THF's wall-painting conservation programs has three main aims:

research and identify historic wall-painting technologies used within the Tibetan cultural realm

train local restorers

help to preserve endangered historic wall-paintings

The program is carried out in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Erfurt (TFH), Prof. Meinhard Landmann and Suzy Hesse; German restorers Christine and Patrick Jürgens and Romanian restorer Anca Nicolaescu. Uli Eltgen, Ute Griesser and Melodie Bonnat have also been involved.

During the years THF had several trainees, in Ladakh Yangchen Dolma, Skrama Lotus and Samsten, in Qinghai Ms Choekyi and Shardruktso and in Sikkim Tenzing Norgay. Two of the Ladakhi students have spend three months at the Erfurt University (TFH) in 2007 learning about conservation principles and technologies in the conservation laboratories.

THF’s completed wall-painting conservation projects include the Leh Guru Lhakhang(2004-2005), the Leh Red Maitreya Temple (2005-2008) and the Alchi Tsatsapuri Temple (2006-on-going), Alchi Lotsawa Lhakhang (2015-2016), Phyang Guru Lhakhang (2016-2017) (Ladakh), Gangtok Tsuklakhang (2011-2013) and Lachen Manikhang (2012-2012) in Sikkim, the Achung Namdzong cave temple (2005-2006) and Ragya Monastery's Gyupa Dratsang (2003-2006) in Qinghai.

Photo: the Ladakh Wall-painting conservation team 2005. Suzy Hesse from Erfurt University of Applied Sciences with the two trainees Yangchen and Skarma and overall nice guy Daniel.

Photo: Anca Nicolaescu investigating the 15th century wall-paintings in the Red Maitreya Temple in Leh.

Photo below: Christine Jürgens cleaning and stabilizing murals in the Achung Namdzong cave in Qinghai.
Christine Jürgens has also prepared a toolkitfor THF's wall-painting program, and we plan to publish here the results of our reserach of wall-painting technologies, such as pigment analysis and analysis of composition of painting layers.