ABSTRACT One of the factors affecting the life expectancy of hanging scrolls is the storage environment. Our study focused on clarifying the degradation behaviour of painting paper, concentrating on the specific storage conditions that provide an airtight environment in a storage box and the stacked structure of the rolled paper rather than considering the materials of the wooden storage box or the

ABSTRACT This work presents the results of the study of a fragment of architectural terracruda sculpture from the Buddhist archaeological site of Tepe Narenj (Kabul, Afghanistan, fifth-ninth centuries CE) through X-ray micro-computed tomographic analysis. This technique offers great potential for the study of artworks that, due to their nature, condition, or relevance, are not suitable for sampling

ABSTRACT This review paper offers a summary of historical techniques and materials used to produce plaster casts and to treat their surfaces, as found in the historical literature. It reviews a selection of manuals, treatises, and recipe books on the art of the cast makers as well as a selection of patents related to the manufacturing of casts and the coating of their surfaces. The introduction to

ABSTRACT This article reports testing of the efficacy of five consolidants (sodium alginate, zinc alginate, Paraloid® B-72, TRI-Funori™, Methocel® A4C) used by conservators for consolidation. The consolidants were tested for potential use on deteriorated black-dyed plant fibres, specifically paru-dyed muka (iron-tannate dyed fibre from harakeke; New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax), building on previous

ABSTRACT A Japanese painting paper is sized with an aqueous solution of alum and animal glue followed by brushing with a mixture of pigments of various colours and aqueous animal glue solution. Subsequently, to mount the Japanese painting to a hanging scroll, the backside of the painting is lined with a first lining paper using wheat starch paste for mechanical support. To evaluate the permanence of

ABSTRACT As the redox catalytic activity of iron may be detrimental for waterlogged archaeological wood, it is of importance to know what ligands bind the iron, their distribution in the wood, and what the reactivity of these compounds are. We have identified iron-tannin precipitates in archaeological oak timber from the shipwreck of the seventeenth-century warship The Sword with confocal Raman spectroscopy

ABSTRACT The use of organic solvents in treatments for the removal of varnishes on easel paintings is still a common practice among conservators worldwide. The more polar solvents required for aged, oxidized varnishes may promote leaching of fatty acid components of oil-based paints. The strategy tested in this study to reduce the diffusion of the solvents, in an attempt to minimize interactions, relied

ABSTRACT The appearance of silver objects deteriorates due to the formation of a brown-to-black tarnish layer. Several methods are available for removing these tarnished layers, ranging from polishing through chemical cleaning to electrochemical methods. This study presents a low-cost and low-toxicity method that uses sodium glycinate to clean silver. Cleaning tests were performed on both artificially

ABSTRACT Since ancient times, the use of high-tin bronze alloys (>17 wt.%) has been mainly limited to the production of specific objects such as mirrors and bells. High-tin bronzes can show distinctive colour reflection, as well as mechanical properties and corrosion resistance that clearly distinguish them from the classical bronze composition (with 8–12 wt.% tin). In the present study samples of

ABSTRACT This paper presents the study of metal threads and other decorative materials on 11 traditional Chinese children's hats dated to the early twentieth century. The lavishly decorated hats were presented to children to protect them from evil and bless them for good health and fortune. Those hats were selected for display in the 2015 exhibition ‘Wearable Blessings: Traditional Chinese Children's

ABSTRACT This paper explores concepts of changeability, variability, and malleability in the different heritage genres of time-based artworks and utilitarian machinery. Case studies bring to the surface differences in understandings, norms, and boundaries, but also demonstrate similarities between the two areas of practice, showing that they can be viewed as poles of practice within a shared field

ABSTRACT The ruins of Tongwan City, built by the Steppe peoples of Xiongnu, are the most completely preserved Xiongnu ruins in China. In 2012, the site of Tongwan City was included in the preliminary list of world cultural heritage sites in China, and its special status among Chinese city sites was revealed. In order to understand the construction materials and processes of the Xiongnu city from 1600

ABSTRACT Two artefacts in royal custody, an étagère (inventory number HGK401) and a writing desk (inventory number HGK1249), that display specific aspects of Swedish Rococo furniture in an exciting combination, are re-examined through scientific means. Microscopy of cross sections, wood species identification, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence

ABSTRACT Lipid oxidation, commonly known as fat burn, is a serious problem in taxidermy collections across the world. The zoological collections at the Natural History Museum in London, UK, are no exception. This article outlines the causes and possible solutions for this form of deterioration. Treatments are evaluated using scanning electron microscopy, pH, shrinkage temperature, and their effect

ABSTRACT The study of materials that comprise artworks significantly contributes to understanding of age and provenance. While dendrochronology is a particularly valuable and well-established technique for panel paintings comprising oak timber, conventional practices of resurfacing end-grains to reveal tree rings is becoming less acceptable because it removes material, modifying the painting. Recently

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to assign the provenance of Roman marble statues and assess their condition in order to use this information as a guideline for their future conservation treatments. Several analytical methods were applied to investigate the provenance of the statues including petrography, X-ray diffraction, and mass spectrometry. The deterioration level of the statues was assessed

ABSTRACT Agar, a natural polysaccharide, has gained increasing popularity among conservators worldwide in the past two decades as a gelling material for water and aqueous solutions. Converting the aqueous medium into thermo-reversible hydrogels enables cleaning and humidification treatments to be performed with very strict control of the amount of water released. Even sensitive surfaces of different

ABSTRACT In the preservation of cultural heritage, the measurement of pH has implications both as a parameter for assessing the state of conservation and as a reference for the preparation and use of aqueous treatment solutions. Few studies in the relevant literature, however, deal with evaluating the reliability of measurements. The purpose of this study was to identify the best method and the confidence

ABSTRACT Alonso Cano is considered one of the most original and brilliant artists from the Spanish Golden Age (known in Spanish as Siglo de Oro), a period of flourishing in arts and literature. He was also the founder of the Baroque painting school of Granada. This paper focuses on the painting the Visitation painted by Cano in 1652 and housed in the main chapel of Granada Cathedral. This study is

ABSTRACT The whitening of wood adjacent to metal components is commonly observed in historic Japanese architecture. A field investigation of the Old Iwasaki-ke Suehiro-bettei Villa led the researchers to believe that this phenomenon is related to significant fine particles of copper/zinc oxalate in wood tissues. In this study, aimed at verifying the effects of Cu(II)/Zn(II) ions on wood, a model experiment

ABSTRACT Among bleaching agents available in paper conservation, hydrogen peroxide (HP) is a versatile choice that has many advantages in the removal of discoloration from paper. However, its well-known radical formation in the presence of iron impurities in paper poses the risk of cellulose degradation and color reversion, i.e. return of staining. This study explores a method to diminish undesired

ABSTRACT The thread-by-thread tear mending technique for canvas paintings represents an important field of research for the preservation of canvas paintings. This joining technology has been published and has become well established as a minimal invasive alternative for the treatment of local damage in the canvas, in contrast to the application of patches or the lining of paintings. Since then the

ABSTRACT This article presents the results of the examination by means of optical coherence tomography (OCT) of two of the nine monumental ceiling paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and his studio, still located in their original location at the Banqueting House, the only surviving building of the former Whitehall Palace in London. OCT is a non-invasive technique of structural imaging of layers semi-permeable

ABSTRACT In consequence of the flooding of the Loing river in 2016, some of the storage areas for the Musée Girodet were submerged, with 3000 artworks affected. Following this, the painting Le Jeune Trioson (nineteenth century, attributed to the school of Anne-Louis Girodet De Roucy Trioson) developed severe blanching in the varnish, over the dark background in particular. An initial non-contact investigation

Archaeological wet wood undergoes acid degradation in an uncontrolled exhibition environment if the iron compounds are not completely removed prior to its preservation treatment with polyethylene glycol (PEG). However, completely removing such compounds that have deeply penetrated the wood tissue and fully control the exhibition environment are difficult. The Shinan shipwreck – on display at the Korean

The Archaeological Museum of Palermo (Sicily) has recently presented the results of the restoration of three wall paintings from the House of the Masks of Solunto archaeological site. These significant paintings, dating back to the first century BCE, are the most significant examples of Pompeian style discovered in Sicily to date. The cycle of frescoes unearthed is the best preserved and most complete

An unusual phenomenon occurred in new display cases at the Rijksmuseum four months after their installation in April 2013. White deposits were visible on glass windows, silicone door gaskets, black structural adhesive seals, and on works of art. The works of art most affected by these deposits were bronze sculptures, wooden and waxed objects, tempera, and oil paintings. In this study the deposits were

The aim of this research was to compare the performance of different cellulosic and proteinaceous textiles when exposed to the action of micro-organisms and to produce reference data for fibre identification of biodegraded textiles. Thus, the effects of micro-organisms grown in simulated soil burial on the textiles and their fibres were investigated. Cotton, linen, hemp, nettle, silk, and wool textiles

Rouse Hill House Estate is a historic property, one of twelve sites managed by Sydney Living Museums (SLM, the Historic House Trust of New South Wales). Spread across the site, nineteenth-century structures including the house, stables and outbuildings, which house over 18,000 collection items. The property was in the private ownership of a single-family until 1978. Its significance lies in the intact

The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has undertaken a radical revisioning process via a collections and interiors review to protect significance whilst broadening support for conservation. This project reframes the consequences arising from a selection of current and possible uses of collections within an historic building. It creates a lifetime risk approach against which short-term activities can

Terahertz radiation offers a means to monitor the consolidation of paint layers on panel paintings, and to corroborate the efficacy of such treatments. This project aimed to locate air voids underneath paint layers to determine the need to consolidate them, and subsequently to evaluate the success of the consolidation process itself. To this end experiments were carried out on mock-up samples and one

ABSTRACT A small box, hitherto described as white lacquerware, currently displayed at the Chinese Pavilion, Drottningholm, Sweden, is an unusual example of artefacts imported from the Far East during the era of the East India Companies. By using microscopy for cross- and thin sections, X−ray fluorescence microscopy, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and pyrolysis-gas

Since the early 1970s, archaeologists, conservators, and curators have turned to published guidance for methods of safeguarding archaeological metals in the short and long term. Much of this has appeared in editions of the ubiquitous handbook First Aid for Finds, the most recent of which dates to 1998. A central message across all guidance has been to dry metals post-excavation and prevent their corrosion

The Altar of Skulls is located in the Historical Centre of Mexico City, part of the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan built by the Aztecs. This Archaeological site is considered by UNESCO as Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Altar of Skulls contains a core of igneous stones, with walls made of rock wedges carved in the shape of skulls, covered with lime mortars, with remains of red and yellow polychromy

This study aimed to investigate the corrosion of a group of historic silver–copper alloy coins and their conservation treatment on defined parameters by potentiostatic methods. Basic copper carbonates and silver chloride were identified on the surface of the coins by a combination of scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses

ABSTRACT Understanding the use of colorant materials throughout history is now the objective of multiple studies centered on the identification and characterization of these materials. The main objective of this study is to increase knowledge of the degradation pathways of indigo blue dye (Indigofera tinctoria) and the detection of degradation products. This will enable the identification of the dye

This paper describes a cleaning method for removing ingrained carbonaceous dirt from lime-based wall paintings by utilizing hydrogels in combination with aqueous cleaning liquids. Nanorestore Gel® Peggy 6 has a number of advantages over traditional cleaning methods, and it is capable of holding large amounts of liquid, but it limits liquid penetration into the substrate. Cleaning action occurs only

This paper describes attempts to replicate medieval plaster using hot-mixing, where quicklime, aggregate, and water are combined in a single exothermic process. The experimental study aimed to reproduce the structural characteristics of medieval plaster while making sample materials for conservation trials, rendering them more relevant and comparable with the medieval materials on which treatments

This paper presents the findings of an international online survey designed to better understand current practices and knowledge surrounding cellulose-based films showing signs of vinegar syndrome and naphthalene syndrome in order to determine gaps and potential areas for future research among organisations holding film collections. The findings of this survey suggest that confusion over aspects of

ABSTRACT This paper proposes the use of simulation modelling to explore the effect of conservation strategies on the preservation of paper collections. Agent-based simulation was chosen as the simulation approach in order to capture the individual characteristics of the collections, their size, and the values of pH and degree of polymerisation (DP) for individual items. This approach enabled the simulation

Since its completion in 1904, the Hill House in Helensburgh (Scotland) designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh has suffered from the effects of moisture penetration. Various owners have attempted to remedy the problem with limited success. In 2019 the current owner, the National Trust for Scotland, took the bold step to cover the entire building in a contemporary structure, the Big Box, in order to arrest

This paper discusses the conservation and preservation of the twenty-fifth dynasty royal painted tombs of Queen Qalhata and her son King Tanwetamani in the ancient kingdom of Kush at El-Kurru, Sudan. Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region, Sudan’, the tombs fall under the International Kurru Archaeology Project. This collaboration with archaeologists

Fifty-eight Swedish silver coins from the last five centuries were analysed by SEM-EDX and other techniques. All coins, even those from the twentieth century, showed a surface enrichment of silver. Accordingly, a SEM-EDX analysis of a silver coin gives an erroneous result for the bulk composition. On the other hand, a silver coin assiduously polished with a rough emery cloth usually gave the same silver

Wall paintings are physically indivisible from the built heritage, which makes their conservation difficult. Conservation measures focus on stabilising paintings and slowing deterioration, while preserving significance and authenticity. Achieving these aims is complicated. The altered states in which paintings usually survive – due to events, exposure, neglect, misguided restorations, and other causes

The aim of the present work was to test the applicability of the spectrophotometric method for the determination of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 4000 using bismuth subnitrate (BiONO3) to monitor the content of PEG in impregnated archaeological wood. Absorption spectra were collected in the visible light (VIS) range from 400 to 600 nm. The weight of the wood samples tested ranged from 50 to 120 mg. The

In 2011 Historic Royal Palaces began to investigate protective measures for historic tapestries on open display at Hampton Court Palace. The environmental exposure conditions for each tapestry were analysed and mapped to evaluate risk. An innovative method to reduce illuminance and direct sunlight on the historic tapestries using ‘smart’ technologies was developed. The design, testing and implementation

Collections care in temperate zones of the world, including Scotland, is generally well served by a system of heating control known as conservation heating or humidistat-controlled heating. This system adjusts temperature in a building in order to maintain relative humidity at desired levels. An alternative control method is through the use of dehumidification, although airtightness of the building

(2020). Creating a Sustainable Museum Within Historic Buildings and a Functioning Almshouse: The Charterhouse Museum. Studies in Conservation. Ahead of Print.

Many buildings of the 1940s to the 1970s are decorated with monumental façade artworks. These murals, mosaics, and integral sculptural reliefs sometimes gain in cultural value even if the buildings on which they are installed do not. When a building that supports an artwork is designated for demolition, artworks whose scale and installation never accounted for future repositioning are endangered. Frequently

(2020). Conservation and the Rural Church: The State of Play and the Challenges Ahead. Lessons from the Diocese of Gloucester, UK. Studies in Conservation. Ahead of Print.

The activities of the UK Parliamentary Archives bridge the space between built heritage and in situ collection management. They are housed in the Palace of Westminster, London, designed and built after the fire of 1834. Whilst primarily looking at the work of conservators, archivists and curators related to two specific projects, we acknowledge and describe our collaborations and compromises in a building

Applicable to nations around the world with large corpuses of rock art and disenfranchised or disempowered First Nations peoples, efforts are being implemented at locations across Northern Australia to change this power imbalance. As the Traditional Owners of Country and the custodians of an ongoing living culture, interconnected across time and space, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

This paper presents a method and protocol for the study of varnishes and be protective layers applied throughout history to graphic works. The study is based on the characteristics and behaviour of varnishes when facing different types of deterioration. The methodology is founded on a series of physical–chemical tests that identify the characteristics of a varnish when applied to paper (surface and

(2020). Post-excavation Conservation of the Mausoleum of the Dingtao Queen, Western Han Dynasty. Studies in Conservation. Ahead of Print.

Different environmental control types (background heating, electric and wet humidistatic heating, dehumidification and air-conditioning) have been assessed in more than 60 historic buildings. Performance in terms of climate and corrosion rates achieved, and energy consumption, were measured. An intensive series of trials compared dehumidification and humidistatic heating for stores. Damage to the wall

(2020). Effective Communication and Team Working in the Conservation of Private Buildings: The Rediscovery of Original Surfaces in the Palazzo Berlendis, Venice. Studies in Conservation. Ahead of Print.

ABSTRACT In the last 20 years strong permanent magnets have frequently been used in the field of conservation and preservation of works of art. Such magnets provide temporary mechanical pressure, making them a convenient way to frame and/or present a piece for exhibition. This is a benefit because in these magnets high magnetic energy is stored in a small mass. Literature dedicated to this topic focuses

This paper discusses integration of twenty-first-century direct-exchange geothermal technology with nineteenth-century heat supply infrastructure to provide climate control at The Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A. In 1892, Cornelius Vanderbilt II built an 11,600 m2 Italian Renaissance style summer residence equipped with the most modern domestic technology available. This house retains original

(2020). Understanding the Risk of Visitor Developments and Operational Changes to Built Heritage Fabric. Studies in Conservation. Ahead of Print.

(2020). A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to the Conservation of Manchester Town Hall. Studies in Conservation. Ahead of Print.