn rawhide, the tánggŭ sustained smoke and water damage, as indicated by presence of overall soot staining and swelling and splitting of the wood elements.

A shifting sound inside the tánggŭ that could be heard when the instrument was handled suggested that some amount of loose material had collected at the bottom of the drum. Devon produced a top-down X-radiograph of the drum, in which unidentified detritus could be seen inside the instrument.

In communication with MOCA staff, Devon proposed a conservation treatment that would reduce the risk of the torn rawhide drumhead continuing to split and sag, and clean the painted surface of the tánggŭ to an appropriate extent while retaining evidence of its age and history of use. The fact that the tánggŭ was played in the CMTA is indicated by the parallel lines of dark scarring on the upper drumhead; it is even possible to imagine precisely where the player stood or sat with unpadded sticks to achieve the marks.

Devon reduced grime on the painted surface of the drum using gentle dry and aqueous methods and materials, and she was able to remove a substantial amount of disfiguring soiling without excessively cleaning the drum. The tánggŭ does not look new; rather, more appropriately, it now appears to be aging gracefully.

As she cleaned the tánggŭ, Devon consolidated unstable paint, filled the split seams between the wood planks of the barrel with a water-soluble cellulose-based material, and toned the fills with acrylic paints. At the same time, she slowly and carefully applied localized humidification and counterpressure to the torn rawhide to restore tension to the upper drumhead.

Using a small hose connected to a HEPA vacuum, Devon removed the detritus that had gathered at the bottom of the tánggŭ.

Devon joined the torn edges of the rawhide with the same water-soluble, conservation-grade materials to produce fills that are strong, flexible, and easily removable. She toned the fills with acrylic paints to visually integrate them with the adjacent rawhide in accordance with the evidence of the instrument’s use.

To conclude this treatment, Devon added a visually inconspicuous padded lining to the upper ring of the drum stand, allowing the tánggŭ to rest in the stand without its painted surface becoming abraded by the metal ring

In the course of this conservation treatment, the lifespan of the tánggŭ was extended by cleaning and stabilization. Equally importantly, evidence of the instrument’s use and the role it played in shaping the culture of 20th-century Chinatown was respected and maintained.