Tat Tak Communal Hall – Gypsum Couplet
The Tat Tak Communal Hall is one of the 114 declared monuments in Hong Kong and is the only surviving communal hall in the territory which served as an assembly and worshiping point for a rural pact (joint village alliance) and also as a management office for the open market. In addition, the Tat Tak Communal Hall is also one of the very few remaining sites which has a connection with the Anti-British resistance in the New Territories in 1899. The government made it a Declared Monument in 2013 and initiated a comprehensive restoration project. The gypsum couplet in the Tat Tak Communal Hall is one of the artefacts restored by Conservation Office.
The couplet was broken in pieces with some parts lost. The surface of the couplet was also covered with dirt and dust and the colour had faded as a result of being submerged in water for a long period of time. Some of the paints also peeled off and the back of the couplet showed unevenness. After brushing off the dust and dirt on the couplet, we used nano-lime and ethyl-silicate to consolidate the broken pieces at the back and each side of the couplet. To ensure a completely straight couplet after restoration, we erected the broken pieces upright in a sand pool, using epoxy resin to attach the broken fragments at a perpendicular angle, with hydraulic lime filling up the holes and crevices in the broken pieces. As regards those lost pieces, we fabricated the internal support first using fibre web, and then made up the missing pieces with hydraulic lime.
To ensure the restored gypsum couplet is suitable for long term exhibition in a semi-outdoor environment in the Tat Tak Communal Hall, we strengthened the back of the couplet with high resilience carbon fibre cloth and enhanced the overall structure of the couplet with epoxy resin. Subsequently, we used mineral pigments to touch-up the colouring on the restored and the faded parts, and then applied lime and carbon black to recreate the missing characters of the couplet in accordance with their original appearance as shown on the historical photos. The restoration of the gypsum couplet of the Tat Tak Communal Hall is hence consummated.
