Paper Conservation:
Decisions & Compromises
ICOM-CC Graphic Document
Working Group – Interim Meeting
Austrian National Library, Vienna
17 – 19 April 2013
International
Committee for
Conservation
INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MUSEUMS
ICOM-CC
Paper Conservation: Decisions & Compromises
Extended Abstracts presented at the
ICOM-CC Graphic Document Working Group
Interim Meeting Vienna,
Austrian National Library
17-19 April 2013
Edited by Lieve Watteeuw and Christa Hofmann
© International Council of Museums (ICOM)
Vienna, Austrian National Library, 17-19 April 2013
Organization: ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group
and the Austrian National Library;
In collaboration with the Albertina,
the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and KU Leuven
Conference website: www.onb.ac.at/ev/about/ifr/icom_cc.htm
Vienna, Austrian National Library, www.onb.ac.at
ICOM-CC, www.icom-cc.org/28/working-groups/graphic-documents
Organising team Vienna:
Christa Hofmann | Wolfgang Kreuzer | Hannah Singer |
Christa Schuster | Birgit Speta | Elisabeth Thobois |
Julia Wikarski with the support of all members of the
conservation department of the Austrian National Library.
An international peer review committee was evaluating
the extended abstracts.
Editorial team:
Sigrid Eyb-Green | Paul Garside | Ute Henniges |
Christa Hofmann | Uta Landwehr | Dianne van der Reyden |
Marie Vest | Lieve Watteeuw
Cover:
Kromarchivpaper by
Ilse Mühlbacher
Graphik-Design:
Sibylle Gieselmann
www.null7.at
Content
Lieve Watteeuw
Introduction
7
Dianne Lee van der Reyden
New Trends in Preservation in the Digital Age: New Roles for Conservators
8
Uta Landwehr | Junko Sonderegger
The Albums of Duke Charles de Croÿ: Consolidation and Modiied Re-housing of
Double-sided Miniatures on Parchment in Bound Volumes
14
Doris St-Jacques | Maria Bedynski | Lynn Curry | Season Tse
A 1763 Illuminated Haggadah Manuscript: How Ineffective Past Treatments Resulted in
an Antioxidant Research Project, Impacting Current Treatment Decisions
17
Birgit Speta
The Conservation of the Hussite Codex: Considerations on Minimal Intervention
21
Lieve Watteeuw
Books in Exhibitions: History and Adventures in Display
24
Robert Fuchs
Risk and Safety of Illuminated Manuscripts with Brittle Paint Layers:
Can the Digital Scan Substitute Old Manuscripts? Are Old Choices of Conservation Reversible?
28
Lynn B. Brostoff | Sylvia Albro | John Bertonaschi
Integrating Analytical Tools in Treatment Decision-making for a 1513 Hand-colored
Ptolemy Geographia Atlas
29
Christa Hofmann | Andreas hartl | Kyujin Ahn | Laura Völkel | Ina Faerber | Antje Potthast
Verdigris I: Compromises in conservation
34
Kyujin Ahn | Andreas hartl | Christa Hofmann | Ute Hennings | Antje Potthast
Verdigris 2: Wet Chemical Treatments which are not Easy to Decide and Apply
36
Matija Strlic | Catherine Dillon | Nancy Bell | Peter Brimblecombe | Kalliopi Fouseki |
Jinghao Xue | William Lindsay | Eva Menart | Carlota Grossi | Kostas Ntanos |
Gerrit De Bruin | David Thickett | Fenella France
Integrated Modelling: The Demography of Collections
38
Jana Kolar | Dusan Kolesa | Gerrit de Bruin
Characterisation of Historical Paper - Possibilities and Limitations
42
Véronique Rouchon | Eleonora Pellizzi | Maroussia Duranton
Study of Phytate Chelating Treatments Used on Iron Gall Ink Damaged Manuscripts
46
pnina shor | lena libman | tanya bitler | tanya treiger
Practice and Progress in the Conservation, Preservation and Digitization of the Dead Sea Scrolls
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
50
3
Jiri Vnoucek
The Language of Parchment - Learning the History of Manuscripts with the Help
of Visual Assessment of the Parchment
51
Paul Garside | Barry Knight
The Use of NIR Spectroscopy to Investigate the Condition of Parchment
55
Linda Stiber Morenus
Color Printing in 16-17th Century Italian Chiaroscuro Woodcuts:
Degradation, Conservation Issues and Exhibition Concerns
59
Hassan Ebeid | Jean Brown | Ysanne Holt | Brian Singer
A Study of Dyed Endpapers during Islamic Medieval Times in Egypt:
Purpose, Materials and Techniques
61
Aline Abreu Migon dos Santos
Preservation of Architectural Drawings on Translucent Paper in Brazil:
Conservation Methods in Public Institutions
66
Irene Brückle | Maike Schmidt | Eva Hummert | Elisabeth Thobois
Removable loss Integration in the Re - Treatment of Robert Delaunay’s Three Graces,
Study for “The City of Paris” at the Albertina, Vienna.
69
Xing Kung Liao | Fei Wen Tsai
Simple yet Complicated – An Evaluation of Airbrush Technique
Applied to Filling Losses using Cellulose Powders
73
Andreas Hartl
Ronald by Franz West: Conservation of a Three - Dimensional and Painted Papier Mâché Object
77
Valentine Dubard
The Restauration of Cartoons at the Department of Drawings and Prints in the Louvre
80
Philip Meredith | Tanya Uyeda
To Remove or Retain? – Extensive Inills and Reworking in a Large - Scale Japanese Wall Painting
84
Tilly Laaser | Karolina Soppa | Christoph Krekel
The Migration of Hydroxy Propyl Cellulose During Consolidation of a Painted Wallpaper:
A Case Study Using a Fluorescent - Labelled Consolidant
88
Poster Presentations
Magdalena Grenda
Ethical Considerations Concerning the Conservation and Restoration of a Herbarium
from the 19th Century
93
Rita Araújo | Conceição Casanova | Maria João Melo |
Ana Lemos, Vânia S. F. Muralha | Marcello Picollo
Conservation of a Book of Hours from Mafra’s National Palace - Collection:
Between Technique and Ethics
97
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
4
Michael Wheeler | Nicholas Barnard | Karine Bovagnet | Richard Mullholland
The Conservation and Digitization of Jain Manuscripts at the Victoria and Albert Museum
102
Guadalupe Piñar | Katja Sterlinger | Flavia Pinzari
The Microlora Inhabiting Leonardo da Vinci’s Self - Portrait: A Fungal Role in Foxing Spots
105
Patricia Engel | Katja Sterlinger
Microorganisms in Books: First Results of the EU Project “Men and Books”
109
Ewa Paul | Anna Grzechnik
Deconstructing the Reconstruction
113
Marzenna Ciechanska | Dorota Dzik Kruszelnicka | Elzbieta Jezewska | Joanna Kurkowska
Conservator’s Investigation of the Chinoiserie in the Wilanów Palace
117
Grace Jan | Xiangmei Gu
A systematic Approach to Condition Assesment and Treatment of Chinese Handscrolls
122
Christina Duffy
Applications of Image Processing Software to Archival Material
127
Christina Duffy
Analysing Deterioration of Artifacts in Archival Material Using Multispectral Images
131
Eve Menei | Laurence Caylux
Strategy in the Case of a Wrecked Papyrus: Is an Intervention Appropriate?
135
Ana Margarida Silva | Marcello Picollo | Márcia Vilarigues | Maria João Melo
Fiber Optic Relectance Spectroscopy (FORS):
A Useful Technique for the Analysis of an Early 20th Century Livre d’Artiste
139
Lieve Watteeuw | Bruno Vandermeulen | Jan Van der Stock | Fred Truyen |
Marc Proesman | Luc Van Gool | Wim Moreau
Imaging Characteristics of Graphic Materials with the Minidome (RICH)
140
Yana van Dyke
The Paper Conservator’s Role: The Metropolitan Museum’s Renovated Galleries for the
Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and later South Asia
142
Paul Garside | Rajabi Razak
Characterising the Origin of Carbon Black Inks by ATR FTIR Spectroscopy
145
Marion Verborg
A Technical Study and Conservation Project of Roy Lichtenstein’s Screenprint
on Plastic, Sandwich and Soda, 1964
149
Hsin-Chen Tsai
Digitally Printed Paper Inills for Compensation as Applied to
Japanese Decorative Fold - Dyed Papers
153
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
5
Paper Conservation: Decisions & Compromises
Lieve Watteeuw
Coordinator ICOM-CC Working Group Graphic Documents, 2011-2014
KU Leuven, Belgium
Introduction
After a very successful 16th Triennial Meeting in
Lisbon in 2011, our ICOM-CC Working Group of
Graphic Documents continues to develop the
themes of research and conservation practice for
library and archival documents. The aim of the
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group is
unchanging: to gather and disseminate information from around the world on the conservation
of all forms of documents, including, but not
limited to, those on paper, parchment and papyrus.
The working program of the graphic document
group 2011-2014 relects the fast evolution in
the professional ield. The program has seven
main targets focusing on research and practice,
at object and at collection level, from diagnosis
to imaging and digitalization. The objectives are
situated in the following areas:
• Multidisciplinary projects dealing with the
treatment of artifacts on paper, parchment
and papyrus (such as manuscripts, printed
books, albums, atlases, prints, drawings, architectural drawings, cartoons, scrolls, herbaria,
collages, three dimensional objects in papier
maché, etc).
• Imaging as support to the diagnosis and treatment of conservation issues with paper objects.
• The challenges of digitalization in the archive-, museum- and library- world (at collection level).
• The extent to which decision processes in the
conservation of paper-based collections are
inluenced by changing views of the ethics of
conservation.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
• The mix of Western and Eastern traditions in
paper conservation.
• Models for surveys and risk assessment of
graphic documents collections.
• Growing competences in the ield of paper-,
library-, archive- and print- conservation.
The Interim Meeting of the Working Group
Graphic Documents in Vienna (17 - 19 April 2013)
on the theme Paper Conservation: Decisions &
Compromise, provides a forum for the broad
spectrum of activities our professional community is developing. Ever increasing competences are
demanded of paper-, library-, archive- and print
conservators by, on the one hand, the challenges
of digitalization in the archive-, museum- and
library- world, the global impact of changing cultural policies and economic constraints and, on
the other hand, new research, new materials and
new techniques. We realize that decision processes in conservation are inluenced by changes
in ethics, politics and science. In the light of this,
conservators need to shape their professional
proiles to these processes and to play their part
as valuable partners in negotiations over the future of documentary heritage.
The publication of the extended abstracts of
the 43 contributions to this Vienna Interim Meeting presents a fascinating overview of the current state of research, practice and progress in
the ield of paper, book and document conservation and preservation. We thank the Vienna organization team, coordinated by Christa Hofmann
and the authors for sharing their skills, experience and knowledge.
7
New Trends in Preservation in the Digital Age: New Roles for Conservators
Dianne Lee van der Reyden
Former Director for Preservation, Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress, USA
Introduction
The role of conservators has broadened during
the last several decades. This is driven in part by
changes in cultural institutions, such as the Austrian National Library, the Library of Congress
and others, because they are now stewards of
an ever-increasing variety of documents, written, imaged, or otherwise captured in multiple
media and formats. As this interim ICOM-CC conference shows, these formats range from atlases
and albums to architectural drawings; broadsides to books of hours and herbaria; codices to
cartoons; iron gall ink manuscripts to medieval
illuminations; parchments to prints and photographs; and wall paintings to wall paper. Add to
this legacy motion picture ilms and recorded
sound cylinders, cassettes, compact discs, and
other electronic analog and digital media, and
the scope of formats and resultant issues facing
today’s libraries, archives and museums (LAMs)
can be daunting.
But there are several emerging trends that
expand a conservator’s capabilities in our digital
age. This paper is intended to challenge conservators and other cultural stewards with a premise,
a problem, and some solutions, based on those
trends.
Premise
There are billions of cultural heritage items requiring preventive and interventive conservation
actions. This fact was documented in the US by
the 2004 Heritage Health Index Survey of the
nation’s collections1, which showed that institutions holding primary source materials face the
following speciic challenges:
• Collections, which are in fact a cultural institution’s business assets, are extraordinarily
and increasingly, vast and complex, with a
large percentage requiring preventive and/or
interventive care. Consequently, more surveys
of collection needs and demography are required to help cultural stewards prioritize the
allocation of dwindling resources, based on
value, use and risk criteria relevant to respective collections.2
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
• Institutional staffs often lack suficient resources and, in some cases, training. Therefore, more educational opportunities such as
the ICOM-CC conferences, and more innovations such as automation, are needed to maximize eficiency in the face of all too frequent
staff reductions, especially as institutional
responsibilities multiply.3
• Contemporary collections can be as vulnerable
as any. It is imperative that more research into
the needs of modern media is designed, funded, conducted and disseminated, before the
records of our current-day accomplishments
vanish without a trace.4
Problem
Despite the desire for digitization to solve the
problems of collection preservation, the fact is
that collection complexity, exacerbated by inclusion of digital material, is growing, not slowing,
while resources are reduced or reallocated to
scanning projects. What can conservators do to
stem the tide of loss of collections?
Solutions
Conservators are among the most effective advocates for cultural stewardship. We can stem the
tide of loss by harnessing digital technology to
advance emerging trends in libraries, archives
and museums. By harnessing these technologies,
we can develop solutions for the preservation of
original primary source materials to strengthen
and advance the following:
• Science-based research for preservation, to
support the needs of collections and conservators, and other scholars, through research and
development (R&D).
• Cost-effective preventive preservation for improved access, to support efforts of cultural
stewards through automated storage and display systems and environmental monitoring.
• Preservation partnerships and conservation
collaborations with funders and allied associations, to support students and professionals
through hybrid educational endeavors, such as
webinars, online courses, and other exercises
8
including computer-simulated and decisionmaking modeling.
Trends
The solutions above are relected in three emerging trends that expand preservation capabilities
of LAMs in our digital age, and are the focus of
this paper:
1 Technological science-based research and development derived from collaborations among
conservators and other experts in library, computer and materials science to extract evidential information from primary source material
and to expand the useful life of collections.
2 Preservation and access developments for
at-risk items of high value and use through
cost-effective innovative storage and display
systems, as well as environmental monitoring
and control.
3 Methods to maximize minimum resources
through national and international partnerships, including ICOM, IFLA, ICCROM, AIC,
Heritage Preservation, and others.
These three trends are discussed more fully below.
1 Technological Research and Development
Collaborations among conservators and other experts trained in library science, computer science
and materials science expand options for using
and preserving the most seminal, vulnerable,
and at-risk examples of our collective cultural
heritage. These collaborations are increasing the
amount of valuable information extracted from
primary source materials for use by scholars,
utilizing diverse forensic techniques.5 Such collaborations not only preserve evidence inherent
to primary source materials, but also extend the
useful life of these materials, through development of decision-making tools for new treatments (as exempliied by Library of Congress
work presented on iron gall manuscripts or
other treasures such as Ptolemy atlases).
Other advances in forensic analysis, derived
from CSI-like strategies and innovations, include
hyperspectral imaging (HSI). HSI employs high
resolution and false-color component analysis
to characterize treasured items (such as Waldseemueller’s 1507 Universalis Cosmographia, the
map that “named” America). HSI can document
changes in condition over time caused by natu-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
ral aging. HSI can also reveal evidential content,
such as text or unique identiiers, hidden or obscured by time (as exempliied in examinations
of Jefferson’s Rough Draft of the Declaration of
Independence,6 Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, or
L’Enfant’s Plan for the City of Washington).7
Other advances have occurred in environmental
scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), which can
produce elemental “dot maps” using false color
to identify chemical compositions, as well as
reveal activation sites for deterioration in traditional and audiovisual materials. An ESEM chamber can simulate environments to mimic adverse
conditions of temperature and relative humidity
to image in real time their effects on collections,
as a form of artiicial accelerated aging. ESEM,
along with HSI, can aid in prediction of useful
life by tracking changes induced by simulating
the effect of exposure to adverse environments
of high temperature and relative humidity levels
that lead to polymer chain scission from chemical breakdowns caused by thermal-oxidation or
acid hydrolysis.8
The information derived from these and other
techniques can be combined to produce a composite digital image of a document, in effect a
virtual “digital object” enhanced by “scripto-spatial” analysis, akin to GIS mapping. This aids authentication through detection, revelation and
mapping of unique identiiers or other special
features. To house the resultant vast complex of
data, the Library of Congress developed a state-ofthe-art Center for the Library’s Analytical Scientiic Samples (CLASS). CLASS houses physical collections (such as TAPPI Fibers, Forbes Pigments,
and many others), and provides a database
framework for accessing scientiic information
derived from sample and historic collections. It
is intended to foster international scholarly studies of the Library’s unique reference sample and
other data to advance science and scholarship.9
The Library of Congress has invested in other
R&D projects to advance preservation and access,
included in the discussion below.
2 Preservation and Access Developments
Recognition of the importance of environment
on reducing change in, and risk to, primary
source material has spurred investments in R&D
to improve preventive preservation. Integrated
automation systems have streamlined detection
9
and monitoring against adverse environmental
changes, as exempliied by the various climate
monitoring systems developed by the Image Permanence Institute (IPI).10 IPI research supports
the principle of reducing thermal- and photooxidation through cold, dark storage systems. A
salient example of cold storage, maximized by
high-bay shelving, is the Library of Congress new
storage complex at Fort Meade.11 Other examples
incorporate sustainability through naturally cool
environments, such as underground or mountain storage, as in the National Library of Norway
facility in Mo-I-Rana.12
Cold, dark storage can reduce the effects of thermal- and photo-oxidation. But these effects can
also be moderated by reducing the levels of oxygen, through low-oxygen or anoxic storage. An
example of the principle of low-oxygen storage is
the British Library’s Boston Spa storage facility,
planned to combine cold storage with robotic
retrieval in an atmosphere of low oxygen levels.13
These environments are intended as ire prevention systems, but they also may have some effect
in controlling object aging and pest infestation,
especially in anoxic environments.14
For exhibition, anoxic, hermetically-sealed “visual storage” cases for treasured collections on display, such as the Library’s Waldseemueller Map,
have been developed in partnership with the
National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST).15 The notion of “visual storage” has been
maximized by several Smithsonian Institution
museums through the use of diverse compact
storage techniques. The Smithsonian American
Art Museum has entire galleries with public
displays on movable racks.16 The Smithsonian’s
Museum Support Center has further examples
of innovative adjustable and compact systems,
employing cabinets and shelves that move in
innovative lateral-track directions, as well as in
the perpendicular-track direction found in many
library compact shelves. These compact shelving
systems can be hand-driven or automated.
Automation has also enabled more cost-effective
mass preventive care through computerized boxmaking and mat-cutting systems, which help
containerize items on display or in storage. Such
containerization at the item- and collection-level
is important, as well, for emergency preparedness, and is maximized when supplemented by
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
further containerization in furniture and room
design, especially when reinforced by innovated
ire prevention, detection and suppression systems.17
A salient example of the principle of cold storage, containerization and tailored ire suppression systems is the National Audiovisual
Conservation Center on the Packard Campus
of the Library of Congress in Culpepper, VA,
which among other innovations including underground cold storage vaults, has cubby niches
and innovative sprinkler designs for safe storage
of highly lammable and self-combustible early
nitrate ilm.18
Recognition of the importance and extreme vulnerability of analog and digital audiovisual collections, which are most relective of our current
cultural creations, has lead to substantial investments in R&D at the Library. Enhancements in
digital imaging technologies, developed with the
Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL),
have resulted in the “IRENE” machine and newer
confocal imaging devices for sound reproduction
from unplayable audio recordings, including cylinders of indigenous languages (such as the now
extinct Yahi tribe). This technology is so sensitive
it can even capture sound from soot on paper (in
the earliest phonautogram) or from emulsion
on glass (part of Alexander Graham Bell’s work)
and other experimental recordings of human
voices. Current efforts seek to make the “IRENE”
technology portable enough to serve collections
worldwide.19
Developments such as this enable conservators
and other cultural stewards to directly assess and
prioritize needs for at-risk collections. Similar
efforts focus on developing other portable instruments with innovative, and integrated, analytical
programs, such as a portable Fourier Transform
Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) programmed to
detect chemical markers of degradation in audiotapes with “stickey shed” syndrome, which
renders tapes unplayable.20
Other trends further access to the intrinsic and
associative value of collections by producing
“digital objects” while also promoting initiatives in preservation of digital assets. Studies
in natural and accelerated aging of digital collections have characterized the vulnerability of
10
current electronic physical formats such of CDs
and DVDs.21 More reliable media are needed. One
candidate is DNA, which has myriad advantages
as an encoding system, from a preservation and
information management perspective.22
back technology, similar to that used to train
medical surgeons.27 This, particularly if coupled
with the development of expert systems for decision-making, can extend our skills and judgement.
3 Maximization of Minimal Resources
through Partnerships
We need to continue to promote surveys to document and prioritize collection needs, incorporating new endeavors that leverage economies of
scale, such as UCL’s collection demography survey, or, in the US, the upcoming second Heritage
Health Index Survey planned by Heritage Preservation to capture changes in stewardship, awareness and needs during the last decade.
Partnerships, like the aforementioned examples
with IPI, NIST and LBNL, promote preservation
possibilities, especially when supported by public
and private funders and associations such as AIC,
ICON, ICOM, ICCROM and IFLA. Examples of powerful partnerships that will advance preservation
of collections include the following:
• Digital Preservation Groups, such as that at
the Library of Congress, which promotes preservation of digital formats most at risk, by developing guidelines based on best practices of
life cycle management.
• National Endowment for the Humanities/
National Digital Newspaper Program, which
provides a model for preservation of at-risk
collections by its initiative to preserve newspapers through digitization from microilm.23
• Council on Library and Information Resources’
Digital Humanities Fellowship, which advances scientiic studies of primary source materials.24
• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Grant for
Library and Archives Conservation Training,
which aims to advance graduate training
through partnerships among institutions such
as the Library of Congress.25
• Heritage Science Programs, such as that at the
University College of London (UCL), to advance
the new discipline of heritage science within
university STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curricula, as supported by
national science agencies.26
New roles for conservators
Conservators have long recognized the importance of materials science in assuring the longterm eficacy of our efforts. We now have new
opportunities to exploit advances in computer
science, particularly in the ields of imaging and
data analysis, facilitating the emerging discipline of digital humanities. Partnerships with
our computer savvy counterparts can ultimately
lead to innovations that, for instance, enhance
conservation treatment training through computer simulation incorporating haptic biofeed-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Finally, we must educate ourselves to recognize
the pressing needs not only of our traditional
collections, but also of the most vulnerable media in our audiovisual and digital collections,
which are the legacy of our own era.
Conclusion
The trends described in this paper, which are
becoming more prevalent in major institutions
tasked to preserve our collective cultural heritage, aim to maximize today’s minimal resources
through expanding preservation capabilities and
partnerships. Despite economic limitations, we
are all compelled to recognize our responsibilities to sustain and conserve our cultural resources, just as we do our natural resources, though
development of information and educational
outreach initiatives.28
Acknowledgements
Special thanks go to the organizers of
this Interim ICOM-CC Conference, as
well as to Mark Sweeney, the current
Director for Preservation at the Library
of Congress, and to Fenella France, Chief
of Preservation Research and Testing.
Thanks go also to the current leadership of the Library of Congress, Robert
Dizard, Chief of Staff, and to Roberta
Shaffer, Associate Librarian for Library
Services (ALLS). Additional thanks go
to the Librarian of Congress, James Billington, and the former ALLS, Deanna
Marcum. Final thanks go to other Library
of Congress points of contact on the innovations highlighted in this presentation, including (but not limited to) the
following: Diane Vogt-O’Connor, Nancy
Lev-Alexander, Jeanne Drewes, Adrija
Henley, Elmer Eusman, Peter Alyea, Lynn
Brostoff, Michele Youket, Eric Breitung,
11
Steve Hobaica, Patrick Loughney, Martha
Anderson, and the conservators and
curators responsible for the highlighted
collections. Additional special thanks
also go to Library collaborators Dr. Carl
Haber, Mark Roosa, James Reilly, NIST,
Toth Associates, Matija Strlic and May
Cassar, CLIR and the Mellon Foundation.
Notes
1 For more on the Heritage Health Index,
see: http://www.heritagepreservation.org/
hhi/
2 The topic of survey techniques is not
covered in this paper, but for information on preservation priority surveys
to compare and group collection needs
for conservation treatment and general
care, and random sampling surveys to
determine resource allocations for vast
and diverse collections, as well as item
level surveys, see: Van der Reyden, D., H.
Tennison, F. W. Tsai, and M. Parish. “An
’Angel Project’ of Dinosaur Proportions.”
Book and Paper Group Annual 15 (1996):
145–160. http://cool.conservation-us.org/
coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v15/bp15-18.html
3 To address educational challenges, a symposium funded by the Getty and organized by the Library of Congress on Preservation Education in the 21st Century,
published a report available at: http://
www.loc.gov/preservation/outreach/symposia/preseduc.html
4 For an example of a national scientific
research agenda addressing the needs of
collections, see: http://www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/
5 For more on return-on-investment
science-based resources for preservation,
see: Van der Reyden, D. “The ScienceBased Fight Against ‘Inherent Vice.’”
International Preservation News, 50
(2010): 5-10. [PDF: 2.2 MB / 44 p. (entire issue)] http://www.ifla.org/files/pac/ipn/50may-2010.pdf
6 See article by the Washington Post’s Marc
Kaufman on “Jefferson changed ‘subjects’
to ‘citizens’ in Declaration of Independence”, on July 3, 2010 at http://www.
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2010/07/02/AR2010070205525.html
7 See France, F. “Best Practice and Standards in Environmental Preservation
for Cultural Heritage Institutions: Goals,
Knowledge, Gaps”, British Library Conference: Advances in Paper Conservation
Research, 23-24th March 2009, at http://
www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/ccare/
events/France.pdf.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
8 For more on the chemistry of degradation, see: Van der Reyden, D. “Recent
Scientific Research in Paper Conservation.” Journal of the American Institute
for Conservation 31, no. 1 (1992): 117–139.
http://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic31-01-014_indx.html
9 For more information on CLASS, see
http://www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/projects/class.html
10 For this and other innovations from IPI,
see https://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/
11 For more on Fort Meade, see http://www.
loc.gov/preservation/resources/misc/fortmeade.pdf
12 or more on Mo-I-Rana, see Myrbakk,
G. “Mountain Vaults: a thousand years
perspective” at http://www.ifla.queenslibrary.org/iv/ifla71/papers/153e-Myrbakk.
pdf
13 For more on Boston Spa and other environmental advances, see France, F. “Best
Practice and Standards in Environmental Preservation for Cultural Heritage
Institutions: Goals, Knowledge, Gaps”,
British Library Conference: Advances in
Paper Conservation Research, 23-24th
March 2009, at http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/
stratpolprog/ccare/events/France.pdf. For
more on trends in storage, see Shenton,
H. “The future shape of collection storage” at http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/stratpolprog/ccare/pubs/2004/HShentonNPO%20
Conf2004.pdf.
14 For more on anoxic storage and pest control, see: Maekawa, S. and K. Elbert. The
Use of Oxygen-Free Environments in the
Control of Museum Insect Pests; Tools for
Conservation, The Getty Institute, 2003.
15 For more on anoxic visual storage systems, see: http://www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/projects/anoxic_cases.
html. For more on exhibit control measures, see: Van der Reyden, D. “Displays:
The Role of Preservation in Exhibitions
at the Library of Congress.” In Proceedings of the International Symposium,
The 3–D’s of Preservation: Disasters,
Displays, Digitization. Edited by Corine
Koch, 71–96. International Preservation
Issues, no. 7. Paris: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, Core Activity on Preservation and
Conservation, 2006. [PDF: 1.23 MB / 144 p.]
http://archive.ifla.org/VI/4/news/ipi7-en.
pdf#
16 For more on visual storage, as seen at the
Smithsonian’s Museum of American Art,
see http://americanart.si.edu/visit/about/
architecture/luce/
12
17 For more on containerization strategies,
see: Van der Reyden, D. “Paper Documents.” In Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive Conservation Approach. Edited by C.L. Rose, C.A. Hawks,
and H.H. Genoway, 327–354. Pittsburgh,
PA.: Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, 1995. [PDF: 473 KB
/ 41 p.] http://www.si.edu/mci/downloads/
RELACT/paper_documents.pdf
18 For more on this AV center, see http://
www.loc.gov/avconservation/
19 or more on IRENE, see: http://www.loc.
gov/preservation/scientists/projects/imaging_audio.html
20 For more on this development, see http://
www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/projects/sticky_shed.html
21 http://www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/projects/cd_longevity.html, http://
www.loc.gov/preservation/scientists/projects/cd-r_dvd-r_rw_longevity.html
22 For more on the possible use of DNA as a
storage medium, see: Van der Reyden, D.
“Preservation in the Digital Age: A Discussion about Conservation in Libraries
and Archives: Dialogue with Jeffrey Levin
and James Druzik.” Getty Conservation
Institute Newsletter 22, no 3 (2007): 10–15.
http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/newsletters/22_3/dialogue.html,
and Heaven, Douglas. Books and JavaScript stored in DNA molecules, August
16, 2012, at http://www.newscientist.com/
article/dn22190-books-and-javascriptstored-in-dna-molecules.html
25 http://www.loc.gov/preservation/outreach/intern/index.html
26 For more on UCL’s Heritage Science Program, see http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/
graduate/csh/learn/mres-heritage-science
27 For more on the role of computer-simulation in conservation training, see:
Leuschke, R., R. Donlin, M. Claus, M.
Nugent, D. van der Reyden, and B. Hannaford. “Haptic Characteristics of Document Conservation Tasks.” In Proceedings 2008 Haptics Symposium, 383–386.
Reno NV: 2008. [PDF: 890 KB / 6 p.] http://
brl.ee.washington.edu/BRL_Pubs/Pdfs/
Rep211.pdf
28 For more on the Library of Congress
Preservation Directorate, see: Van der
Reyden, D. “The Preservation Directorate
at 40.” Library of Congress Information
Bulletin 66, no. 5 (2007): 95–99. http://
www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0705/directorate.
html. For more on future strategies
for document collections, see: Van der
Reyden, D. “Future Directions in the Preservation of Document Collections (Or:
Coming of Age in the Digital Era while
Avoiding a Preservation Mid–life Crisis).”
AIC News 32, no. 6 (2007): 1. [PDF: 658 KB
/ 24 p.] http://www.conservation-us.org/_
data/n_0001/resources/live/07_nov_aicnews.pdf
Dianne Lee van der Reyden
Former Director for Preservation, Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress,
dvanderreyden@gmail.com
23 http://www.loc.gov/ndnp/
24 http://www.clir.org/fellowships/mellon/
preservation.html
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
13
The Albums of Duke Charles de Croÿ: Consolidation and Modiied
Re-housing of Double-sided Miniatures on Parchment in Bound Volumes
Uta Landwehr | Junko Sonderegger
Austrian National Library, Conservation Department, Vienna, Austria
The ongoing conservation project of the so-called
Croÿ-albums, Codices Miniati 49 and 50, part of
the collection of Manuscripts and Rare Books at
the Austrian National Library, involved an unusually wide range of possibilities and several levels
of decisions. The large number and the size of
the objects to be treated multiply the consequences of choices.
The albums make up a total of 15 Baroque red
leather bindings which contain a total of 423
parchments measuring from 51,0 to 54,0 cm by
38,0 to 40,5 cm. The skins were painted on both
sides, thus acting as supports for 846 gouache
paintings. These pieces are a portion of an original collection of reportedly about 2500 objects
assembled in 23 volumes. They were commissioned by Duke Charles de Croÿ d´Arschot (1560
– 1612) during the Spanish regency of the Southern Netherlands and depict views of those territories which enclose areas of today’s Belgium,
Northern France and the Netherlands. They were
executed between 1590 and 1611 by the artist
Adrien de Montigny (d.1615) and his workshop
after detailed land registers.
The large collection was sold and thus dispersed after Duke Charles de Croÿ’s death. Today
paintings are in the collections of various European institutions and private owners. The pieces
from the Viennese Croÿ-Albums were acquired
by Duke Charles of Lothringen (1712 – 1780); it is
assumed that he bought the paintings at three
auctions. They were incorporated into the imperial collections and the royal geographer, Abbé
Palquois de Reigniere, arranged the order of the
parchments after 1753. The sheets were adhered
to paper mats with animal glue. These were
bound into albums with alternating supporting pages of rag paper. Today we consider these
Baroque volumes containing the parchments as
historic, but not original since they are not the
irst presentation of the pieces.
The albums reveal some conservation history:
in the mid-1970s the parchments were removed
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 1: parchment sliding out of polyester pocket, adhesive
tape lost in the tail area
from the books because of severe cockling and
heavily-laking pigments due to material tensions and friction. The paper frames were cut
off leaving a fold about 4 cm wide in the book.
After removing the parchments from the paper
frames, conservation treatment consisted of
consolidating the paint layer. Parchment glue
was sprayed over the surface several times after
pre-treating the sheets with ethanol. The skins
were lattened after humidifying and stretching.
Eventually the individual sheets were placed
into transparent polyester pockets which were
attached onto the remaining folds with synthetic
adhesive. The pockets, open at the top and bottom, were partially secured with transparent
pressure sensitive tape, allowing some air circulation. Additional slits were cut into the fore - edge
of the pockets to allow further air exchange.
14
Fig. 2: detail with losses and loose pigment flakes (raking light)
Fig. 3: feathered hinges attached along the edge on the verso of a painting
Besides the visually disturbing “plastic feeling”
within the shiny polyester pockets, the current
problems of the paintings include their sliding
within the partially creased pockets when turning pages (Fig. 1). Abrasion occurs as well as static
charges which endanger loose pigments (Fig. 2).
Some of the tapes’ adhesive has migrated into
the supporting paper, some of the carriers have
fallen off.
The range of possible conservation interventions
to secure the condition of the Croÿ-Albums included doing nothing (leading to denying access
to the objects for readers), minimal intervention
(replacing the pressure sensitive tapes), as well
as an overall treatment (remounting the parchments within the Baroque bindings). The extreme intervention considered was to remove the
paintings from the books and to re-house them
in individual double-sided matboards stored in
acid-free boxes.
Creating a decision-making tree helped to visualize the complexity of the issues involved and
to better understand common points and differences between the various options. The treat-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
ments’ impacts were discussed considering the
factors of safety for the objects, practical feasibility, time (labour costs, balancing priority with
other projects), material costs (custom-made rag
paper for frames, Japanese paper for protective
sheets, archival quality matboards) as well as
a possible increased need of storage space. The
common requirements for the time-consuming
invasive interventions (remounting or removing
from the bindings) were the consolidation of
the laking paint layers, and to ensure safe handling of the objects in order to allow a careful
although restricted use of the valuable paintings.
Some of the theoretical treatment options, like
remounting each parchment in a paper frame
relecting the Baroque mounting, were ruled out
after evaluating the results of practical tests and
mock-ups.
Considering the importance of the Croÿalbums, a cost- and time-intensive overall treatment seemed justiied. Finally, the choice was
made to remove the polyester pockets from the
books and to attach the consolidated parchments with adapted T-hinges to the supporting
paper pages.
A few paintings with very fragile paint layers
and heavy pigment losses will not be remounted
into the books but kept separately in doublesided matboards.
The estimated timeframe per treated volume
is roughly 300 working hours.
A positive side-effect of this long-term project,
during which each of the parchments needs to
be handled, is the chance to digitize the paintings after consolidation before remounting. The
availability of high quality digital images facilitates access to the content of the valuable miniatures. At the same time it permits to strictly limit
the physical use of the fragile originals.
For areas with poor adhesion, consolidation is realised with gelatine 1% w/v in water (Gelita Novotec GP Type 73 189 technical grade, type B) using
an ultrasonic mister (AGS 2000, ZFB). For laking
areas the gelatine is applied 2% w/v with a thin,
long-hair brush (5/0 da Vinci, Nova Synthetics).
Hinges of Japanese paper (Paper Nao RK-38, 16g/
m², 3 x 2 cm) are attached along the left edge
on the back of the treated parchment using a
mixture of wheat starch paste and Methocel
A4M 2.5% w/v (spacing 0.7 cm) (Fig. 3). A sheet of
strong, yet smooth and slightly translucent Japanese paper (Paper Nao RK-19, 32g/m², 59 x 46.5
15
Fig. 4: turning the supporting paper between the verso of the left painting and the protective sheet of Japanese paper over
the recto of the right painting
cm) is placed over the recto of each gouache and
pasted over the hinges onto the supporting paper
with Methocel A4M 2.5% w/v. This construction
protects the painting’s surface while reinforcing
the row of hinges. Careful handling allows turning the pages without the risk of sliding and friction (Fig. 4). An illustrated instruction sheet has
been designed for curators showing the handling
of the parchments in the books step by step.
Les Albums de Croy. Exposition à la
bibliothèque Royale Albert 1er du 22 septembre au 27 octobre 1979. Société des
bibliophiles et iconophiles de Belgique,
Bruxelles, 1979.
Michalski, S. ‘Using decision diagrams
explore, document and teach treatment
decisions with an example of their
application to a dificult painting consolidation treatment’. Preprints of the
ICOM-CC, 16th Triennal Conference, 19-23
September 2011, published on CD-ROM,
Paper 1913.
References
Albums de Croy, Tome II, Propriétés des
Croy, II, Crédit communal de Belgique,
Bruxelles, 1988.
Albums de Croy, Tome XXVI, Recueil
d’études, Actes du colloque organisé à
Chimay et à Fourmies les 7 et 8 Mai 1992,
Crédit communal de Belgique, Bruxelles,
1996.
Authors
Uta Landwehr | Junko Sonderegger
Austrian National Library, Conservation
Department, Josefsplatz 1, A-1015 Vienna,
Austria
Uta.Landwehr@onb.ac.at;
Junko.Sonderegger@onb.ac.at
Irblich, E. ‘Die Konservierung von Handschriften unter Berücksichtigung der
Restaurierung, Reprographie und Faksimilierung an Hand von Beispielen aus
der Handschriftensammlung der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek Wien’,
Codices manuscripti, 11/1985, issue 1, p.
28 – 30.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
16
A 1763 Illuminated Haggadah Manuscript:
How Ineffective Past Treatments Resulted in an Antioxidant Research
Project, Impacting Current Treatment Decisions
Doris St-Jacques | Maria Bedynski | Lynn Curry | Season Tse
Library and Archives Canada; Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Canada
This 1763 Altona Haggadah (Fig. 1 ) is a mid-eighteenth-century illuminated manuscript from the
Lowy Collection of Library and Archives Canada
(LAC). The manuscript is particularly important
as it does not represent high book art, but gives
testimony to the way a middle class Ashkenazi
family of the 18th century would have celebrated
Passover. The text is accompanied by 97 illuminated miniatures and a fully illuminated frontispiece. Analysis of paper, ink, pigments and coatings from the manuscript was undertaken using
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR),
energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction
(XRD) and/or polarized light microscopy (PLM) at
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) (Helwig,
Corbeil: 2009).
The text is written in iron gall ink and the pigments used in illuminations are predominantly
red, blue and green. They were identiied as dry
process vermilion or cinnabar, Prussian blue,
and atacamite/paratacamite (copper chloride
hydroxides). Unidentiied yellow, glaze-like paint
is very thinly applied. Gold toned colours were
found to be composed of brass lakes. The colours
are transparent and the pigment vehicle is hard
and glossy. Lighter colours are also present although these are less concentrated dispersions
of the same red, blue and green pigments. Gum
was identiied as the only binding media present.
The paper support is in fragile condition due
to iron gall ink and copper containing atacamite
corrosion. On several pages, ink had penetrated
to the verso of the page, making the text dificult
or impossible to read. It is unevenly discoloured
and stained throughout. Handling and use is the
cause of much of the grime around the edges of
the folios. There are large brown liquid stains on
several pages caused by splashed red wine, most
probably during the ceremonial Passover meal.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 1: Frontispiece of the 1763 Altona Haggadah, from the
Jacob M. Lowy Judaica Collection, Library and Archives
Canada, (BM674.6 A3 1763 xxfol. LOWY)
Past Conservation Treatment Highlights
1987 examination revealed that deterioration
of the paper was further advanced in areas of
densely applied iron gall ink (Fig. 2) The green
copper pigment had also caused similar deterioration of the paper. Treatment in 1987 included
dismantling the manuscript and deacidifying
the pages with solvent based Wei T’o #2 solution (methyl/ethyl magnesium carbonates in 1,1
Dichloro-1-Fluoroethane (HCFC-141B) and methanol). This was followed by tissue repairs using
carboxy-methyl-cellulose as an adhesive.
Examination In 2007 revealed many new
cracks and losses throughout the manuscript. It
17
Fig. 2: Close-up of some of the losses found in heavily inked areas
of the manuscript.
was evident that the deacidiication treatment
of 1987, had been unable to completely protect
the paper from continued deterioration caused
by the iron gall ink and atacamite pigment. The
poor 2007 condition of the Haggadah prompted
discussions about the need for further conservation treatment, required to effectively delay damage caused by oxidation, catalyzed by copper and
iron in the inks and pigments.
Due to the water sensitivity of many elements
in the manuscript, only non-aqueous methods
could be considered for future treatment. Solvent based antioxidant treatments were still at
the experimental stage at that time and required
further research before they could be applied to
originals.
Until an appropriate treatment could be
found, it was necessary to mechanically stabilize
the damaged and fragile areas of the manuscript.
Berlin tissue, one of the lightest tissues presently
available, was coated with gelatin and used as a
remoistenable tissue. Recent studies have shown
that type B gelatin with a high or medium
Bloom, is effective in preventing migration of
free iron (II) ions (Kolbe 2004). The coated tissue
was reactivated in situ on the suction table, using an ethanol/water solution (Pataki, 2009).
At this point, a joint research project was developed between Library and Archives Canada
and the Canadian Conservation Institute, to investigate treatment options for the Haggadah.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 3: Pigment samples being pre-aged in LAC’s
humidiication chamber
Joint CCI / LAC Research Project Highlights
The paper, inks, pigments and experimental
conditions were selected based on a review of
recent studies and literature. We chose verdigris
and atacamite as the pigments, Iron gall ink and
iron gall ink with copper as the two types of ink.
The European co-founded InkCor project, identiied a number of antioxidants that can be used
in solvent based solutions. Halides were among
the most effective for treatment of both iron and
copper inks and pigments (Malesic et al. 2005
and 2006; Kolar et al. 2008). We chose Tetrabutyl
ammonium bromide (TBAB) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide (EMIMBr) as the two antioxidants for the project. For deacidiication,
we chose WeiT’o, to simulate the past treatment
of the Haggadah and Bookkeeper spray, as it is
widely used in conservation.
Sample preparation (Fig. 3), treatment methods and detailed results of this project are available in the 2012 AIC Book and Paper Group annual (Tse et al. 2012).
Brief Summary of Results
Ink Samples:
Both WeiT’o and Bookkeeper improved the paper
strength with both types of ink samples. They
also increased the pH of the two inks, though
not all of the acids were neutralized, as the inks
remained acidic. This acidic pH means that deterioration of paper will continue, but it will
be slower than without treatment. In the ink
18
Fig. 4: The Rebound manuscript with the antioxidant impregnated interleaving
samples, the addition of antioxidants showed no
improvement in paper strength over deacidiication alone. The addition of antioxidants did not
inluence the pH before or after aging.
Verdigris Samples:
Deacidiication alone resulted in a slight improvement of paper strength and the addition
of an antioxidant did not affect the pH of the
samples. WT deacidiication, followed by an antioxidant, did not improve paper strength substantially, though the antioxidant and Bookkeeper
treated samples showed some improvements,
especially with EMIMBr.
Atacamite Samples:
The antioxidant treated samples showed a
marked improvement over just deacidiication
alone. Though both antioxidants were effective,
the antioxidant/Bookkeeper combinations gave
the best results for this sample group.
Research Project Conclusions:
This study indicates that the beneits of the two
antioxidants are not evident when the inks are
still acidic. Deacidiication treatments do not
automatically ensure neutralization of all the
acids, so it is important to verify the pH of the
ink lines on the manuscript, not just of the surrounding paper (Tse et al 2012).
Past WeiT’o treatment of the Haggadah improved the pH of the paper and though the ink is
still acidic, we believe that the WeiT’o treatment
has delayed corrosion. Deacidiication was necessary but not suficient by itself.
Though this study has added to the body of
knowledge available on antioxidant treatments,
we hope to gain conirmation of our results
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
through current and future studies, including
similar work being done at the Austrian National
Library, for example, before committing to a speciic antioxidant treatment for the Haggadah.
Re-binding the Haggadah
As the Haggadah at this point remained disbound and antioxidant treatment possibilities
required further conirmation before being considered, discussions took place regarding the rebinding of the manuscript. In the end, it was decided to rebind the manuscript and that the contemporary cover boards would not be re-used for
two reasons. First, the valuable evidence of past
bindings and repairs would need to be removed,
in order to improve lexibility and allow reattachment of the cover. Second, reusing the covers
would limit the board re-attachment methods to
those using sewn supports, either laced or cased.
These traditional structures can cause compression of the spine during opening, resulting in
arching of the pages, which places the manuscript support and media at serious risk.
The condition of the Haggadah, combined
with other important factors, deined the requirements for a new binding structure. Also,
to prevent the spread of copper and iron II ions
further into the paper, only non-aqueous adhesives could be used for spine linings and other
binding procedures. A second requirement was
the inclusion of interleaving. The type of paper,
method of attachment and whether to add an
alkaline reserve to the interleaving, with or without an anti-oxidant buffer, were all taken into
consideration.
To prevent physical damage to the fragile
19
manuscript paper, the binding would need to
lay completely lat when open, avoiding stress
on the paper folios and arching of the pages. The
options for binding structures would need to
consider the sewing method, spine shape, spine
lining and board attachment method. Reversibility was also essential for the binding. Planning ahead for possible antioxidant treatments
which would require dis-binding, meant that the
sewing, linings and covers had to be removable
without causing damage to the manuscript. To
provide for long-term preservation of the manuscript, the use of recognized techniques and archival quality materials was essential.
Research and sample mock-ups resulted in
a suitable binding option. The sewing method
selected required minimal manipulation of the
text block. The binding would have a lat opening, supple boards, little or no change in dimensions and would require very little use of adhesive and to improve the ageing properties of the
manuscript indirectly, interleaving papers were
impregnated with an alkaline buffer and antioxidant (Hansen, 2005).
The stabilized Haggadah has been digitized
due to its restricted access and is stored in the
dark, in a controlled environment of 18 degrees
Celsius and 40% RH, awaiting possible antioxidant treatment in the future (Fig. 4).
References
Kate Helwig and Marie-Claude Corbeil,
Analysis of Samples from a Haggadah
Manuscript for Library and Archives Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, Report
No. ARL 4538 (Ottawa, 2008).
Gessa Kolbe, “Gelatine in historical paper
production and as inhibiting agent for
iron-gall ink corrosion on paper.” Restaurator, Vol. 25, (2004), pp. 26-39.
B. Vinther Hansen, ‘Improving ageing
properties of paper with iron-gall ink by
interleaving with papers impregnated
with alkaline buffer and antioxidant’,
Restaurator: Vol: 26 Number: 3, (2005)
Malesic, J., J. Kolar, M. Strlic and S. Polanc.
2005. The use of halides for stabilization
of iron gall ink containing paper:
The profound effect of cations. e-Preservation Science 2: 13–18.
Malesic, J., J. Kolar, M. Strlic and S. Polanc.
2006. The inluence of halide and pseudohalide antioxidants in Fenton-like reaction systems. Acta Chimica Slovenica 53:
450–456.
Andrea Pataki, “Remoistenable tissue
preparation and its practical aspects.”
Restaurator, Vol. 30, (2009), pp. 51-70.
Season Tse, Maria Trojan-Bedynski and
Doris St-Jacques, “Treatment Consideration for the Haggadah Prayer Book:
Evaluation of two antioxidants for treatment of copper inks and colourants”,
Book and Paper Annual (2012).
Sonja Titus, Regina Shneller, Enke Huhsmann, Ulrike Hähner, Gerard Banik, “Stabilizing local areas of loss in iron gall
ink copy documents from the Savigny
estate.” Restaurator, Vol. 30, (2009), pp.
16-51.
Authors
Doris St-Jacques
Conservator-Maps and Manuscripts
Library and Archives Canada
Gatineau, QC, Canada
Doris.St-Jacques@bac-lac.gc.ca
Maria Bedynski
Senior Conservator-Maps and Manuscripts
Library and Archives Canada
Gatineau, QC, Canada
Maria.Bedynski@bac-lac.gc.ca
Lynn Curry
Senior Book Conservator
Library and Archives Canada
Gatineau, QC, Canada
Lynn.Curry@bac-lac.gc.ca
Season Tse
Senior Conservation Scientist
Canadian Conservation Institute
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Season.Tse@pch.gc.ca
Jana Kolar, Alenka Mozir, Aneta Balazic,
Matija Strlic, Gabriele Ceres, Valeria
Conte, Valentina Mirruzzo, Ted Steemers,
gerrit de Bruin, “New antioxidants for
treatment of transition metal containing
inks and pigments.” Restaurator, Vol. 29,
(2008), pp. 184-198.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
20
The Conservation of the Hussite Codex (Mus.Hs.15492)
Considerations on Minimal Intervention
Birgit Speta
Austrian National Library, Conservation Departement, Vienna, Austria
minated as well, for example with scenes of the
life of Jesus Christ or motives including vines,
angels, birds or fruits.
Technical description
Fig. 1: before conservation
This paper discusses considerations on minimal
conservation intervention, using the example of
the Hussite Codex, which is in the collection of
the Department of Music at the Austrian National Library in Vienna.
History1
The Hussite Codex is one of the most famous
graduals (books containing antiphons and choral
music) of Kutna Hora (Czech Republik). Known
as Hussite Codex or Smisek Gradual, this gradual
is called the Hussite Codex because it contains
illuminations showing scenes of the life of the
reformer John Hus2, while its other name, the
Smisek Gradual, relects its original ownership
by Michal Smísek of Vrchoviste, who commissioned it from Matthew´s workshop in Prague. A
note on the last page of the manuscript records
1491 as the year of completion.
Miniature painting
The gradual is extensively illuminated. A large
part of the irst page is gilded. Beneath a picture
of the Madonna, the Smisek family is portrayed.
All initials are decorated, either with ornamental
patterns or in igurative paintings.
The irst page of each choral is lavishly illu-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
The object is very large and heavy, measuring 63
cm in height, 42 cm in width and 21cm thick.
All together it comprises 491 parchment leaves .
Because of its size and the substantial metal ittings the Hussite Codex weighs 42 kg (Fig. 1).
The textblock is sewn on 6 double cords made
of leather plus two cords for the endbands. The
leather of the cover is blind-tooled. The arms
of the commissioning client is situated in the
middle of the board. There are two huge clasps at
the front, one of which is engraved with the year
‘1562’.
Another important detail: the headbands were
plaited, which means that the strips of leather
are sewn around the primary headbands as well
as through the leather of the cover. As the primary headbands are part of the sewing, the cover
of the spine is ixed to the textblock on head and
tail.
This detail will play a signiicant role in our
considerations on conservation treatments.
Damage
The parchment of the textblock was in good condition, though there were minor losses or abrasions on the illuminations.
The greatest damage and at the same time the
greatest challenge was the fragile connection between textblock and the upper board.
The upper board was connected with the
textblock by just two strips of parchment backing and two weak and deteriorated double-cords
as the leather of the cover, most of the backing
and the lyleaves were broken in the upper joint.
Due to this damage in combination with the
weight of the front board every opening of the
manuscript could have led to a total separation
of board and textblock.
The leather of the spine is very brittle and
was also already broken at the joint to the lower
21
Figure 2 partial sewing: the blue dental floss in the
injection needle
board over the length of some centimetres. In
the event that the manuscript is often used, the
damage is likely to become more extensive and
the leather could break further.
Considerations for a conservation concept
The aim of the conservation treatment was to
strengthen the connection between textblock
and upper board in order to relieve the two weak
double cords of their great burden and prevent
them from breaking.
Conventionally, the broken cords could have
been reconnected and the torn leather would
have been glued with a new strip of leather. However, it would have necessitated the removal of
the metal ittings so that the leather on the upper board could have been lifted up. Solid leather
conservation at the spine would also have required undoing the plaited headbands, because
of which the leather of the spine could not be
lifted up. Thus the opening between leather and
textblock only extended to a width from about 1
to 4 cm. This implicates that there was not much
space left to work and it would not have been
possible to provide steady counter-pressure for
glueing the leather together, because the spine
is hollow as it was not rubbed in between the
raised double cords.
Each of those considerations would have
meant a great intervention into the original
structure.
Leather conservation alone would not have
affected the stability needed to support the
cords. Nevertheless it was necessary to do something about the broken leather, as it stuck out
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Figure 3 “half” paper tube glued to the spine of the
textblock and the reverse side of the leather
and therefore was in danger of being damaged
through handling.
As the abovementioned possibilities were excluded, we decided to apply an additional backing as well as a fold around the irst section. Both
the backing and the fold should extend onto the
upper board thus stabilizing the connection to
the board to some extent.
The second question was what to do about the
broken leather, as we decided it was necessary to
at least do something about it. Due to the technical details described earlier, it would not have
been possible to close the tear with one piece of
new leather as there was not enough space nor
the possibility to press it.
Conservation report
First, all illuminations were consolidated with
the ultrasonic nebulizer with a 0.5 % gelatine
solution.
The pastedown of the upper board was lifted
up with a metal spatula. A fold made of linen
was put around the irst section. It was cut
around the cords, so that it could be put around
the section without cutting the sewing thread.
The linen was glued to the verso of the irst section with starch paste.
The next step was an additional spine lining.
New strips of linen were glued onto the original
lining. The spine was brushed with glue while
the linen was brushed with wheat starch paste.
As the gap between the spine of the textblock
and the leather only had a maximum of 4 cm,
it was not possible to glue it across the whole
22
width of the spine. We thought this to be acceptable as the original vellum lining was still intact
and was very stable in those areas.
For further stabilization the irst section as
well as the spine lining was partially sewn to the
irst sections. There was insuficient space to do
the sewing in the usual manner.
Worklow of partial sewing (Fig. 2):
Due to the strength of the parchment the holes
had to be pre-stitched with a pricking awl. To
pull the thread through the section a threading
aid (dental loss) was used. As the loss was too
lexible despite the pre-stitching, in most cases it
still could not be pulled through the hole in the
section fold. Therefore a thick injection needle
was used as a temporary inlexible lead to pull
the thread through. The injection needle was
manoevered through the section and while the
loss was held in place, the needle was removed.
Now the thread could be threaded into the loss
and be pulled through the leaves.
After partial sewing the loose linen folds were attached with animal glue to the inner side of the
upper board. The paste-down was glued with rice
starch paste into its original position.
The next step was to stabilize and consolidate
the broken leather at the spine. It would not
have been possible to close the tear along the
whole length, and as there was no way to press
it, the old and new leather could not have been
glued together irmly. Therefore the tear was just
closed in between each cord under the original
leather.
The material used was linen lined with Japanese paper. It was sprayed with Aero Color3 dye
and was cut into strips which match the distance
of the cords. It was worked similarly as a “half”
paper tube (Fig. 3), as it was open on one side covering only the half width of the spine.
First of all one side of the linen fold was glued
to the spine of the textblock with animal glue
and wheat starch.
The other half of the linen fold was glued to
the spine leather. For drying it was supported by
two boards of Vivak4. These had been cut to two
different templates to allow each to be pulled
beneath the leather of the spine; the smaller one
could even be pulled through the narrow slit
above a double cord. The templates overlapped
slightly to provide the necessary counter-pres-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 4: Vivak templates for supporting the spine leather and
linen glued together to press it while drying
sure (Fig. 4). From the outside it was pressed with
a screw clamp put on a sheet of polyester felt and
a board of wood.
Conclusion
The conservation treatment presented effected
the stabilisation of the connection between textblock and upper board. Due to its great weight
the upper board should still be supported carefully when moved.
The torn leather was consolidated with the
strips of linen to prevent its edges from tearing.
Nevertheless it is recommended that access to
the Hussite Codex should be largely restricted.
The leather of the spine is very brittle, so it is
probable that at some time it will also break in
the lower joint.
Therefore, the manuscript should not be
opened further than to an angle of 90° and only
while being supported carefully.
Endnotes
1 Fritzsch, K.E., ‚Die Kuttenberger Bergbauminiaturen des Illuminators Mathaeus’,
Deutsches Jahrbuch für Volkskunde, 1960
(Bd. VI), pp. 213-228
2 Jan Hus, Theologist and Reformer, born
1369, died 1415 as martyr
3 Aero Color is a ine spray colour on
acrylic basis.
4 Vivak is a transparent copolyester board,
thickness 1,5 mm.
Author
Birgit Speta
Austrian National Library
Josefsplatz 1, 1015 Wien
birgit.speta@onb.ac.at
23
Books in Exhibitions: History and Adventures in Display
Lieve Watteeuw
KU Leuven, Faculty of Arts & Illuminare, Research Centre for Medieval Art, Leuven, Belgium
Introduction
The history of display of manuscripts and early
printed books is shifting from the age when they
were in use, to an epoch wherein their physical
presence became a tangible mirror of a far and
distant past. Our contemporary understanding
of an ‘exhibition’, from the latin exhibere (to
hold out, display) stems from the 19th century
on the concept of a ‘large-scale public showing’1.
However, the display of books and documents
on shelves and lecterns is starting from the early
Middle Ages on. We ind evidence of this in medieval paintings and illuminations, illustrating
scriptoria, writing desks, armaria and studiolos.
The display of books didn’t refer to aesthetics,
but to wealth, devotion and erudition. Overall,
books and documents were displayed in public
places like churches, to strengthen their legal
and devotional importance or to commemorate. In this perspective, these early displays
are antecedents of the modern concept of an
exhibition. Complementary to iconographical
sources, archival and literary texts are revealing the close attention for security and physical
integrity which the owners and custodians of
books had in the dawn of book display. From
the end of the 18th century on, but prominently
from the middle of the 19th century, medieval
and early printed books left the closure of their
repositories and through the modern exhibition,
became part of a new form of visual culture. As
a result of this approach, custodians and librarians were increasingly pressured to permit books
out of their secure storage, and sources reveal
occasionally a severe resistance to this trend of
public displays. Restorers -as craftsmens- were in
service of this changing vision and function of
the early book heritage. This essay will shed light
upon these early tensions between conservation
and exhibition by presenting and discussing the
documented evidence we have of medieval and
modern displays.
On book niches, grills, curtains, glass and
chains: Examples of display of books in the
Middle Ages
Fig. 1
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Security was certainly the main issue during the
public display in the Middle Ages, as medieval
churches functioned not only as places of prayer,
but as trade, market and negotiation centres.
A number of entries in the Antwerp chapter’s
accounts of the Church of Our Lady around
1500-1503 mention ‘metal windows’ to protect
books. Donors speciied in their wills that books
must be kept in a safe place. Johan von Heinsberg (1419-1455), Prince-Bishop of Liège, was
aware of the potential risks and in 1424 issued
a decree that taking, copying or damaging the
all-important deed known as the Paix des Douze
which was kept behind bars in a recess in one of
the columns of St Lambert’s Cathedral, would
be punishable by the loss of a hand2. In 1449 the
24
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
chaplain of St Brice’s Church in Tournai gave a
breviary to the church on strict condition that it
would be kept safely behind iron bars in a niche
in the wall next to his tomb3. In the painting of
the Seven sacraments by Roger Van der Weyden,
dated ca. 1445, a wooden book niche with grills
is painted in detail (Figure 1). In January 1519
the will of Lodewijk Witkin of the Church of Our
Lady in Bruges speciically required his books to
be chained, so that they could be looked at, read
or studied by all who wished to do so, but could
not be stolen or lost4. Accounts for 1456 to 1475
from the Church of St Michael in Cornhill (Aberdeenshire) conirm that the price of a book chain
was not an expensive method of ‘prevention’
against theft5. In the sixteenth century chained
libraries became more common, especially in
the Reformed parts of Europe, where the growth
of semi-public libraries led to an increase in the
chaining of manuscripts and printed books.
a plate of glass or crystal. That was the case for
a small picture depicting the Sweet Name of Jesus
behind glass, given by a nun – who was also an
illuminator – to the Carmelites of Sion in Bruges
in 15088. In the same period, sisters in Malines
were protecting small miniatures and devotional
prints in their retables incorporating relics and
ex-votos known as “Closed Gardens” or “Besloten Hofjes” with polished crystals (Figure 2). In
manuscripts small veils of silk were sometimes
added, chiely to protect the raised gilding from
abrasion9 (Figure 3).
Moreover, display in private contexts would be
surrounded with special care in the more physical sense. In the chambers of eminent individuals special measures were taken to protect books.
This appears, for instance, in the description
of the effects of Corneille Haveloes -the auditor of the Chamber of Accounts in Brussels in
1520- who had a red curtain complete with iron
rod and rings, to hang in front of his books6.
The library of Duke Anne de Montmorency
(1492-1567) had bookcases protected by glass and
completed with strong red wool curtains to save
the volumes from the damaging effects of light7.
Individual miniatures and small painted pictures
hung on the walls, were sometimes covered with
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
On art exhibitions, disbanding, rebinding
and reproductions: Display in the
19th century
After the Ancien Regime, more particular in the
second part of the 19th century, medieval and
early modern books were displayed in museums,
often in efforts to legitimate and aggrandize the
national past and its cultural heritage. Exhibitions or the more or less permanent display of
old books and manuscripts in showcases became
fashionable in several European cities and main
libraries. Furthermore, the presentation of archival and library material was connected with
the growing concept of leisure time and tourism.
World exhibitions and exhibitions of medieval
art, as an new urban phenomenon, were popular platforms for display of documents in a historical context. They generated a transnational
mobility of people and artworks. One of the
highlights in the middle of the 19th century was
certainly the collection in the Victoria & Albert
25
Fig. 4
Museum in London and the prestigious exhibition of ine medieval art in Brussels in 188010.
This major exhibition included a large number
of medieval manuscripts and incunabula from
all over Europe and proved to have considerable
public appeal. Already in 1860 there was a growing interest, especially in England, in travelling
to the Continent to see actual medieval relics, a
trend that the development of the railways had
made possible.
On the other hand, the growing interest and
public display of century old books encouraged
the unbinding from their original bindings. For
the 1880 Brussels exhibition a splendid illuminated book of Hours (the Hennessy Hours) was
unbound and the folio’s presented in movable
wooden frames11. The same approach could be
seen in the Bargello Museum in Florence where
the collection of manuscript leaves of the French
antiquarian Francetti Carrand (1821-1899) were put
in 1894 on permanent display in vertical wooden
showcases12.
The press took the communication for the exhibitions in their hands and Travel Guide Books
like the little red Baededeker, Handbook for Travellers are revealing with great precision which
precious books or documents the new traveller
could see “on show” in the main European libraries, museums or archives. These institutions
were open to the public, although limited hours
a day or week. A closer look to the continuing
new editions of the Baedeker show how long the
same manuscripts and early printed books stayed
on display, this could be without doubt between
twenty and thirty years, with the opening on
the same page. The example of the Antwerp Museum Plantin-Moretus is clear, the 1891 edition
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
of Baedeker is mentioning: Room III. in the center,
miniatures from the tenth to the sixteenth century13.
On the irst loor of the Museum there were autographs, incunabula and documents on view in
glass showcases, close to the windows. The showcases were covered with leather covers to protect
against light (Figure 4). Not all repositories took
these preventives measurements.
For public collections, there was another challenge. After the Sankt-Gallen (1898) and the Liège
conference (1905) attended by a large group of
European librarians, one of the solutions proposed to protect original book material was the
making of reproductions14. The starting point
was the idea that the original would be handled
less and thus would be better conserved. Photographic reproduction, it was argued, allowed the
user to view and study a manuscript as much
and for as long as he pleased, without any risk
to the original. In this scope, only facsimiles of
European manuscripts were sent to the St. Louis
World’s Fair in 1904. The travel risks and the
long display period were esteemed to riskfull.
Conclusion
The context and evolution of display of historical
documents in public and private places reveals
a fundamental interest of the custodians for the
protection and the prevention of the artefacts.
In the modern period, the value of libri antiqua
shifted to items with an historical, didactical inancial and artistic value. In this context, books
were from the 19th century on -without scrutinydismantled, mounted, restored and rebound
to function in the shifting exhibition contexts.
The ‘progress’ in display entailed occasionally
a dramatic paradox for the physical integrity of
the old document. The history of the display of
an artefact is an important mark in the material
pedigree of a book. In this regard, conservators
-with their trained eyes and minds- can frequently reveal detailed material marks of those distant
and mostly undocumented displays. In this way
they are privileged observers and keepers of the
unwritten history of a book or document15.
26
Notes
1 The Old French the word exhibicion
from the latin exhibere (to hold out, display) is already mentioned in the
14th century.
2 The Paix de Douze is a the peace agreement that finally brought to an end a bitter vendetta between two noble houses
that had devastated the principality of
Liège. See : Stanislas Bormans, Recueil
des Ordonnances de l principauté de
Liège, 1st series 974-1506, Brussels,
1878: 556.
3 A. De La Grange, Choix de testaments
tournaisiens, Tournai, 1897: 257,
no. 908. n 24.
4. Luc Indestege, Verslagen en Mededelingen
van de Koninklijke Academie voor Taal
en Letterkunde, 1961: 77.
5 William Blades, On Chained Libraries,
Read at the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, London, October, 1889,
The Library (1889): 412.
6 Brussels, State Archives, CC, 28584,
fol. 54r.
7 L. Mirot, L’Hotel et les collections du
Connétable de Montmorency, Paris, 1920:
57-58, 70-73, 103-105 and 161-162
8 James Weale, ‘Le couvent de soeurs de
notre Dame de Sion, à Bruges’, in Le
Beffroi, vol. III, (1866-1870: 85 and 92
9 Christine Sciacca, ‘Raising the Curtain
on the Use of Textiles in Manuscripts’, in
Weaving, Veiling and Dressing. Textiles
and their Metaphors in the Late Middle
Ages, Medieval Church Studies 12,
Kathryn M. Rudy and Barbara Baert (eds.),
Turnhout, 2008: 168-171
10 Charles Ruelens, ‘Les Manunuscrits’, in
M. Camille de Roddaz, l’Art Ancien à
l’Exposition Nationale Belge, 1880: 289
15 Further reference: Lieve Watteeuw, The
History of Conservation and Restoration
of Illuminated Manuscripts in the Low
Countries, Corpus of Illuminated Manuscripts, Vol. 19, Low Countries Series,
Peeters, London-Leuven-Walpole, 2013
(Forthcoming)
Figures
Fig. 1: Book niche with grids in a 15th
century church. Rogier Van der Weyden’s
Seven Sacraments Altarpiece (1445-1450),
Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor
Schone Kunsten, Inv. 394, detail of the
central panel.(© Griet Steyaert)
Fig. 2: Miniature on parchment depicting
the virgin and child, mounted behind a
polished mountain crystal. Illumination
damage by darkening of the lead white.
Early 16th century, City Museum of Mechelen, “Closed Garden of the Unicorn” (©
Lieve Watteeuw)
Fig. 3: 13th century red silk veil protecting an initial. Museum Plantin-Moretus,
Antwerp, M. 16.3, Petrus Lombardus,
Sententiarum libri IV, France or England,
first quarter of the 13th century, (©
Bruno Vandermeulen - KU Leuven)
Fig. 4: Exhibition room with showcases
for manuscript display in the Museum
Plantin-Moretus, Room III, Antwerp. Postcard - early 20th century ? (© Museum
Plantin-Moretus)
Author
Lieve Watteeuw, KU Leuven & Faculty of
Arts, Illuminare, Research Centre for Medieval Art, Blijde Inkomststraat 21, 3000
Leuven, Belgium
lieve.watteeuw@arts.kuleuven.be
11 Jozeph Destrée, Les Heures de NotreDame dites de Hennessy: étude sur un
manuscrit de la bibliotheque royale de
Belgique, Brussel, 1895
12 Rosalia Bonito Fanelli, Tessuti italiani
del Rinascimento: collezioni Francetti
Carrand, Museo nazionale del Bargello,
Prato, Florence, 1981
13 Karl Baedeker, Belgium and Holland,
Handbook for Travellers, Leipzig –
London, 1891, Tenth Edition, Revised and
Augmented: 155.
14 Jozeph Van den Gheyn, Les manuscrits
des bibliothèques de Belgique à reproduire, Rapport présenté au Congrès
international pour la reproduction des
manuscrits, des monnaies et des sceaux,
Actes du Congrès international tenu à
Liége, les 21, 22 et 23 août 1905, Brussel,
1905: 46-47
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
27
Risk and Safety of Illuminated Manuscripts with Brittle Paint Layers:
Can the Digital Scan Substitute Old Manuscripts?
Are Old Choices of Conservation Reversible?
Robert Fuchs
CICS University of Applied Sciences Cologne, Germany
Fig.1: Prudentius 9. Jh., Burgerbibliothek
Bern, Cod. 264, 2, p.18 detail: a drop of
petrolatum lays on the surface.
Fig.2: Prudentius 9. Jh., Burgerbibliothek
Bern, Cod. 264, 2, p.21 detail: the petrolatum drops are so soft, so that scratches by
touching can be seen.
Paintings on paper or in manuscripts were normally made in the watercolor technique. Pigments and dyes were mixed with a water soluble
media and painted with a brush. Even the
ground of gold or silver leaves and the gold and
silver inks were bound with water-soluble glue.
Therefore one thought as a irst idea for the
consolidation of brittle paint layer to use a nonwater soluble ixing agent. The idea was the
reversibility of polymer agents with non-water
solvents. But unfortunately it is not seldom that
dyestuffs of the illuminations bleeded with the
solvents. This made the restorer helpless and
therefore it was decided to start researching the
technique of mediaeval book paintings with a
research institute at Göttingen University.
This paper is based on research experience of
more than 25 years.
Even up to now older consolidation techniques
can present dificult problems for conservation.
The digitization project of the Bern library made
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig.3: Prudentius 9. Jh., Burgerbibliothek
Bern, Cod. 264, 2, p.33 detail: the blue pigments are embedded in the waxy mass.
it necessary to investigate some precious illuminations because the paint layer seemed too
brittle for digitalization. We could prove that in
the restoration of 1937 the restorer used petrolatum (Vaseline) to ix supposed brittle paint layers
in many manuscripts. This soft waxy substance is
still soft and glossy and has changed the appearance of the paintings.
This paper will compare different consolidation techniques and discuss the reversibility.
Finely the question if the digital scan can substitute the old manuscripts will also be discussed.
Prof. Dr. Robert Fuchs
CICS University
of Applied Sciences – Cologne
Ubierring 40
D-50678 Köln, Germany
robert.fuchs@fh-koeln.de
28
Integrating Analytical Tools in Treatment Decision-making for a
1513 Hand-colored Ptolemy Geographia Atlas
Lynn Brostoff | Sylvia R. Albro | John Bertonaschi
Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA
Fig. 1
Introduction
In 2009, conservators from the Library of Congress (LC) undertook the technical examination
of Claudius Ptolemy’s Geographia, an atlas
printed by Johannes Schott in Strasbourg in
1513 and now part of the Lessing J. Rosenwald
Collection in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Bound in stiff-board vellum, the
Atlas contains the text and mathematical coordinates from Ptolemy’s second century A.C.E.
work on world geography, a sixteenth century
supplemental text, and forty-seven hand colored
woodblock and letterpress printed maps. All but
one of the maps in the Atlas are hand-colored in
six hues, including a problematic green used for
mountain features throughout the maps. The
inal map in the volume illustrates the territory
of the book’s patron, the Duke of Lorraine, and
is an early example of multiple color woodblock
printing.
The Rosenwald 1513 Ptolemy Atlas has been
unavailable for study or display for some time
due to its fragile condition. Initial examination
of the Atlas by LC paper and book conservators
conirmed that the vellum binding was extremely tight, preventing the book from opening com-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
pletely and contributing to breaks in the gutter
of the pages. In addition, conservators noted that
approximately forty of the maps appear in relatively good condition, while seven of the maps
(Fig. 1), are in extremely poor condition, with
all colors dull or darkened, the green pigment
sometimes powdery, and the paper generally
soft and discolored. The green on these maps has
sunk to the back of the support and caused offset
onto the opposite pages.
In order to best approach the complex preservation of this important volume, a research team
composed of conservators, scientists, and curators joined forces, resulting in an investigation
into how the Atlas was produced, how it developed its current condition issues, and how to formulate a treatment strategy. Many of the speciic
research questions posed by the group have been
systematically answered over the past two years
through scholarly research and technical analysis, leading to informed conservation treatment
planning and decision-making. The initial discoveries of the research team have been detailed
elsewhere [1, 2, 3, 4], but are summarized here.
History records that the production of the
1513 Ptolemy Atlas began in the early 16th century in St. Dié, France, where a small group of
humanist scholars known as the Gymnasium
Vosagense, including Matthias Ringmann, Martin Waldseemüller, and their patron the Duke of
Lorraine, combined efforts to produce a volume
with newly corrected Ptolemy information, along
with updated maps based on European discoveries of the late 1400’s. This project appears to have
been interrupted by the untimely deaths of the
Duke and Ringmann and the volume was left
uninished until 1513, when it was published in
Strasbourg by another consortium that included
Waldseemüller.
Examination reveals that the Atlas is constructed from three different types of laid
papers: twenty maps contain a slightly variant
Crown watermark; four maps and seventeen text
papers have a Lily watermark; and the remaining
papers contain no watermark. Throughout the
29
Fig. 2
Atlas, the Crown papers are in very good condition, exhibiting quite white color and expert
sheet formation. These watermarks appear identical to those that make up the separate sheets of
LC’s prized sixteenth century Map of the World
printed by Martin Waldseemüller. The Lily papers are in fair to good condition, but the pulp
is less evenly processed and dispersed, and the
sheet is generally not as white in color. On the
other hand, a large portion of the papers without watermarks are in markedly poor condition
and show deterioration of the green pigment.
Compared to the Crown or Lily papers, this pulp
is clearly less well-processed, the formation of
the sheet is rather uneven, and the paper is light
brown to tan.
Non-invasive, quantitative X-ray luorescence
spectroscopy (XRF) analysis of the papers used
in the Rosenwald volume and other LC copies
of Ptolemy’s Geographia strongly suggests a
correlation between condition and elemental
composition in the paper. The Crown papers have
a calcium (Ca) to iron (Fe) ratio of about 16:1. In
contrast, Lily and unwatermarked papers in poor
condition contain Ca:Fe ratios of about 6:1. This
evidence suggests that the presence of a relatively large quantity of Ca and low proportion of
Fe, combined with high quality processing, has
helped protect maps and colorants from degradation, even in the presence of the copper-based
green pigment, which was conirmed by polarizing light microscopy to be verdigris (2). The
other colorants appear to be organic-based and
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
remain unidentiied. The difference in inherent
paper quality is further supported by our observation that in four different copies of the Atlas,
the same maps appear brown, even in uncolored
versions.
Records show that in 1938, Philadelphia dealer
A.S.W. Rosenbach sold the book to Rosenwald,
who subsequently donated it to LC. Cover board
pastedowns and repairs on the maps provide us
with good evidence that the Atlas had undergone
several rebindings including one in the mid-20th
century. These conclusions are pertinent to the
analytical inding of a heavy brush application of
potash alum/gelatin solution on the seven maps
in poor condition. This agent was most likely applied during the last rebinding in an attempt to
strengthen papers that had become weakened
during natural aging. What is remarkable is that
this “strengthening” treatment coincides with
poor condition of both verdigris and the paper
support. This lies in sharp contrast to maps still
in good condition, which show the presence
of relatively minor amounts of potassium (K)
and sulfur, from original preparation for handcoloring, that remains benign in its inluence
on aging. In addition, close examination of the
restored maps shows that while the verdigris has
turned brown in most of these maps, it remains
bright in the gutter regions, where a guard paper
with a high Ca:Fe ratio plus signiicant amounts
of zinc (Zn), was adhered. These guards were in
place before the alum agent was brushed onto
select maps, protecting the paper and verdigris
pigment in the centerfold from further discoloration both physically and through the beneicial
action of Ca- and Zn-containing compounds.
With many of the questions regarding the Atlas’
condition and history answered, the current
project goals address the conservation treatment
approach and methodology. This paper describes
the use of quantitative XRF, along with spectral
examination, as decision-making tools during
treatment. Based on the initial technical examination and analysis, the following treatment
plan was established: 1) remove the non-original
binding; 2) remove guards from deteriorated
maps that need stabilization or that prevent
complete opening of folios; 3) remove the potash
alum-gelatin strengthening agent from the seven
restored maps; 4) reduce discoloration from verdigris offset; 5) restore a better Ca:Fe balance in
the conserved maps; 6) treat the altered verdigris
30
locally to prevent its continued deterioration;
and 7) rebind the Atlas in a historically sympathetic binding.
Method
XRF was conducted using a Bruker Tracer TurboSD spectrometer with a rhodium anode and
silicon drift detector. The instrument was operated with vacuum pumping, a titanium ilter,
and either 15 kV and 55 μA or 40 kV and 20 μA
for 180 seconds. Results were analyzed quantitatively with Bruker Calprocess software and linear
calibration from metal-doped samples of Whatman paper developed at LC; due to imperfect
calibration standards, quantitative results have
up to about 20% uncertainty depending on the
element and variation in the paper (4). Initial UV
luorescence examination was done with a hand
held UVL-56 Blak-Ray lamp at 366nm. More extensive spectral imaging was conducted on select
maps before and during treatment using a Mega
Vision Monochrome E6 39 Megapixel camera system and light emitting diodes (LED) illumination
at 13 narrow spectral bands from the UV through
the infrared range.
Results and Discussion
Following disbinding and guard removal, conservators tested alum removal in guards taken from
the deteriorated maps by blotter washing on a
suction table with either a 50% ethanol-modiied
aqueous solution or a pH 7.5 aqueous solution.
XRF measurements before and after treatment showed that the ethanol-modiied blotter
washing only removed about 40% of the alum,
while pH 7.5 water easily removed the agent, as
measured by K concentration. After testing the
guards, the Nona Asiae Tabula (Fig. 2) was chosen
for initial map treatment because it had signiicant, white alum surface deposits, was the least
fragile of the maps in poor condition, and was
the easiest to handle.
The conservation treatment involved four
separate steps of blotter and suction table washing using various solutions. The irst treatment
used 50% ethanol and 50% water adjusted to pH
8.0 with Ca(OH)2. XRF measurements indicated
that only about 25-30% of the alum agent was removed by this method; however color sensitivity
to water led us to try this protocol irst. Nevertheless, this solution caused minor color transfer.
The second step focused on local treatment of
offset staining from verdigris. Here ethylenedi-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
amine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and NaBH4 were
successful at removing excess copper from the
paper and reducing the staining. However, EDTA
left a residue in the paper that is visible with
UV luorescence. In the third step, blotters used
for washing were wet with aqueous solution
brought to pH 8.5 using calcium hydroxide. This
was effective for removing the excess alum in the
paper overall. By not spraying the recto, we were
able to minimize movement of color. The fourth
treatment used calcium bicarbonate-saturated
blotters in an attempt to increase the amount of
calcium left in the paper. Table I describes the
succession of steps, the solutions used, and the
results obtained; Table II shows XRF results for
paper areas, excluding the offset stains.
After treatment, the Nona Asia Tabula map appears signiicantly brighter, treated staining
from verdigris offset is considerably reduced,
and the paper feels stronger and more lexible.
XRF analysis of the map and blotters before,
during and after treatment shows the effective
removal of potash alum in the paper as well as
copper in areas of verdigris offset. Copper content in areas treated near verdigris does not appear increased, within the margin of error. EDTA
residues remain in treated areas, as detected by
UV luorescence, and are the subject of further
study.
Conclusion
The value of combined XRF and spectral analysis
as treatment monitoring and decision-making
tools is demonstrated as an integral part of the
conservation of a 16th century atlas with verdigris and old restoration damage. The treatment
of one map has been a step-by -step process of
trial and review, involving analytical monitoring and compromises. This process has lead to
formulation of detailed procedures for six other
maps in the volume in poor condition, as will be
discussed. Current conservation measures include removal of a potash alum-based “strengthening” agent by blotter-washing with pH-adjusted aqueous solutions on a suction table. Development of methodology for reduction of copper
staining and possibly also conversion of browned
verdigris is in process with the aid of these tools
and Raman spectroscopy.
31
Acknowledgments
References
The authors would like to acknowledge
the important contributions from the
rest of the Ptolemy research team, Dan
DeSimone, Fenella France and Eliza
Spaulding, as well as Cindy ConnellyRyan, Meghan Wilson, John Hessler and
Carrie McNeal.
1 Albro, Sylvia, John Bertonaschi, Lynn
Brostoff, Daniel De Simone, Fenella
France, and Eliza Spaulding. 2011. Solving
the Ptolemy Puzzle. Book and Paper Annual 30: 5-8.
2 Brostoff, Lynn, Sylvia Albro, John Bertonaschi, and Eliza Spaulding. 2011. The
Relationship between Inherent Material
Evidence in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Treatment Planning: Solving the
Ptolemy Puzzle, Part II. Book and Paper
Annual 30: 29-33.
Authors
Lynn Brostoff | Sylvia R. Albro |
John Bertonaschi
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.,
USA, lbrostoff@loc.gov
3 Sylvia Albro, John Bertonaschi, Lynn
Brostoff, Dan DeSimone, Fenella France
and Eliza Spaulding. The Papers in the
Ptolemy Puzzle. Oral presentation by
Sylvia Albro. 31st Congress of the International Association of Paper Historians
(IPH), 17 Sept. 2012, Basel, Switzerland.
IPH Congress Proceedings, vol. 19: in
press.
4 Lynn Brostoff, Sylvia Albro, Alice Han,
Josefina Maldonado, Jae Anderson, John
W.N. Brown, and Michael Glascock. In
press. Quantitative X-ray Fluorescence
Methodology for Examination of Cultural Heritage on Paper. In Research
and Technical Study Specialty Group
Postprints, The American Institute for
Conservation of Historic and Artistic
Works (AIC) Annual Conference, May
10, 2012: http://www.conservationus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.
viewpage&pageid=1663
TABLE II: Metal Content in Nona Asiae Tabula Map Paper
Before and After Treatment As Determined by XRF
ave. ppm
before
treatment (no
offset
areas)
variation
in paper
ave. ppm
after
treatment
step 1
total
change
ave. ppm
after
treatment
step 2
total
change
ave. ppm
after
treatment
step 3
total
change
ave. ppm
after
treatment
step 4
total
change
K
11000
12%
7800
(-29%)
8100
(-26%)
1100
(-89%)
980
(-91%)
Ca
4500
9%
4500
nd
4800
nd
4300
nd
5300
slight
gain
Fe
730
7%
670
nd
710
nd
730
nd
710
nd
Cu
330
28%
310
nd
340
nd
410
nd
420
nd
Ca
6.2
6.7
6.8
5.9
7.5
Fe
nd = not detected
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
32
TABLE I: Suction Table Treatment Process for Nona Asiae Tabula Map
STEP
VERSO TREATMENT
RECTO TREATMENT
RESULTS
1
Overall spray on verso and
blotter #1 infused with
50:50 solution*
Sprayed overall with
50:50 solution*
•XRF: alum-K reduced ≤ 30% in paper margin areas, as
detected by K
Blotters #2-3 infused with
50:50 solution*
Sprayed overall with
50:50 solution*
•XRF: K detected all over blotter #1, but not in #2
•XRF: no detectable change in Ca, Fe, or Cu content in
margin areas of paper
•XRF: effect of ammoniated water inconclusive
2
Humidification between
Goretex;
Blotter #1 infused with
aqueous Ca(HCO3)2 (1.10 g/l
in DI water)
Blotters #2-4 infused with
Ca(HCO3)2
Map margins brushed/
sprayed with 50:50
solution*
•UV: fluorescent material from map deposited in the
blotter overall
Areas of offset
brushed with dilute
pH 9.0 NH4OH
•Paper brightened overall
Select offset stains
in map reserve areas
brushed with EDTA**
or Ca phytate± solutions twice
• XRF: Cu reduced ~ 75% in offset treated with aqueous
EDTA, but less with aqueous Ca phytate
• XRF: Fe and Ca content in paper unchanged, but Ca
reduced in treated offset areas
• XRF: alum-K reduced ~ 85-90% in treated offsets, but not
further reduced in paper
• XRF: no detectable increase in Cu in paper adjacent to
two treated areas within margin of error
• UV: fluorescent material transferred overall from map
paper to blotters.
• UV: EDTA-treated areas and adjacent blotters strongly
fluorescent
• UV: fluorescent bleach residue completely transferred to
adjacent blotters by 3rd blotter
• EDTA lightened offset stains, but also lightened some
organic colorants
• Ca phytate did not markedly lighten offset, but colors
unaffected
• NaBH4 lightened offset, in Ca phytate and in EDTA
treated areas.
Select offset areas in
colorants brushed
with EDTA** or Ca
Phytate± solutions
twice
Brushing and spraying with 50:50 solution* in treated areas
(rinsing)
NaBH4*** brushed in
treated reserve offset
areas twice
All treated offset
areas brushed with
50:50 solution* six
times (rinsing)
•UV: Some color sank and transferred to blotters #1-2
•Ammoniated water slightly lightened offset staining
3
Humidification between
Goretex;
Blotters #1-4 infused with
Ca(OH)2
pH 8.5
Map image reserve areas and map margins
brushed with 50:50
solution* twice
• XRF: alum-K reduced ~ 80-90% in rinsed areas (to levels
found in maps without 20th c. restoration)
• XRF: no spreading of Cu detected in paper areas near
verdigris above margin of error (i.e. up to ~ 500 ppm)
• UV: some fluorescent material still coming out of the
map, but only at the edges
• No visible color transfer into blotters
4
Humidification between
Goretex;
Blotters #1-3 infused with
Ca(HCO3)2
Reserve areas and
margins: rinsing
and deacidification
with 50:50 solution*
followed by dilute
Ca(OH)2
• XRF: Fe content in paper unchanged
• XRF: Cu further reduced to over 90%
• XRF: slight gain in Ca uptake possible
• UV: fluorescence on map only evident in areas treated
with EDTA and NaBH4
• Map pH adjusted from 4.0-4.7 to 6.0-6.5
• Tidelines lessened successfully
• No visible or UV visible color transfer into blotters
Tidelines: sprayed
with 50:50 solution*
*50:50 solution = 50% ethanol and 50% water adjusted to pH 8.0 with Ca(OH)2.
**0.1M ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid in water adjusted to pH 8.0 with ammonium hydroxide
***0.25% sodium borohydride in 50:50 solution*
±1.75 mmol/L calcium phytate according to H. Neevel formula
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
33
Verdigris I: Compromises in Conservation
Christa Hofmann | Andreas Hartl | Kyujin Ahn | Laura Völkel | Ina Faerber |
Antje Potthast
Austrian National Library, Conservation Department, Vienna, Austria
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Vienna, Austria
Fig. 1: Kyeser, Bellifortis, mid 15th century, Cod. 3068
Copper green pigments have the potential to
cause severe degradation of paper and parchment.
Additives, application method and storage conditions inluence the visual appearance and chemical stability of the colour. At the Austrian National
Library manuscripts, prints and maps coloured
with verdigris display different stages of degradation (Fig. 1, 2). Finding stabilising conservation methods and providing conservators with
decision making tools was the aim of a research
project funded by the forMuse programme of the
Austrian Ministry of Science and Research.
Samples were prepared by applying copper acetate pigments mixed with gum arabic on hand
made rag paper sized with gelatine. After preaging, the irst group of samples was subjected to
treatments with a variety of solutions including
aqueous deacidiication, non aqueous de-acidiication, antioxidants and complexing agents.
The solutions were applied by air-brush on the
suction table or by brush on the verso. The second group of samples received an application
of coated Japanese tissue papers for mechanical
reinforcement. For the purpose of comparison
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 2: Cellarius, Atlas Coelesti sue Harmonica Macrocosmica,
1708, FKB 272-25.
the coated tissue papers were also adhered on
rag paper without colour and on Whatman No.
1 ilter paper. The coating agents ranged from
aqueous to non- aqueous adhesives, and could
be activated by water, ethanol or heat. A third
group of samples was prepared according to
historic references and recipes by the mixture of
verdigris with plant dyes, pigments or juices. After preparation and treatment, the three groups
of samples were light- and heat-aged.
The effect of the solutions on cellulose was evaluated by analysis of molar mass and carbonyl
group content before and after aging. The coated
Japanese tissue papers were visually assessed and
submitted to simple mechanical testing. Indicator papers were used to monitor migration of
copper ions during treatments. LA-ICP-MS (Laser
Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry) was performed on selected samples to
further evaluate the movements of copper ions.
The verdigris samples with different additives
were visually compared before and after aging
with green colours found in manuscripts, early
printed books and maps.
34
Solutions that have the potential to chemically
stabilise verdigris on paper (Ahn, Verdigris II)
need to penetrate the paper matrix. In this study
the solutions had to be applied by brush in order
to have a positive effect on cellulose. Spraying of
solutions on the suction table minimised migration of copper ions during treatment. The movements of copper ions could be monitored with
indicator papers. The visual observations were
conirmed by LA-ICP-MS. Treatment decisions
will be a compromise between the risks of migration, the change of media and possible beneicial
effects of applied solutions. High humidity during storage and treatment can lead to migration
of copper ions and enhance degradation of cellulose.
For mechanical stabilisation of paper degraded
by copper green pigments, Japanese papers
coated with ilms of adhesive offer the possibility to support the weakened paper carrier. By
using thin and matte adhesive ilms produced
on a silicon mat, in combination with tissue
papers, 2 -3.7g/m2, the visual interference can be
reduced. Activation of the adhesive coating with
the sponge-blotter-system developed by Jacobi
(Jacobi et al. 2011), minimises the risk of migration of copper ions. In this study, coatings with
wheat-starch paste-methylcellulose, gelatine and
Klucel G in ethanol proved to provide suficient
strength without leading to detrimental effects
on the mechanical and visual properties. The use
of a speciic adhesive or adhesive mixture can be
adjusted to the needs of an artefact. Conservators
have a range of options to ind the best compromise between strength, visual appearance, ease
of application and removal.
Verdigris seems to have been frequently applied
in mixtures with green and yellow plant colours
to produce different shades of green (Fig. 1). The
exposure to light represents a risk for these light
sensitive compositions. Light seems to play a role
in initiating degradation of cellulose in the presence of copper acetate. Plant colours and additives like vinegar, tartaric acid or alum can lead
to brown discolorations during aging. The qual-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
ity of paper, sizing, method of colour application
and environmental factors inluence the condition of verdigris. Liquid application of colour,
high humidity during storage and the direct
effect of water have a negative impact. Treatment
decisions will have to balance the previous condition and history of an artefact with the sideeffects of an intervention.
The conservation and preservation of verdigris
on paper will, in most cases, be the search for
an acceptable compromise: between penetration
of solutions and migration of copper ions, between the support of degraded paper and visual
change, between the complexity of the artefact
and the question of access.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank their project partners
at the Conservation Department of the
Austrian State Archive, the Preservation
Directorate of Library of Congress and
the University of Natural Resources and
Life Sciences. The project was funded by
the forMuse programme of the Austrian
Ministry of Science and Research.
Authors
Christa Hofmann1 | Andreas Hartl1 |
Kyujin Ahn2 | Laura Völkel1 |
Ina Faerber1 | Antje Potthast2
1 Austrian National Library, Conservation
Department, Josefsplatz 1,
1015 Vienna, Austria
christa.hofmann@onb.ac.at
2 University of Natural Resources and Life
Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
antje.potthast@boku.ac.at
Reference
Jacobi, E., Reissland, B., Phan C., Luu T.,
van Velzen B. und Ligterink F. 2011. „Rendering the Invisible Visible: Preventing
Solvent-induced Migration During Local
Repairs on Iron Gall Ink”. Journal of Paper
Conservation 12 (2): 25-38.
35
Verdigris 2:
Wet Chemical Treatments which are not Easy to Decide and Apply
Kyujin Ahn | Andreas Hartl | Christa Hofmann | Ute Henniges | Antje Potthast
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Chemistry, Vienna, Austria;
Austrian National Library, Conservation Department, Vienna, Austria
Introduction
Results
Paper objects with copper pigments are threatened as they may exhibit an accelerated degradation of cellulose and heavy discoloration of the
paper depending on the condition of the object.
In some cases, the paper eventually becomes very
fragile and even handling of the object becomes
critical. Paper conservators and scientists have
been seeking solutions in many directions – reinforcement, environmental controls, solution
treatments, etc. As a part of the forMuse programme of the Austrian Ministry of Science and
Research, various solution treatments of paper
with verdigris were tested simulating a practical
situation that conservators might face in their
workshop. In the present study, various chemical
treatments of a handmade rag paper containing
verdigris bound in gum arabic, will be discussed
in comparison to the results obtained from the
same rag paper impregnated with copper. The
copper impregnation represents a more homogeneous situation which can be better controlled
and monitored.
None of the alkaline treatments in water nor in a
mixture of water and ethanol reduced cellulose
degradation signiicantly for samples of type 1
regardless of the application methods employed.
Especially 100% aqueous alkaline treatments
degraded the sample much more compared to
the untreated control. On the other hand, when
those solutions were applied to samples of type
2 different results are obtained: Alkaline treatments with calcium bicarbonate or magnesium
propylate were both effective to reduce Mw loss
and formation of carbonyl groups. Benzotriazole
in ethanol which has been used in the ield of
metal conservation worked as the most eficient
inhibitor of copper-catalyzed degradation of cellulose among the applied chemical solutions,
more importantly for both types of the samples
although it causes signiicant discoloration of
paper depending on its concentration. It was also
found to be effective under photo-oxidative as
well as under hot and humid aging conditions. A
concentration of 0.5% was high enough to form
a benzotriazole-Cu complex by immersion of
samples of type 2 in solution while the same concentration of benzotriazole was not yet promising for sample type 1 with a spraying application
method.
Calcium phytate treatment followed by a deacidication treatment did not lead to any retardation of cellulose degradation in the presence
of copper ions for both types of samples unlike
for paper containing iron gall inks ((Neevel 1995;
Reißland 1999). Both sample types treated with
tetrabutylammonium bromide, known as an antioxidant scavenging hydroxyl radicals, exhibited
signiicant reduction of degradation compared
to the untreated control. A single application of
ethyl-p-hydroxybenzoate which decreased the
degradation rate when it was combined with a
non-aqueous deacidication treatment (Henniges
et al. 2006) did not show any beneicial effect in
terms of molar mass protection of cellulose for
both sample types.
Methods and Materials
The solutions applied to pre-aged test specimen
varied from calcium bicarbonate in water to metal ion complexing agents or antioxidants in ethanol. Spraying on a suction table and brushing on
the verso were mainly applied to samples with
partially soluble verdigris (Type 1). Only immersion treatment was carried out for the samples
that underwent oxidation and impregnation of a
ixed content of copper (Type 2) prior to the treatment. After applying accelerated aging, measurements of molar mass and carbonyl group content
of samples were performed by GPC (Gel Permeation Chromatography)-Fluorescence-MALLS
(Multi Angle Laser Light Scattering)-RI (Refractive
Index) system after selective chemical labelling
of carbonyl groups.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
36
such samples, and the underpressure of the
suction table needs to be optimized depending
on the respective aim, either for generating a
minimum migration of copper ions and washing
out of degradation products or for impregnation
with an active substance. Even with the rather
complex set of test samples used in this study, a
simple brushing application of benzotriazole or
tetrabutylammonium bromide was found to be
more promising to reduce copper-induced cellulose degradation. Selection of what and how to
treat papers with copper pigments is highly dependent on variables that are not only connected
to the paper substrate but also depending on the
conditions of the pigment.
Fig. 1 Molar masses of the control samples and the samples treated
with Ca(HCO3)2 in mixture of water and ethanol (2:1) by various
application methods after accelerated aging.
Not only the selection of the chemical treatment
is important, but also the application method
itself should be taken into consideration depending on the conditions of the samples and the
solutions. Spraying of the reagents on a suction
table did lead to a large luctuation of target
characteristics, e.g. molar mass (cf. Fig. 1) and
is not easy to control when a certain amount of
active agent is to deposit homogeneously. Application by brushing the reactive agent on the
verso was highly eficient with sample type 1 for
the treatment with benzotriazole or tetrabutylammonium bromide. On the other hand, brushing on the verso was found to be not suitable for
deacidication treatments since the paper hardly
changed its pH.
Discussion and Conclusions
As the copper impregnated samples of type 2
were treated and analyzed together, the results
obtained from samples of type 1 that are close to
a practical situation were better understood. The
deacidication treatment seems to be a challenge
for heavily sized inhomogeneous rag papers with
partially-soluble copper pigments independent
on the application method. It is always accompanied by migration of copper ions that cannot
be overcome with a deacidiication treatment
alone. Spraying the reagents on a suction table
may lead to an inhomogeneous treatment for
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Acknowledgements
We thank all project partners at University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austrian Nation Library,
the conservation department of the
Austrian State Archive, and the Preservation Directorate of Library of Congress.
The financial support of the Austrian
Ministry of Science and Research is gratefully acknowledged.
Reference
Henniges, U., Banik, G., Potthast, A. 2006.
‘Comparison of aqueous and non-aqueous treatments of cellulose to reduce
copper-catalyzed oxidation process’.
Macromol. Symp., 232:129-136.
Neevel, J. 1995. ‘Phytate: a potential conservation agent for the treatment of ink
corrosion caused by irongall inks’. Restaurator, 16:143-160.
Reißland, B. 1999 ‘Neue Restaurierungsmethoden für Tintenfraß mit wässrigen
Phytatlösungen’. In Tintenfraßschäden
und ihre Behandlung, Banik, G. and
Weber, H. (eds.), Stuttgart: Kohlhammer,
pp. 113-220.
Authors
Kyujin Ahn1 | Andreas Hartl2 |
Christa Hofmann2 | Ute Henniges1 |
Antje Potthast1
1
University of Natural Resources and Life
Sciences, Vienna, Department of Chemistry, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
kyujin.ahn@boku.ac.at
2
Austrian National Library, Conservation
Department, Josefsplatz 1, 1015 Vienna,
Austria, christa.hofmann@onb.ac.at
37
Integrated Modelling: The Demography of Collections
Matija Strlic | Catherine Dillon | Nancy Bell | Peter Brimblecombe | Kalliopi Fouseki |
Jinghao Xue | William Lindsay | Eva Menart | Carlota Grossi | Kostas Ntanos |
Gerrit De Bruin | David Thickett | Fenella France
Centre for Sustainable Heritage, The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London, UK;
The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK; University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK;
Department of Statistical Science, University College London, UK;
Nationaal Archief, The Hague, The Netherlands; English Heritage, London, UK;
Library of Congress, Washington DC, USA
Fig. 1: Frequency of responses to the question ‘How long would you like
the original document/books you have been using/viewing today to last
in a readable state/a good enough state to be displayed?’
questionnaire was distributed to visitors and
readers at a number of institutions to capture
how the contexts of use affect their attitudes,
relected in the values which they associate
with documents, as it is likely that these affect
the expected collection lifetime. In the context
of the project, ‘value’ was operationalized in
terms of the beneits that can low from a collection. These may depend on material change and
degradation and environmental management
ensures that documents remain it for the purpose of reading or display until they degrade to
an unacceptable level, ie they become ‘damaged’
(Strlic et al., in press).
The Collections Demography project is attempting to model these processes in an integrated collection model.
The VALUE questionnaire
The recent BSI:PAS198 (British Standards Institute, 2012) speciication for managing environmental conditions for cultural collections
requires environmental management to be justiied in the context of collection use, signiicance,
degradation and environmental considerations.
It introduces the term ‘expected collection lifetime’; however, there is currently not much literature available on how this could be determined
or what lifetimes could reasonably be expected.
In the frame of the Collections Demography
project (2010-2013), research was undertaken to
assess the expectations of library and archival
users, and their attitudes to document use and
degradation, to inform the decision on appropriate planning horizons (Dillon et al. 2012a).
This was accomplished using the VALUE (Value
and Lifetime – User Engagement) questionnaire
(Dillon et al. 2012b), and experiments involving
the library and archival users themselves. The
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Statements were collected in interviews with
readers at The National Archives (Kew), and from
the literature. The questionnaire also consisted
of sections allowing for collection of information
on the user (e.g. activities, experience and demographics), the particular document they were
using or viewing, what they think is important
about the document (i.e. ratings of value statements), and their perspective on the desired lifetime of the document and their opinions on the
document’s condition, care and use. The analysis
was carried out using factor analysis (Tabachnik
and Fidell, 2007).
The questionnaire was distributed at the
National Archives (Kew), the Capitol Visitor Center (Washington), the Library of Congress, and
English Heritage properties (Brodsworth Hall,
Kenwood House and Eltham Palace). In total, 543
responses were collected.
The respondents were asked to rate their
agreement/disagreement with ca. 60 statements
38
tor to exhibits and historic libraries, generally
place most importance on handling as the source
of degradation. Environmental conditions and
storage were generally thought to be the second
most important reason, followed by neglect.
These views overlap with general conservation
considerations well.
Wear and tear
Fig. 2: Examples of differently distressed documents used in fitness-forpurpose workshops, progressively discoloured and with a progressively
big missing piece from left to right. The document on the left also has
a large tear, stretching across text.
about the document they viewed or read on
the day of the visit. Following factor analysis,
nine factors were extracted (56% of variance explained), which are summarised in Table 1. The
factors are related to personal as well as wider
signiicance of historic archives and libraries.
Expected collection lifetime
In the VALUE questionnaire, the respondents
were additionally asked how long they would
like the document they had been using (or viewing, in the context of an exhibition or of a historic library) to last in a usable state. The majority of responses focused on 50, 100, 200 and 500
years, with 86% of respondents giving a response
of ≤500 years (Fig. 1). Interestingly, there was only
a small proportion of respondents of the opinion
that the documents need to remain in a useable
state indeinitely. The results corroborate previous indings focussing on museum and conservation professionals (Lindsay, 2005).
Interestingly, a similar study was recently carried out on the expected lifetime of geological
collections among professionals working with
natural history collections (Robb, 2012). The
results showed that 70% of the respondents expected the objects to last ≤500 years. The similar
igure indicates that the actual material stability (geological collections being generally more
chemically stable than paper collections) may
not be relected in the expected collection lifetime.
It is of further interest what users thought
could prevent documents from lasting this long.
The results showed that readers, as well as visi-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Paper conservation research has so far mainly
focussed on material change and environmental impacts. There is a solid body of research on
chemical degradation of historic paper, leading
to the loss of mechanical properties and discoloration, and objects that are potentially unit
for the purpose of reading or display. Properties
that might negatively affect the itness of objects
are colour (a direct consequence of chemical
degradation) and physical features that reduce
the readability of such an object, such as tears
and missing pieces, which may accumulate due
to use. The process of accumulation of physical
change is of signiicant interest to the Collections Demography model, as it links material
properties and instances of use.
The inluence of some of the value factors on
the decision when a document becomes unit for
use was explored in a series of user workshops,
where users were requested to rank the itness
for purpose of differently distressed documents
(discoloured, with tears or missing pieces). In
this exercise, carried out at The National Archives (Kew), Library of Congress (Washington)
and the Wellcome Library (London), 331 users
participated. An example of three documents
used in these workshops (out of 17 in total, with
different combinations of distress) is shown in
Fig. 2. It turned out that users are concerned
with colour and tears only to a minor extent
(irrespective of the purpose, i.e. display or reading), while they generally rank documents as
‘unit’ only once a piece of document is missing,
containing text. It is important to stress that by
unit, we mean that some users will likely ind
the accumulated degradation unacceptable. This
certainly does not mean that the document becomes unsuitable for use.
Mechanical degradation (wear and tear) can
only occur during handling of a document. So
far, there has been no study looking into the
rate of accumulation of aspects of mechanical
distress during handling and a controlled experiment was designed involving handling of
39
Fig. 3: The consequence of 50 instances of handling for the paper (bound and unbound) with the lowest DP.
objects by readers-volunteers. The objects were
either bound books or folders containing loose
sheets of paper, resembling archival folders. The
aim was to subject each document to instances
of handling and monitor the accumulation of
physical degradation (tears, missing pieces) during use, which involved turning the pages resembling the process of reading. 25 different books
and archival folders were used, with paper of
different degree of polymerisation (DP), to investigate how accumulation of mechanical degradation depends on DP.
Only paper with DP<300 accumulated missing
pieces with text at an appreciable rate (Fig. 3).
For documents with DP>600, missing pieces with
text accumulated at an insigniicantly low rate
and in many cases did not develop missing pieces
even after 90 instances of handling. In order for
this data to be of use, it needs to be used in the
context of the average frequency of document
use at the collecting institution, which forms an
essential input into the collection model.
Conclusions
Collections can be seen as a dynamically changing entity, changes depending on external (environment, use), as well as internal impacts (material make-up). Although the rates might be different, the processes of change in collections and
those taking place in living populations are similar, so the principles of modelling could also be
similar. In the Collections Demography project,
we are developing a general stock (population)
model, in which a collection could be deined as
a group of objects to which a given set of management criteria are applied. This enables the
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
model to be used for examination and optimisation of different management scenarios (with
respect to the environment or use), as suggested
in recent environmental management guidance.
References
British Standards Institute , PAS 198: 2012
Speciications for Managing Environmental Conditions for Cultural Collections,
London, BSI (2012)
Dillon, C., Taylor, J., Lindsay, W., Strlic,
M. 2012a. ‘Implicit and explicit time
preferences in collections care and conservation’, Paper presented at the 10th
International Conference Indoor Air Quality in Heritage and Historic Environments,
London, 17–20 June 2012.
Dillon, C., Lindsay, W., Taylor, J., Fouseki,
K., Bell, N., Strlic, M. 2012b. ‘Collections
Demography: Stakeholders’ View on the
Lifetime of Collections’, Paper presented
at the Climate for Collections: Standards
and Uncertainties conference, Munich, 7-9
November 2012.
Robb, J. 2012. ‘Quantitative Assessment
of Stakeholder Attitudes to Geological
Collections for Improved Collections Management’, MRes Thesis, UCL Centre for
Sustainable heritage.
Strlic, M., Thickett, D. Taylor, J., Cassar, M.
in press. ‘Damage functions in heritage
science’, Studies in Conservation.
Tabachnik, B., Fidell, L.S. 2007 ‘Using Multivariate Statistics’, 5th edn, Boston: Allyn
and Bacon.
Lindsay, W. 2005. ‘Time perspectives: what
‘the future’ means to museum professionals in collections-care’, The Conservator,
29:51-61.
40
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to The National
Archives (UK), English Heritage, the
Library of Congress, the Capitol Visitor
Centre and the Wellcome Library for
hosting the questionnaire study and the
itness for purpose workshops. Collections
Demography is a project funded by the
AHRC/ESRC Science and Heritage
Programme (2010-2013).
Corresponding author
Matija Strlic
UCL Centre for Sustainable Heritage
The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies
14 Upper Woburn Place
London WC1H 0NN
m.strlic@ucl.ac.uk
Peter Brimblecombec, University of East
Anglia, Norwich, UK
Kalliopi Fouseki, Centre for Sustainable
Heritage, The Bartlett School of Graduate
Studies, University College London, UK
Jinghao Xue, Department of Statistical
Science, University College London, UK
William Lindsay, The National Archives,
Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
Eva Menart, Centre for Sustainable
Heritage, The Bartlett School of Graduate
Studies, University College London, UK
Carlota Grossi, University of East Anglia,
Norwich, UK
Kostas Ntanos, The National Archives,
Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
Gerrit De Bruin, Nationaal Archief, The
Hague, The Netherlands
Authors
David Thickett, English Heritage, London,
UK
Catherine Dillon, Centre for Sustainable
Heritage, The Bartlett School of Graduate
Studies, University College London, UK
Fenella France, Library of Congress,
Washington DC, USA
Nancy Bell, The National Archives, Kew,
Richmond, Surrey, UK
Table 1: Factor structure of value statements from the VALUE questionnaire
Factor Name
Description
Future Value
Statements in this factor relate to the potential future value of documents, their significance to
society and value to others, altruistic feelings about collections and the survival of documents.
Materials & Sensory
Experience
Statements relate to users’ sensory experience of documents (mainly visual) and refer to such
things as style, design and materials.
Public Value &
Evidence
Statements in this factor were based on a set of statements found on the Public Service Quality
Group’s biannual survey of UK archives [8]. They were found to cluster together in this factor. Statements refer to some of the core roles of government archives in supporting business, administration and the law.
Personal Meaning &
Identity
Statements in this factor relate to the way in which original documents may be used in archives
and libraries to build understanding of family, community and personal identity, for example by
gaining insights into one’s personal origins or feeling more connected to other people in the present day.
Understanding the
Present
Statements refer to the use of documents to help understand events in the present day and to link
the past to the present.
Discovery & Engagement
Statements in this factor refer to the way in which using or viewing original documents can elicit
surprise, feed curiosity and stimulate the senses.
Content & Learning
Statements in this factor refer to the information content (i.e. text and images) of documents, what
can be learnt from them and their role in enabling understanding of and insight into the past.
Connection to the
Past
Statements in this factor reflect an interest in what mattered to people in the past, how documents can help the user or viewer feel connected to people in the past, and how documents are
part of history.
Rarity
A small factor with statements relating to the uniqueness of the document and whether it could
be replaced if damaged.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
41
Characterisation of Historical Paper - Possibilities and Limitations
Jana Kolar | Dusan Kolesa | Gerrit de Bruin | Vilma Sustar
Morana RTD, Slovenia, Nationaal Archief, The Netherlands
Univerza v Mariboru, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Slovenia
Fig. 1: Correlation between molar mass of carbanilated cellulose and
degree of polymerisation of cellulose. R2 is the coefficient of determination. It describes how well a regression line fits a set of data. N is the
number of data points.
Introduction
Conservation and preservation decisions often
rely on the assessment of the condition of the artefact or the collection. Due to the numerous factors such as destructiveness of the methods, high
price and specialised expertise needed, the use of
analytical methods is still rather limited. Novel
applications of analytical methods targeting cultural heritage materials, such as size exclusion
chromatography and Near-Infrared spectroscopy
address some of the drawbacks of the traditional
chemical characterisation of such materials. This
paper discusses advantages and limitations of
some characterisation techniques used to assess
the condition of historical paper.
Experimental
The pH of paper was evaluated using traditional
cold extraction method (Tappi529 om-11) using
a combined glass electrode. Equilibrium pH was
determined by repeating the measurement until
a constant pH reading was obtained.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Size exclusion chromatography of cellulose derivatised using phenyl isocyanate derivatives was
used as described previously (Kolar 2012).
Viscometric determinations of the degree of
polymerisation (DP) were performed according to
the standard procedure ISO 5351/1.
MORANA NIR 1.0 commercial software application was used to predict paper properties using
Labspec NIR256-2.5 Near-Infrared Spectrometer
by Ocean Optics. It has a spectral range 900-2500
nm and a sampling interval between 6 and 7
nm. It contains a temperature-regulated InGaAs
detector array. The light source is an external
tungsten halogen light (HL-2000-FHSA). Data acquisition was performed using a 600 μ diameter
premium grade bifurcated optical cable.
A single ply of the paper to be analysed was
placed on several plies of Whatman paper. The
spectra were collected using an optical probe.
Independent sample sets were used for calibration and validation. Partial least square analysis
was used to model the paper properties. Correlations were optimised using different pretreatments of the spectra and by selection of
wavelengths.
Discussion and Results
1. Condition of paper
Condition of paper is an important information
affecting conservation choices. The arsenal of
methods includes determination of mechanical properties, viscometric determination of DP,
chromatographic determination of molar masses
and the use of Near-Infrared spectroscopy.
The use of mechanical properties, such as folding endurance, tearing resistance, and bursting
strength are limited due to their destructive nature and a requirement for a large paper sample,
often exceeding 10 g. In addition, relative uncertainties of most of these methods are rather
high.
It had been demonstrated that mechanical
properties correlate with molar mass of cellulose
42
Fig 2. Partial least square prediction of DP of rag paper. RMSEP is root
mean square error of prediction. It is defined as the root of the average
of the squared differences between the predicted and measured values
on the validation objects. R is the correlation coefficient, describing
the strength of a linear dependence between two variables. N is the
number of data points.
(Zou 1996), giving rise to extensive use of viscometric determinations of degree of polymerisation (average number of monomer units in cellulose, DP) in characterisation of paper. Relative
uncertainty is low, around 1% and a few tenths of
mg of sample are needed. Although much lower
than in the case of mechanical properties, this is
an ample amount which prevents the use of the
technique on historic materials. Alternatively,
molar mass of cellulose may be determined using size exclusion chromatography, either using
non derivatised cellulose (e.g. Henniges 2008) or
derivatised (e.g. Lojewski 2010). A good correlation is observed between the viscometrically determined DP and the molar mass of carbanilated
cellulose (Fig. 1).
It had been shown that in the case when cellulose is derivatised using phenyl isocyanate, a few
ibres sufice for characterisation (Stôl 2002). Despite the destructive nature of the method, the
amount of the sample is small and the method
results in no visible damage to the artefact. It
also enables evaluation of different stabilisation
processes on historical samples containing iron
gall ink (Kolar 2012). However, the uncertainty
related to the method is larger than in case of
viscometry, often exceeding 5%. This is partly
due to inhomogeneity of paper, the effect of
which is more prominent in smaller samples.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
It is also an expensive method requiring highly
skilled personnel.
Near- and mid-FT-IR relectance spectroscopy
was used to model DP values obtained using
viscometry (Trafela 2007). Quality of prediction
is often described with a correlation coeficient
R. The closer it is to +1 or -1, the more closely the
two variables are related. A good correlation (R
= 0.9658) between actual and predicted values
were obtained using a scientiic bench-top spectrometer Perkin-Elmer Spectrum GX (Waltham,
MA) which collects spectra between 714 nm ~
5,000 nm. The same instrument was used in
another study, where mechanical properties
such as tensile strength after folding (R = 0.8845)
and tensile strength (R = 0.7607) were predicted
(Lichtblau 2008). The instrument is not portable
and the otherwise non-destructive spectrometric
measurements are limited by the small size of
the sample which can be used for otherwise nondestructive analysis. Based on the promising predictions a commercial software was developed by
MORANA RTD, which enables determination of a
range of properties of various papers, such as DP,
Mw, pH, alkaline reserve using a reasonably affordable, portable spectrometer which allows for
non-destructive data collection using an optical
ibre. The software is, were possible, adapted to
the requirements of the conservation community, which is often particularly interested in more
degraded papers. Thus in addition to the prediction of DP of all rag papers, a separate prediction
is made for more degraded papers, decreasing
the error associated with the method (Fig. 2).
2. pH
Given the importance of pH on stability of paper,
pH determination is likely the most often used
analytical method in paper conservation studies. Standard method involves immersing 1 g
of paper into 70 mL of distilled water and pH is
determined after 1 hour (ISO 6588-1:2012). Since
destructive sampling is required, researchers
have minimized the sample requirements to 3050 μg by using a micro electrode. Miniaturisation
of the procedure decreases the repeatability with
acceptable values of 1.0 pH unit (Strlic 2004),
which was ascribed to the inhomogeneity of paper.
In the alternative standard (TAPPI T 529 om-09)
determination of the surface pH is made up to
30 min after application of a water droplet to the
surface of paper. Although non-destructive sam-
43
pling is required, tide-lines are created due to the
application of water. A micro-electrode was used
in order to minimize the amount of water needed and consequently, related damage induced by
the measurement (Strlic 2005). The electrode is
so far not commercially available.
Considering the damage which is induced using the above described methods, a non-destructive method which does not require addition of
water would be desirable. Recently, a good correlation (R = 0.9573) between measured and predicted pH values were obtained using a scientiic
bench-top spectrometer described earlier. Using
a portable Ocean Optics spectrometer and the
above mentioned software, prediction model for
all kinds of independent paper samples is characterised by R = 0.8802 and RMSEP = 0.73.
Although in use for decades, the standard
methodology involving pH determination after
1hr of cold extraction does not provide information on whether gelatine sized rag paper is acidic
or alkaline, when equilibrium pH is reached. Our
study of 150 historical rag samples showed that
pH of most of the rag papers with acidic pH, as
determined using the standard method, stabilised in alkaline region. This was observed also in
our earlier study (Strlic 2004). Determination of
the equilibrium pH value would thus be useful
in the assessment of the stability of paper. The
latter is dificult to determine, as several weeks
of measurements may be needed for paper pH to
reach equilibrium, while the recently proposed
method where the sample in water is stirred at
250 r.p.m. (Strlic 2004) is dificult to implement.
Although not as accurate as the determination
using a pH meter, NIR spectroscopy may be useful also in this case offering a prediction for the
equilibrium pH with R = 0.8123 and RMSEP =
0.76. Prediction is based on all kinds of paper.
Conclusions
Inherent features of cultural heritage require
a speciic approach to its characterisation. It is
imperative that the data is collected non-destructively or at worst, micro-destructively. Also, the
instrumentation should be portable in order to
minimize risks to the heritage due to the transport. The method employed should be characterised by high sensitivity and low detection limits,
which reveal the condition, enable determination of provenance, or point to possible future
problems and thus allow preservation actions
to be taken in time. It is also preferable that the
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
methods are simple, reliable and accessible.
While we know what we want, none of the
existing methods for determination of pH and
the condition of paper addresses all of the above
mentioned requirements. DP determination
is sensitive, affordable and reproducible, yet
destructive. Size exclusion chromatography of
carbanilated cellulose leaves no visible damage
to the artefact, but is instrumentally demanding
and expensive. Near infra-red spectroscopy with
accompanying software can be simple, fast, portable, relatively affordable, but is associated with
a larger uncertainty. The choice of the analytical
method will remain subject to the nature of the
artefact and the conservation problem, among
others. While size exclusion chromatography,
when available, may be the method of choice in
case of a precious artefact or a limited number of
samples to be analysed, NIR spectroscopy may be
more appropriate for characterisation of larger
sets of artefacts, as well as for rapid characterisation of the artefacts during daily work in conservation departments.
References
Henniges, U., Reibke, R., Banik, G., Huhsmann, E., Hähner, U., Prohaska, T., Potthast, A. 2008. ‚Iron gall ink-induced corrosion of cellulose: aging, degradation
and stabilization. Part 2: application
on historic sample material‘. Cellulose,
15(6):861-870.
Kolar, J., Malesic, J., Kocar, D., Strlic, M., De
Bruin, G., and Kolesa, D. 2012. ‘Characterisation of paper containing iron gall ink
using size exclusion chromatography’.
Polym. Deg. Stab., 97(11):2212–2216.
Lichtblau, D., Strlic, M., Trafela, T., Kolar,
J., & Anders, M. 2008. ‚Determination of
mechanical properties of historical paper based on NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics – a new instrument‘. Applied
Physics A, 92(1):191-195.
Lojewski, T., Zieba, K., & Lojewska, J. 2010.
‘Size exclusion chromatography and viscometry in paper degradation studies.
New Mark-Houwink coefficients for cellulose in cupri-ethylenediamine’. Journal
of chromatography. A, 1217(42):6462-8.
Stôl, R., Pedersoli Jr., J.L, Poppe, H., Kok,
W.Th. 2002. ‘Application of Size Exclusion
Electrochromatography to the Microanalytical Determination of the Molecular
Mass from Objects of Cultural and Historical Value’. Anal. Chem., 74:2314-2320.
Strlic, M., Pihlar, B., Mauko, L., Kolar, J.,
Hocevar, S., Ogorevc, B. 2005. ‘A New Elec-
44
trode for Micro Determination of Paper
pH’. Restaurator, 26(3):159-171.
Strlic, M., Kolar, J., Kocar, D., Drnovsek, T.,
Selih, V.-S., Susic, R., Pihlar, B. 2004. ‘What
is the pH of alkaline paper?’. e-PS, 1:35-47.
Zou, X., Uesaka, T., Gurnagul, N. 1996.
‘Prediction of paper permanence by accelerated aging Part I: Kinetic analysis of
the aging process’. Cellulose, 3:243-267.
Acknowledgement
The support by the Slovenian Research
Agency (grant L1-2401), Nationaal Archief,
NL and FP7 project Nano for Art, ref. no.
282816 is acknowledged.
Author’s
Jana Kolar, Morana RTD, Oslica 1b, 1295
Ivancna Gorica, Slovenia,
fax: +38617876334
jana.kolar@morana-rtd.com
info@morana-rtd.com
Gerrit de Bruin, Natonaal Archief, Prins
Willem-Alexanderhof 20, 2595 BE Haagse
Hout, The Netherlands
Vilma Sustar, Univerza v Mariboru, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Pivola
10, 2311 Hoce, Slovenia
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
45
Study of Phytate Chelating Treatments
Used on Iron Gall Ink Damaged Manuscripts
Véronique Rouchon | Eleonora Pellizzi | Maroussia Duranton
Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections, Paris, France
Experimentals
Fig. 1 : Aspect of CP solutions prepared at different pH value
Introduction
Many historical documents written with iron gall
inks are endangered by the corrosive effects of
these inks. In this work, a combination of complementary analytical methods was used for the
irst time in order to study the “calcium phytate”
process which is used in conservation studios
to stabilize damaged manuscripts (Neevel 1995).
This process consists of an antioxidant treatment
performed by means of a calcium phytate (CP)
solution, followed by a deacidiication treatment
performed with a calcium hydrogencarbonate
(CH) solution. The antioxidant treatment capitalizes on the properties of myo-inositol hexaphosphoric acid (phytic acid) that inhibits iron
through chelation. In order to use relatively low
acidic solutions, the pH of the calcium phytate
solution is increased up to values between 5 and
6, which is in the range of the CP precipitation
threshold. This abstract synthesizes a larger work
(Rouchon et al 2011a) that was performed on
laboratory samples in order to investigate how
the calcium phytate precipitate impacts the eficiency of the treatment.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Preparation of laboratory samples
Samples consisted in Whatman no.1 paper sheets
impregnated with a diluted iron gall ink prepared with laboratory products1.The ink presents
a pH of 3.0 ± 0.1 and the iron content deposited
in the paper (11 mMol·g-1) remains inferior but
close to the iron content of original manuscripts
which is usually over 20 mMol·g-1 (Remazeilles et
al 2005).
Before treatment, the samples were artiicially
aged for approximately 6 days in a climatic
chamber, using mild ageing conditions (70°C,
65% RH) in order to simulate some degradation
of the paper and to achieve a decay of approx.
10-15% of mechanical properties.
CP solutions were prepared following the protocol proposed in the nineties (Neevel 1995) and
fully described online (http://irongallink.org). In
order to study the effect of the CP precipitation,
four different values of pH were chosen (Fig. 1):
4.8 (transparent solution), 5.2 (turbid solution),
5.5 (white cloudy solution), and 6 (precipitate
formation at the bottom of the container). The
CH solutions were prepared with a method close
to that used in conservation workshops: 1.1 g of
calcium carbonate was added to 1 L of commercially available sparkling water2. The bottles
were closed immediately after addition, then
left to rest for 24 hours before use. Only the supernatant was used (pH 5.8 ± 0.2). The various
treatments that were implemented are listed
in Table 1. Each immersion was performed using 2 mL of solution per 1 cm2 of paper. Afterwards, the samples were aged again for approx.
2 months in the same conditions as before treatment.
Analytical methods
As conservation treatments in irst place aim to
limit physical decay to the paper, mechanical
testing appeared meaningful for the evaluation
of treatment eficiency. The paper mechanical properties were evaluated with a zero-span
46
Fig. 2 : Evolution of pH versus artificial ageing
Fig 3. : Mechanical decay of treated samples versus artificial ageing
tensile tester (Pulmac, TS-100) on dried papers,
pre-conditioned at 23°C and 50% RH. This test
consists in measuring the failure load necessary
to break a strip of paper maintained by adjacent
jaws. The load is expressed in kg per 15 mm of
strip width. For each sample, 10 measurements
were performed and the average was considered.
Standard deviation were ranging from 2% to 6%.
Mechanical tests were completed with pH
measurements performed on cold extracts, prepared with 0.5 g of paper in 25 mL of decarbonated ultrapure water. Additionally, global elemental contents were measured by Inductively
Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometry
(ICP-AES), and elemental distributions were
mapped by Scanning Electron Microscope and
Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometer (SEM/EDS)
according to a protocol fully described elsewhere
(Rouchon et al 2011a).
Results
Eficiency of anti-oxidant and deacidiication
treatments
The evolution of the pH as a function of artiicial ageing time is plotted in Fig. 2. The pH of
untreated samples remains stable and close to
a value of 4 during the degradation. The washing effect of water is noticeable: the removal
of soluble acidic compounds from the samples
increases the pH by approx. 1 unit. But contrary
to untreated samples, the pH of washed samples
decreases during artiicial ageing and inally re-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
covers its initial value.
The deacidiication realized by means of the
CH solution raises the pH up to alkaline values
(close to 8). However, when deacidiication is performed employing only bicarbonate (Bi), this effect does not last very long and the pH falls back
to a level of approx. 5 during the irst month of
artiicial ageing. This decline is limited when the
samples are treated with CP prior to deacidiication (PhyBi-1 to PhyBi-4): In these cases, the pH
stabilizes around a value of 6 after one month of
artiicial ageing
Fig. 3 shows that the untreated samples are the
most damaged. After three months of artiicial
ageing, they have lost 80% of their zero span
breaking load. In comparison, the samples that
were washed in water only (W30 and W60) are
less damaged: The removal of soluble compounds
delays the paper degradation, however, without
stopping it. The beneit of CP solutions is similar
for all investigated pH values (Phy-1 to Phy-4) and
slighly higher than that of water washing, but
these treatments remain of limited eficiency.
Similarly, the CH treatment, when used by itself
(Bi), gives rise to a short term beneicial effect only.
Contrary to all the above, excellent results
were obtained using a combination of CP and CH
(PhyBi-1 to PhyBi-4): after 3 months of artiicial
ageing, only a 10% loss of zero span breaking
load is observed, irrespective of the pH of the CP
solution that was employed.
47
Evaluation of stochiometric effects (“side effects” is not an appropriate title)
The molar Ca/P ratios of the samples Phy-1 to
Phy-4 are similar (0.605 ± 0.05), meaning that in
the pH range 4.8 to 6, the CP is deposited in the
samples with an average stochiometry of 3.6 calcium atoms per phytate molecule. This suggests
that the precipitate is a mixture of Ca:Phytate
3:1, Ca:Phytate 3.5:1 and Ca:Phytate 4:1, consistently with existing data: The Ca:Phytate n:1 is
known to be soluble for low values of n (n=1
and n=2), and insoluble for higher n values (2 <
n) (Graf 1983). The speciication of phytate solutions can be calculated versus pH considering
the 12 pKa values of this acid (Heighton et al
2008): In the pH range from 5 to 6, three species
of phytate, respectively bounded to four, ive, and
six protons are co-existing in solution, meaning
that resp. eight, seven, and six free sites remain
available for calcium bounding. If we consider
that each calcium can occupy maximum two
available phytate sites, and that calcium does not
remove bound protons, the resulting Ca:Phytate
precipitate stochiometry should be between 3:1
and 4:1, consistently with the measured value of
3.6:1.
present in low concentration and can be incorporated in the calcium:phytate precipitate without
noticeably changing its stochiometry.
It was recently demonstrated on quite similar
laboratory samples (Rouchon et al 2011b) that
the cellulose depolymerisation was mainly due
to oxidative mechanisms provoked by surrounding oxygen. Consequently, the poor eficiency
of CP treatment, when performed alone (Phy-1
to Phy-4) refers to the fact that phytate does
not inhibit iron at this pH level. The ability of
phytate to chelate iron is correlated to its capacity to block all iron coordination sites. This
property was evidenced in mild alkaline, but not
in acidic conditions. In these conditions protons
are obviously competing with calcium and iron
for phytate bounding. We think that the iron
which remains in the paper after CP treatment is
only poorly bound to CP and thus not inhibited.
When the CP treatment is followed by deacidiication, the pH of the paper rises to approx. 8 and
approx. two of the protonated sites of phytate
become available (Heighton et al 2008), thus favouring the inhibition of iron through chelation.
Conclusion
In our experimental procedures, the phytate
concentration in the solution is 1.75 mM, and
the concentration of iron in solution remains
below 0.044 mM, a value estimated under the
assumption that all iron present in the paper is
dissolved. Phytate is also present in large excess
compared to iron. In these conditions, its high
afinity toward iron is expected to lead to the
formation of soluble iron phytate 1:1 complexes,
thus facilitating iron removal from the paper in
comparison to pure water. This is not the case.
Pure water appears the most eficient for iron removal (50 % of iron is lost). On the contrary, iron
is more likely to remain in the paper when CP is
present in solution (only 30 % of iron is lost). Far
from enhancing iron removal from the samples,
the CP solution helps to retain iron in the paper.
This study conirms that the calcium phytate
treatment should necessarily be followed by a
calcium hydrogencarbonate deacidiication in order to achieve long term stability. It additionally
shows that the precipitation of calcium phytate
in the treating solution does not signiicantly
impact the eficiency of the treatment. We think
that iron is not inhibited in the pH range 5 to 6,
because it has to compete with protons and calcium ions to bind phytate. After deacidiication,
the removal of protons releases approx. two new
chelating sites on each phytate molecule, which
is probably enough to eficiently inhibit iron.
In CP solutions, calcium is used at a concentration of 4.4 mM, i.e. in large excess over iron (<
0.044 mM). It is already known that the addition
of calcium in iron phytate solutions provokes
co-precipitation phenomena (Subba Rao and Narasinga Rao 1983). Similarly, the fact that CP solution helps to retain iron in the paper appears to
us related to co-precipitation phenomena. Iron is
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
48
Table 1. List of implemented treatments
Name
distilled water
CP solution
CH solution
W30
2 baths
–
–
W60
4 baths
–
–
Phy-1
–
2 baths (pH 4.8)
–
Phy-2
–
2 baths (pH 5.2)
–
Phy-3
–
2 baths (pH 5.5)
–
Phy-4
–
2 baths (pH 6)
–
Bi
–
PhyBi-1
–
2 baths (pH 4.8)
2 baths
2 baths
PhyBi-2
–
2 baths (pH 5.2)
2 baths
PhyBi-3
–
2 baths (pH 5.5)
2 baths
PhyBi-4
–
2 baths (pH 6)
2 baths
The baths were lasting 15 minutes each, and the solutions were renewed between two baths.
Endnotes
1 composition of the ink : monohydrate
gallic acid (Aldrich, 398225), 0.6 g·L -1 ;
heptahydrate Fe(II) sulphate (Aldrich,
215422), 2.66 g·L -1; gum arabic (Aldrich,
G9752), 6 g·L -1.
2 Perrier, pH 5.2, composition in mg·L -1: Ca2+,
155; Mg2+, 7; Na+,12; SO42-,46; Cl-, 25; HCO3-,
445.
Acknowledgment
We are thankful to the paper conservator
students of the Institut National du Patrimoine, Paris who were involved in some of
the samples preparations.
References
Graf, E. 1983. “Calcium-Binding to Phytic
Acid”. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 31 (4): 851-855.
Heighton, L., Schmidt, W. F., Siefert, R. L.
2008. “Kinetic and Equilibrium Constants
of Phytic Acid and Ferric and Ferrous
Phytate Derived from Nuclear Magnetic
Resonance Spectroscopy”. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 56 (20): 95439547.
Neevel, J. G. 1995. “Phytate : a Potential
Conservation Agent for the Treatment of
Ink Corrosion Caused by Iron Gall Inks”.
Restaurator, 16 (3): 143-160.
Remazeilles, C., Rouchon Quillet, V., Bernard, J., Calligaro, T., Dran, J. C., Salomon,
J., Eveno, M. 2005. “Inluence of Gum
Arabic on Iron Gall Ink Corrosion, Part II
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
: Observation and Elemental Analysis of
Originals”. Restaurator, 26 (2): 118-133.
Rouchon, V., Pellizzi, E., Duranton, M.,
Vanmeert, F., Janssens, K. 2011a. “Combining XANES, ICP-AES, and SEM/EDS for the
study of phytate chelating treatments
used on iron gall ink damaged manuscripts”. Journal of Analytical Atomic
Spectrometry, 26: 2434-2441.
Rouchon, V., Duranton, M., Burgaud, C.,
Pellizzi, E., Lavedrine, B., Janssens, K., de
Nolf, W., Nuyts, G., Vanmeert, F., Hellemans, K. 2011b. “Room-Temperature Study
of Iron Gall Ink Impregnated Paper Degradation under Various Oxygen and Humidity Conditions: Time-Dependent Monitoring by Viscosity and X-ray Absorption
Near-Edge Spectrometry Measurements”.
Analytical Chemistry, 83 (7): 2589-2597.
Subba Rao, K., Narasinga Rao, B. S. 1983.
“Studies on iron chelation by phytate and
the inluence of other mineral ions on it”.
Nutrition Reports International, 28 (4):
771-782.
Véronique Rouchon | Eleonora Pellizzi |
Maroussia Duranton
Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections, (Muséum national
d’histoire naturelle, Centre national de
la recherche scientiique, Ministère de
la Culture et de la Communication, USR
3224), CP21, 36 rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire,
75005 Paris, France.
rouchon@mnhn.fr
Correspondence should be addressed to
Véronique Rouchon.
49
Practice and Progress in the Conservation, Preservation and
Digitization of the Dead Sea Scrolls
pnina shor | lena libman | tanya bitler | tanya treiger
Israel Antiquities Authority, Jerusalem, Israel
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the
Judean Desert some sixty years ago, in 1947, is
considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in modern times. The scrolls were either
written or copied in the Land of Israel between
250 bce and 68 ce. They represent the oldest
written record of the Old Testament, and contain
the earliest copies of every book of the Bible, except for the Book of Esther. This ‘Ancient Library’
enables us a glance into a period of time pivotal
to both Judaism and Christianity. Thanks to these remarkable texts, our knowledge concerning
the origins of Judaism and early Christianity has
been greatly enriched.
Issues of conservation, preservation and documentation of the Dead Sea Scrolls have concerned both scholars and conservators ever since
the scrolls’ discovery. The removal of the fragile
scrolls from the caves, where they had been
preserved for over 2,000 years, interrupted the
environmental stability that had ensured their
preservation for so long. Since their discovery,
the scrolls were damaged by ravages of time, as
well as from mishandling and mistreatment.
In 1991, the Israel Antiquities Authority (iaa)
advised by leading experts in issues relating to
conservation of manuscripts written on parchment and papyrus - established a designated conservation laboratory for the preservation of the
Dead Sea Scrolls. The conservation and preserva-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
tion of the scrolls has since been an ongoing task
due to their extreme brittleness and the need to
meet up with the most up-to-date conservation
methods.
Currently, the iaa is collaborating with
international experts to reevaluate the conservation techniques under use, and to decide upon
courses of action for still unresolved issues. The
iaa is also engaged in an advanced, large-scale
digitization project, which was initiated as part
of the conservation efforts. This project includes
the development of a monitoring system for the
state of preservation of the scrolls and the creation of highest-quality color images and advanced
near infra-red images. As the publication of the
scrolls is formally completed, the iaa will upload
the digitized scroll images online, with their
transcriptions, translations, commentaries and
bibliography, allowing a free access to all.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a universal cultural
heritage. As such, it is our duty to safeguard the
scrolls and preserve them for future generations,
sharing them with the public and scholarly community worldwide.
Authors
pnina@israntique.org.il
libman@israntique.org.il
bitler@israntique.org.il
IAA, Israel Antiquities Authority
50
The Language of Parchment – Learning about the History of Manuscripts
with the Help of Visual Assessment of the Parchment
Jirí Vnoucek
The Royal Library, Department of Preservation, Copenhagen, Denmark
Introduction
Studies of the physical appearance of the parchment, which has been used for writing manuscripts, can provide an interesting supplement
to the existing forms of manuscript research and
help to create a more complex image of the information recorded in medieval books.
The rocketing development of modern technologies has also brought a great improvement
in scientiic analyses of materials. In recent
years we have been given very detailed and exact information about collagen ibre and amino
acids, the basic component of parchment. From
microscopically sized samples it is possible to
identify the DNA of the animal from whose skin
the parchment was produced or to analyse the
processes that caused degradation of the collagen ibre. Although this information opens up
new horizons in many ields of this research, it
is still necessary to interpret the results obtained
correctly and within the context of further studies in sciences that support history and namely
studies of codicology in order to exploit their
potentials to the full.
It is rather paradoxical that on the one hand
we can learn almost intimate details about the
parchment itself while on the other hand the
description of parchment in codicological literature lags far behind, being content with general
descriptions of its qualities, often vague and
inexact, and it is only occasionally that speciic
features are noted which are characteristic for
different types of parchment and its methods
of preparation. It is not rare for these to be presented more like curiosities than important information for a detailed description and further
studies of the parchment.
It seems that codicologists are slightly uncertain as to what is to be expected from modern
scientiic analyses, since their questions in this
ield are mostly limited to the identiication of
the types of animal skin from which parchment
was made or they expect answers to rather bizarre questions concerning the use of uterine
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
parchment and other rarities, theories which
turn up in literature repeatedly.
In this context it might be thought quite
surprising that rather simple non-destructive
methods of visual observation of parchment can
yield a whole spectrum of interesting information that can enrich our knowledge not only
about parchment itself but also about the whole
production of parchment manuscripts and their
history.
In my master’s thesis called “Defects and
damage in parchment manuscripts – an aid to
visual examination of parchment for writing
purposes” (2010), I have focused my research on
the different types of imperfections and damage,
which can be found in parchment manuscripts.
These were examined and described in chapters
referring to the ways in which they appeared in
parchment. For example, anatomical evidence
about the animal from whose skin the parchment was made, evidence of the steps in the
process of manufacture of the parchment or the
preparation of its surface for the writing and
production of the codex. Different forms of aging and damages of parchment as they developed
during the long history of the manuscripts were
examined and described and their potential as a
source of information discussed. In order to be
able to recognize differences in the parchments
in manuscripts it is also important to understand the methods of their preparation, which
differed in the course of time and according to
their place of production. Practical experiments
with the manufacture of parchment can help to
verify some of the theories or hypotheses. Reconstruction of the methods of production of the
parchment can also reveal the origin of some of
the imperfections that can later be recognized in
historical manuscripts.
During my subsequent work with parchment
manuscripts I have realized that all these speciic
“signs or traits” are displaying information that
can be brought into line like stones in mosaics
which, if set up correctly, can create a more com-
51
that were used in the manuscripts. A great help
is provided in the case of observation of parchment folia by transmitted light. Raking light on
the other hand improves the visibility of various
traces from tools originating from the production of the parchment.
Digital photography has made it possible to
provide later evaluation of details recorded on
the computer screen. Pictures obtained by highresolution digital cameras can be later enlarged
or relatively simply manipulated in generally
used computer programs in order to ease recognition of even smaller details that can be later
matched and compared with similar features on
pictures from another folium or even another
manuscript. Interesting results are appearing
when parchments that were used for the production of manuscripts in the same scriptorium are
compared.
More and more manuscripts have recently
been digitalised and made available on libraries’
web sites. Texts or illustrations may be studied
online and browsing through the manuscripts
also makes possible a irst general observation of
the parchment. This can, however, only be used
for preselecting some speciic folia that show visible irregularities, while for more detailed and
complex observation it is still necessary to consult originals and use special techniques of lighting and photography. Occasionally some printed
facsimiles still offer more information than
available from digital images on the websites.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
plex picture and provide overall information. It
might be explained differently by saying that
they can be interpreted as some kind of linguistic letters on the parchment. If the parchment of
manuscripts could be systematically studied by
this means on a larger scale we might ind the
right combinations and eventually be able to understand this language. Although this might perhaps sound too literary, there is no doubt that it
represents a great potential for serious research
based on the physical appearance of the parchment in a manuscript.
Methods
Methods and tools employed for the visual examination are kept quite simple, so that any
researcher in manuscript studies would be able
to employ them. Different types of lighting
might be used in order to recognize remarkable
details giving us information about the types of
animals, their sizes and the anatomy of the skins
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Examples of use of visual examination of parchment in manuscripts
A The Hamburg Bible (The Royal Library, Copenhagen, GKS 4, 2°) manuscript in large folio
size can be used as a good example for studies
of the manufacture of parchment and the production of the manuscript. On its large parchment folia we can find an almost complete catalogue of the different types of imperfections,
repairs or other signs that are characteristic
for parchment produced in the 12th/13th centuries. The method of formatting this parchment into bifolia and their organisation into
quires in the codex display a quite advanced
system for eliminating natural irregularities
in the parchment. (Fig.1, 2)
B Strikes made by the parchment-maker’s knife
recorded on the surface of the parchment folia
of The Prague Sacramentary from the 8th/9th
52
tury is rather small in size and brings together
slightly different types of parchment, which,
thanks to the traces of the parchment-maker’s
tools and other characteristics, can be identified, compared and partly sorted into certain
groups. It is also rather interesting to compare
this parchment with the parchment of other
codices which were written by the same scribe
and preserved in different libraries (Fig. 4).
Conclusions
Parchment in manuscripts carry, like a vessel
travelling through history, in several layers of information from the past. In order to understand
these it is necessary to learn its language by carrying out systematic research on the characteristics of different types of parchment and the different signs left on the surface from the process
of manufacture or later damage. The clue lies in
correct evaluation of the results obtained from
visual analyses and combining them into certain
patterns.
Some methods are developed and these have
already brought interesting results as in the case
of several individual manuscripts, but their great
potential can be improved by development of
specialised computer programs which will enable research into and evaluation of a much larger number of folia and animal skins from which
parchment manuscripts have been made.
There is no doubt that highly specialised material analyses can produce relevant information
but it is extremely important to target them
precisely and effectively. The best effect will be
obtained especially by interdisciplinary research
involving codicologists and other historians,
researchers in manuscripts, who will combine
their knowledge with that of experts in other
ields such as archaeology, biology, conservation
and forensic science.
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
centuries (The Prague Castle Archive, Metropolitan Chapter Library, O.83) can help us to
reconstruct the manuscript’s bifolia back into
the shape of the animal from which the skin
was made. By this “reverse” method we can
also learn interesting information about the
sizes of sheep skins and how parchment was
folded and divided into bifolia and later distributed and organized in quires (Fig. 3).
C The codex which includes King Valdemar’s Cadastre (The Danish National Archives, C 8) and
other manuscripts from the end of 13th cen-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Texts for illustrations
Fig. 1: Each bifolio of the second volume
in the Hamburg Bible is created from
one calfskin. This means that the original spine of the animal was laid down
horizontally at right angles to the spine
of the book. Backing light made observation of the former rump and spine of the
animal easier. Note also the marks of the
vertebrae and the U-shaped cut in the
area of the former tail.
53
Fig. 2: Coloured paper strips placed
in the irst half of the fore edge of the
codex mark the original position of
the head (yellow) and tail (green) of the
animal on the skin. There are several
reasons why the spines are distributed
in this way through the quires. Parchment is more undulated and thicker in
the area of the original neck, spine and
rump than in other parts. With this
layout one achieves a better balance in
the thickness of the text block so that
undesirable undulation of the folia is
prevented. Spines of the skins of smaller
sizes are placed centrally, while spines
of larger skins are positioned either
further up or down towards the top or
bottom of the text block. With this arrangement a larger skin can also be used
more economically, since leftovers which
are cut away from one side of parchment
may be used for the production of smaller manuscript documents.
Fig. 3: One of the reassembled skins from
the Prague Sacramentary, a manuscript
of quarto size, shows that this skin was
large enough to produce only 3 bifolia
and not 4 as might be generally expected.
This is not so surprising, since the sheepskin from which the parchment was
made is quite thin and weak and could
easily be mechanically damaged during
the laying of the skin. In addition, raw
skin in the course of the parchment-making process may be affected by bacteria
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
or mould, resulting in the appearance of
a large number of small holes. Skin can
become mechanically weak and quite
large areas have to be removed already
before the skin is stretched on the frame.
Fig. 4: Traces of the parchment-maker’s
knife can be visualised by making a rubbing over a textured surface placed over
the parchment folio. This frottage method helps to isolate and record traces of
a tool which left on the parchment a
unique offprint made by its jagged edge.
The obtained “ingerprint” or “bar code”
can be later used for recognition of the
identical tool on the surface of other
parchment folia coming from the identical skin and later placed in a different
part of the text block or even another
codex. In the case of a smaller manuscript, for example of octavo size, we
can expect a very uneven distribution of
bifolia originating from one skin in the
text block. For their production may also
involve leftovers from the production of
larger manuscripts.
Jirí Vnoucek
The Royal Library, Department of
Preservation, Copenhagen, Denmark
jiv@kb.dk
54
The Use of NIR Spectroscopy to Investigate the Condition of Parchment
Paul Garside | Barry Knight
British Library, London, UK
Abstract
Introduction
Parchment documents and manuscripts represent an important part of our written heritage,
but are prone to a variety of degradative reactions and so are inherently vulnerable. The ability to monitor the condition of parchment and
assess the way in which it responds to the environment allows the most appropriate conservation, display and storage strategies to be adopted,
and will help to ensure the survival of these artefacts for future generations.
Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy provides a
non-invasive (and, with the correct equipment,
potentially in situ) method of investigating the
chemistry of parchment, and has been used in
the work presented here to both assess the progress of two common deterioration mechanisms
for this material (gelatinisation and thermally
induced cross-linking), as well as to better understand the way in which it responds to changes
in the local environment (particularly humidity). Correlations were drawn between physical
changes observed in the parchment samples, as
they were subjected to degradative reactions or
environmental variations, and changes in the
spectra measured by derived peak intensity ratios. These ratios then allow similar processes to
be monitored in other such materials. A further
outcome of this work has involved applying these
techniques to assess the differences in behaviour
with respect to local conditions between single
parchment sheets and books of bound parchment leaves, in conjunction with data recorded
by temperature-humidity loggers, and this is of
particular interest when compared to similar results for paper.
The work has stemmed from questions posed
by objects in the British Library’s collection,
and has been used to better understand these
artefacts and aid collection care decisions. Furthermore, the environmental response data will
help to inform strategies for the storage of both
individual parchment items and the collection
as a whole (not only beneiting their long-term
survival but also potentially allowing energy and
inancial savings).
The British Library’s collection contains many
thousands of parchment documents and volumes, including such important and prestigious
artefacts as the Magna Carta, the Lindisfarne
Gospels and the St Cuthbert Gospel. As items
such as these are of great historic and cultural
signiicance, preserving them for future generations is of great importance, and to do this it is
necessary to understand their current condition
and there likely ongoing behaviour. Traditionally this has been the province of the expertise
and experience of individual conservators and
curators, but with the increasing availability of
analytical equipment it is now possible to supplement this knowledge with instrumental techniques that can allow objects to be rapidly investigated and assessed, permitting those items in
need of greatest attention to be highlighted and
thus selected for attention. With increasing demands on budgets and time, growing collection
sizes and, in many institutions, fewer specialist
conservation staff, techniques like this which
allow resources to be employed most eficiently
will come to be of ever greater importance.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Parchment is prone to damage from a variety of
causes, including gelatinisation due to exposure
to excessive levels of moisture, microbiological
attack (usually also linked to humidity), physical
damage including general wear-and-tear, embrittlement from desiccation, and distortion and
shrinkage caused by the extreme temperatures
of ires. Gelatinisation is a common problem
for parchment documents, resulting from the
hydrolysis of the highly ordered and relatively
durable collagen protein to the amorphous and
physically weak gelatine. Parchment documents
are also signiicantly more susceptible to the
effects of ires than the equivalent paper documents (Fig. 1); the material contains a variety of
residual oils and fats which will readily burn if
exposed to a lame, and at high temperatures the
bulk material will shrink and distort, not only
resulting in the loss of information from the document, but also exposing more of the material to
55
servation treatments and storage conditions. For
example, gelatinised parchment is particularly
prone to further damage from water, whilst thermally damaged material is brittle and prone to
physical damage. Therefore it would be of value
to the preservation of these materials to have a
method of detecting these early signs of damage
in order to identify materials at risk and to treat
them in the most appropriate manner.
Fig. 1: Fire damage to a parchment manuscript, showing scorching and
distortion (the parchment was deliberately cut between lines and columns in the 19th C to allow it to be flattened).
the ire (on the other hand paper, unless found
as loose sheets, tends to remain as a solid block,
which chars around the edges but does not readily burn). One of the collections on which the
Library was based, the Cotton collection (originally belonging to the 17th century antiquarian
Sir Robert Cotton) was involved in two ires, the
irst in 1731 and the second (smaller) one in 1865,
which caused signiicant damage to many important documents, including Beowulf and a copy of
the Magna Carta.
Some cases of these types of damage are readily apparent - taken to an extreme, gelatinisation
results in a material with a typical translucent,
glossy appearance, and ire damage causes obvious scorching and distortion. Not all degradation is so obvious, and early stages of deterioration can be dificult to detect. Even at such stages, however, these changes can have a signiicant
effect on the stability of the material and will
inluence the choices of the most suitable con-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Given the value of the artefacts which may be assets, such a technique would have to be non-sampling and non-invasive to be of use in the ield of
conservation; ease of use, rapidity of analysis and
the potential to carry out the investigation in
an in situ manner would also be desirable. Near
infrared (NIR) spectroscopy provides a method
which fulils these requirements, and has therefore been investigated as a method characterising the state of parchment.
To this end, a variety of different samples
were obtained for investigation. Some of these
came from historic sources, and thus represent
examples of ‘real’ ageing and damage; to widen
this set of samples, further specimens were prepared by exposing modern parchment to heat,
ire or conditions that would induce gelatinisation. These materials were used in conjunction
with NIR spectroscopy to investigate measurable
changes and thereby develop methods of monitoring such changes in parchment artefacts.
This research has been carried out as part of a
larger investigation into the condition, conservation and assessment of parchment based artefacts held in the British Library’s collection.
Method
A number of historic parchment samples in a variety of conditions were collected for assessment.
In addition, surrogates were prepared in several
ways. Gelatinised specimens were produced by
placing several different parchment samples in
a high humidity environment (90% RH, 40°C),
and removing sections daily over the course of
a month. Samples were also exposed to ire to
yield specimens which mimicked the ire-damaged parchment of the cotton collection. These
materials were stored at 18°C and 50% RH prior
to and during analysis.
Spectra were collected from these materials,
using a PerkinElmer ‘Spectrum 400’ spectrometer itted with an NIR integrating sphere; spectra
were recorded over the range 12,000 - 4,000 cm-1,
56
Fig. 2: Changes related to thermal damage in the
NIR spectrum.
Fig. 3: Changes related to gelatinisation in the
NIR spectrum.
with a resolution of 16 cm-1 and averaged over 50
accumulations.
intensity ratio based on this observation can be
used to assess the degree of gelatinisation in a
parchment sample:
Results and Discussion
Examining the spectra shows that the thermally
damaged samples display a characteristic change
in the region 4700 - 4200 cm-1 (Fig. 2). It can be
seen that as the sample suffers thermal damage
the strength of the peak at 4420 cm-1 diminishes
with respect to the neighbouring peak at 4540
cm-1; furthermore, the shoulder observed at 4920
cm-1 loses deinition. Using these observations,
it is possible to derive a spectral intensity ratio
that relects this change and can thus be used to
investigate regions of thermal damage:
DD = I4540 / I4420
Where: DD = indicator of thermal damage
Ix = intensity at x cm-1, above a baseline
drawn from 4680 to 4150 cm-1.
The changes involved in the early stages of gelatinisation are more subtle, but can be seen if
the broad peak at 7300 - 6100 is considered (Fig.
3). The general shape of this peak changes as
gelatinisation occurs, with the primary peak at
6860 cm-1 diminishing and a secondary one at
6685 cm-1 becoming more apparent. As above, an
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Dg = I6685 / I6860
Where: Dg = indicator of gelatinisation
Ix = intensity at x cm-1, above a baseline
drawn from 7540 to 6030 cm-1.
If a sample is prepared in which localised gelatinsation has been encouraged by the use of a dampened swab, or which has been partially burnt,
then these ratios can be derived from spectra
recorded systematically across the specimen and
displayed as a colour scale, indicating the areas
in which damage has occurred and thereby demonstrating that this approach can be used to map
such damage.
Conclusion
NIR spectroscopy is a valuable tool for the investigation of historical and cultural artefacts, as
it can be used a non-sampling, non-invasive, in
situ manner, and is rapid and simple to employ.
With this work we have demonstrated how the
technique may be used to investigate the state of
parchment, in particular the onset of gelatinisation and thermally induced damage. This will
57
inform decisions on conservation treatments,
handling methods and display and storage conditions. Currently this approach is used as a spot
analysis technique, but the aim is to developing
into an imaging method that will allow parchment manuscripts to be rapidly assessed.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank their
colleagues at the British Library for their
help and support.
Authors
Paul Garside
British Library, 96 Euston Road, London,
NW1 2DB, UK; paul.garside@bl.uk.
Barry Knight
British Library, 96 Euston Road, London,
NW1 2DB, UK.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
58
Color Printing in 16-17th-Century Italian Chiaroscuro Woodcuts:
Degradation, Conservation Issues and Exhibition Concerns
Linda Stiber Morenus
Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA / Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Germany
or dark colored ink. The printmaking process
results in an image of complex stratigraphy.
Together, the layered ink colors were usually
chosen by the printmaker to create a sense of
volume or spatial recession - prime objectives of
Renaissance imagery. The rich visual language
of the chiaroscuro technique is predicated on
the varied and nuanced colored inks and printing effects which give the medium its expressive
power. There is a vast literature dedicated to the
composition and behavior of printing ink over
the centuries, however no study addresses systematically oil-based colored inks as used in 16th17th century Italian chiaroscuro woodcuts.
Christ Healing the Paralytic BXII.38.14 by Niccolo
Vicentino Library of Congress FP-XVI-V633, no.2
Italian chiaroscuro woodcuts are among the
most innovative of Renaissance prints. A woodcut print is made from a wooden plank that is
carved in relief, inked, and impressed in paper.
Chiaroscuro woodcut prints – named from the
Italian term for contrasting light and dark tones
– emulate drawings of the period. The design of
a chiaroscuro woodcut is distributed over two
to ive woodblocks that are printed in superimposed layers of colored inks, thus creating transitional passages of shading. These tonal passages
are often anchored by a “key” block which carries the primary outlines of the design in black
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Many centuries after a chiaroscuro woodcut was
originally executed, deterioration can affect its
legibility, and distort the historical and aesthetic
interpretation of the work. Moreover, a correct
assessment of condition is fundamental to selecting appropriate conservation and preservation
measures.
Colored printing ink can become altered by
a number of degradation phenomena. Understanding the durability of vehicles and colorants
is central to an accurate reading of chiaroscuro
prints. Vehicles for early modern period inks are
typically composed of drying oils, with possible
admixtures of natural resins. Both share a tendency to become brittle and yellowed with age.
Darkness and humidity increase this tendency
(Gettens and Stout 1966: 46). Some inks of the period are subject to colorant deterioration. In his
valuable study, A History of Printing Ink, Balls
and Rollers 1440-1850, Colin Bloy distinguishes
the light stable pigments – inorganics, earths,
and metallic compounds – from the fugitive organic colorants, including indigo and lakes (Bloy
1972: 40). Other pigments are chemically reactive, such as copper acetate, lead carbonate and
lead oxide. Breakdown of colored ink also can
lead to blanching – a clouding effect. Finally, the
paper support may undergo ink-associated damage as well.
59
This paper summarizes what is known about
the early modern methods and materials of
manufacturing colored printing ink. The study
explains how some colorants deployed in these
inks degrade. A technical survey of over 1500
Italian chiaroscuro woodcuts, examined in
international collections, is complemented by
instrumental analysis of several prints. The study
focuses on woodcuts that have the qualities of
early impressions, making it reasonable that
they bear the closest relation to the originator’s
concept. The research interprets analysis of inks
suspected to comprise colorants such as organic
pigments, copper acetate, lead carbonate or
lead oxide. Logical deductions are drawn from
analysis results as regards changes in the visual
appearance of select prints, based on the documented behavior of unstable colorants in similar
media, such as oil paint. Based on the cumulative evidence, a condition assessment protocol
is offered and conservation treatment, storage
and exhibition issues for the Italian chiaroscuro
woodcut are described.
Bibliography
Bloy, C.H. 1972. A History of Printing Ink,
Balls and Rollers 1440-1850, Wynkyn De
Worde Society, London.
Gettens, R. J. and Stout, G. R. 1966. Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopedia, Dover Publications, Inc., New York.
Man seen from the back BXII.148.13 by Antonio da Trento Library of
Congress FP-XVI-A635, no.12
Author
Linda Stiber Morenus
lindamorenus@yahoo.com
PhD Candidate, Staatliche Akademie der
Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Germany
Library of Congress, Washington, DC,
USA
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
60
A Study of Dyed Endpapers during Islamic Mediaeval Times in Egypt:
Purpose, Materials and Techniques
Hassan Ebeid | Jean Brown | Ysanne Holt | Brian Singer
Conservation Department, Northumbria University, UK / South Valley University, Egypt
toric paper samples by simultaneous detection of
Luteolin and Apigenin by using HPLC.
1. Introduction
Fig. 1: Undyed and dyed paper gathering from a Quran (folios 225mm x
155mm), Mamluk period, fifteenth century, Oriental Institute, Chicago
(Bosch and Petherbridge 1981: 39)
The research investigates the use of yellow natural dyes in Egyptian book manuscripts endpapers
and their historic sources. It aims to explore
whether the traditionally used yellow natural
dyes in Arabic endpapers were selected for their
colour and for their biocidal properties. The
project investigates if bookbinders were knowledgeable of these properties and tries to ind out
how effective these dyes actually are as biocidal
agents.
Interdisciplinary methodologies are used and
include 1.The translation of an unpublished
Islamic treatise. 2. The use of HPLC for identiication of the dyes in three samples. 3. Testing of
the antibacterial properties of turmeric, weld,
saflower and saffron against three strains of
bacteria that have been identiied in an Egyptian
museum. Turmeric, weld, saflower and saffron
were the most commonly used sources of yellow
colour during the medieval Islamic period in
Egypt. It seems very likely that these four dyes
have some useful biocidal properties, which is
supported by a laboratory microbial study. Weld
(Reseda lateola) has been identiied in three his-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
In the Islamic mediaeval era, scribes and calligraphers showed a particular interest for coloured
papers and many stunning examples and illustrations of their works have survived in museums
and galleries around the world (Fig. 1) (Bosch and
Petherbridge 1981: 133).
There are many reasons for colouring papers.
Probably the artistic appeal could be considered
one of these reasons. Moreover, writing on coloured paper could be for health reasons (Minorsky 1959, p.113). Interestingly, coloured papers
could have a symbolic signiicance. For example,
a full red colour was considered as privilege in
oficial correspondence of persons of high rank.
For instance, al-Qalqashandi, a fourteenth century Egyptian scribe mentioned that oficial correspondence between the sultan in Egypt and only
his two vices for Karak - a city in Jordan famous
for its castle – and for Syria were usually written
on red papers (al-Qalqashandi 2004, vol.6, p.193).
Paper colouring was thought to be used with the
intention of protecting paper from bio-deterioration factors as this was previously employed in
China in the tenth century AD, when paper was
immersed in a solution of phellodendon, an extract yellow dye from Amur cork tree (Gibbs and
Seddon 1998), or immersed in a solution of pepper (Piper nigrum) (Zhong 1988).
This work seeks to address signiicant gaps in
technical and historical knowledge about Islamic
endpaper dyes and will contribute novel information from previously untranslated Islamic treatises. Further, indings will inform the conservation
and preservation practices with regard to book
artefacts and help historians learn more about
the preparation and techniques used in historic
dyes manufacturer.
61
2. Methods
An interdisciplinary methodology is used in the
research. This combines a literature review and
interpretative analysis, the interrogation of primary historic sources, the technical analysis of
artefacts and empirical scientiic study.
2.1. Historic source
The original source of this research depends
mainly on gathering information from an original treatise that has some paper dyeing recipes.
The manuscript consulted here is a nineteenth
century copy of a medieval manuscript (approximately from 13th century to 15th century AD)
in the Egyptian National Library and Archives
– Dar al-Kutub – in Cairo having the title ‘Rsalh
Fá Sna’at al-’Hbar Wghyrha’ (an essay on making inks and other materials). The manuscript
colophon states that it was copied on Thursday,
18 Muharram AH 1268 (1851 AD) By Mustafa alSafti (al-Safti 1851). It explains the materials and
the traditional techniques that had been used in
developing colouring and dyeing papers in the
Islamic mediaeval era.
2.2. Analysis of Historic Samples
Three historic samples were analysed by High
Performance Liquid Chromatography – Electrospray Ionisation – Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ESIMS) has been used be to identify the origin of the
dye by comparing retention times of compounds
to standards and those prepared from plant extracts with the historic samples. The HPLC used
was Thermo Scientiic, Hemel Hempstead, UK.
The parameters were tuned by previous similar
analysis, to the deprotonated quasi-molecular ions
of morin and quercetin (Perry, Brown et al. 2011).
The column used was a Gemini ODS, 5μm
particle size, 110Å, 150 mm x 2.0 mm I.D (Phenomenex Inc., Torrance, CA, USA) thermostated
at 30o C. The gradient elution programme was
performed using solvents: A: Acetonitrile + 1%
Acetic Acid and B: Water + 5% Acetonitrile + 1%
Acetic Acid. For reagents and dyes; the standard
lavonoids, isolavonoids and anthroquinones
were of the best purity available obtained from
Sigma-Aldrich Inc. (Saint Louis, Missouri, USA)
for morin, quercetin, apigenin, kaempferol
and genistein, MP Biomedicals Europe (Illkirch,
France) for emodin and Carl Roth GmbH (Karlsruhe-Rheinhafen, Germany) for rhamnetin, isetin and luteolin.
The extraction procedures for dyes in the
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
plant matter were carried out using 100-150 mg
of dried plant matter. The extraction procedure
of the historic samples differed as the minimum
amount of methanol was used (150 μl) and 5 –
8 Amberlyst 15 ion exchange resin beads. The
samples were then vortexed as before and heated
under relux for 2 hrs. After allowing cooling 70
μl of the sample solution was added to 70 μl of
water and mixed well. 100 μl solutions were injected directly into the instrument.
2.3. Microbial Study
The antibacterial properties of turmeric, weld,
saflower and saffron have been tested against
three strains of bacteria; Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus by using the
Cork Borer technique which involves pouring the
dye solution into a hole in an agar plate spread
with a microbial suspension then measuring the
inhibited diameter zone.
3. Results
3.1. Investigation of the copied original manuscript (al Safti 1851) indicates that a direct dyeing
process was used for paper. Dyeing was achieved
by dipping paper sheets directly into a dye bath
and this was a job carried out by scribes not
papermakers. Al Safti also gives ifteen historical recipes for dyeing paper by using the following plants and materials: henna (two recipes),
myrtle, weld, turmeric, white straw, garlic peelings, green fenugreek, red onion skins, lac, sappanwood, cinnabar, verdigris, the ring of pomegranate and inally saflower. Findings from all
sources (al-Safti 1851; Baker 1995; Loveday 2001;
Graaff 2004; Cardon 2007; Cardon 2009), suggest
that turmeric, weld and saffron were the most
commonly used sources of yellow colour during
the medieval Islamic period in Egypt.
3.2. Three historic samples were taken from dyed
endpaper of a manuscript book, originally from
Mamluk period (13th – 16th century AD) that is located at the faculty of medicine’s museum, Cairo
University, Egypt. An established method (Perry,
Brown et al. 2011) was used to investigate the existence of yellow lavonoids in these three paper
samples. The components identiied in the irst
sample were apigenin or genistein at m/z 269,
retention time 6.90mins and luteolin at m/z 285,
retention time 5.93mins (Fig.2). The components
identiied in the second sample were apigenin /
genistein at m/z 269, retention time 6.68mins.
62
Fig. 2: Chromatogram of the first Sample showing the presence of luteolin and apigenin (or genistein)
The third sample was undyed and from the same
book which appeared to show a peak for luteolin
at m/z 285, retention time 5.82, this was unexpected, and however, the apigenin or genistein
peak was not observed in the undyed sample.
3.3. Results from the microbial study, by using
Cork Borer technique
Clear zones of inhibition were observed on the
agar plates containing the three chosen strains
of bacteria after incubation around the punched
hole containing saflower dye solution made
from a traditional recipe and including lemon
juice (Fig. 3). The diameter of the clear zones was
measured.
4. Discussion
4.1. Four yellow natural dyes (turmeric, weld,
saflower and saffron) were selected for special
study because of the prevalence of yellow dyed
endpapers in Egyptian medieval manuscript
books (Fig. 4), noted during extensive handling
of collections and because their application was
widespread during most historical periods (Baker
1995; Loveday 2001; Graaff 2004; Cardon 2007).
To date, there is no conclusive evidence from
primary texts, modern scientiic publication or
any other explanation as to whether yellow dyes
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 3: Cork borer test for the effect of safflower dye against
Bacillus subtilis grown on nutrient agar medium
were used for any speciic purpose.
In the Islamic mediaeval era, papermakers were
producing paper ranging in colour from cream
to dark cream and either grey or off-white in
tone according to its production inputs, there is
no record of colour being added to the pulp in
63
Fig. 4: Dyed endpaper pasted at the front and back cover of a manuscript book, (169 mm x 122 mm), Mamluk period (13th – 16th century AD),
faculty of medicine’s museum, Cairo University, Egypt
the initial stages of papermaking manufacturing
process (Loveday 2001: 51). The copied original
manuscript (al Safti 1851) indicated that the dyes
were applied directly to the sheet of paper by
scribes.
The copied original manuscript claims that
many plants and materials have been used to dye
paper (listed above) and gives interesting information in the form of ifteen recipes for preparing these materials. Weld could be an example of
these recipes:
“Yellow lemon dye of weld is prepared by taking one pound of seasonal (newly-collected) weld,
washed and put in a container of copper with
one ounce of wild Natron (Endnote 1). Then,
twenty-four pounds of water of the well and is
poured over it and kept overnight. [Later on,] it
is boiled until it is completely diffused into the
water. [Once] heating is stopped, it is iltered, precipitated and then it used for dyeing [the paper],
it gives a vegetable-like colour [to the paper] and
God is the most Knowledgeable” (al-Safti 1851:
27).
Although the text of the studied manuscript
is a copy from 1851 AD, the original may date
back to earlier than the 15th century AD, and this
assumption is supported by its style of writing,
Arabic terms and technical information. Moreover, it is to some extent similar to another text
about paper dyeing and colouring which is written by a Persian librarian in 1433 AD (Thackston
1990). Furthermore, there is no handmade paper
originating from Egypt after the 17th century AD
(Loveday 2001: 27).
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
4.2. Analytical results from the three historical
samples identiied the presence of luteolin and
either apigenin or genistein, which co-elute and
have the same parent ion mass. According to
these results, there are two possible biological
sources for the dye used in these samples which
are Genista tinctoria, common name Dyer’s
Broom, which contains luteolin and genistein
or Reseda luteola, common name weld, which
contains luteolin and apigenin. To differentiate
between these two biological sources, the minor component of chrysoeriol in Reseda luteola
could be looked at in using a further development of this method, and therefore the identity
of dye (expected to be Reseda luteola) could be
established unequivocally.
4.3. The main reason for choosing the tested
bacterial strains is that Bacillus subtilis causes
serious damage to library materials (Gallo 1985:
38), and Micrococcus luteus and Bacillus cereus
which have been identiied in the Faculty of
Medicine’s museum, Cairo University, Egypt
(Ebeid and Amer 2006) where the tested sample
had been taken. The main reason for using these
three strains of bacteria in the microbial study
is to use them as a monitor for biocidal properties in the dyes which have been used in Islamic
paper, speciically in endpapers. It seems after
measuring inhibition zones that the four dyes
chosen have some useful biocidal properties.
5. Conclusion
The traditional method of dyeing paper in Islamic mediaeval era has been clariied. Weld was
identiied in three samples and the microbial
study supports the concept that these dyes have
some useful biocidal properties. Therefore, it is
possible that the dyes were used intentionally to
dye endpapers in order to give protection from
biological attack.
64
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the
Egyptian Government, South Valley
University in Egypt, for supporting this
research.
References
al-Qalqashandi, A. A. (2004). Sobh al-A’sha
fi Sena’t al-Ensha. Cairo, The General
Authority of Cultural Palaces, Ministry
of Culture.
al-Safti, M. (1851). Rsalh Fá Sna’at al-’Hbar
Wghyrha (An essay on making inks and
other materials). Class-mark (14 Sin’nat
Taymour Arabic), Microfilm Number
17837. Cairo, Egyptian National Library
and Archives (Dar al-Kutub).
Baker, P. L. (1995). Islamic Textiles. London, British Museum Press.
Bosch, G. and G. Petherbridge (1981). The
Materials, Techniques and Structures of
Islamic Bookmaking. Islamic Bindings
and Bookmaking. G. Bosch, J. Carswell
and G. Petherbridge. Chicago, The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.
Cardon, D. (2007). Natural Dyes: Sources,
Tradition, Technology and Science. London, Archetype Publications Ltd.
Cardon, D. (2009). Colours in Civilizations
of the World and Natural Colorants:
History under Tension. Handbook of
Natural Colorants. T. Bechtold. United
kingdom, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.: 21-26.
Ebeid, H. and A. Amer (2006). Swabs’ Identification Report. Cairo, Egypt, Microbiology Lab, Archaeology Conservation Research Centre, Ministry of Archaeology.
Gallo, F. (1985). Biological Factors in Deterioration of Paper. Rome, ICCROM.
Zhong, Z. B. (1988). The Preservation of
Ancient Chinese Paper. The Conservation
Of Far Eastern Art. P. S. a. K. Y. John S.
Mills. London, IIC: 19-21.
List of igures:
Figure 1: Undyed and dyed paper gathering from a Quran (folios 225mm x
155mm), Mamluk period, fifteenth century, Oriental Institute, Chicago (Bosch
and Petherbridge 1981: 39)
Figure 2: The Chromatogram of the first
Sample shows the existence of luteolin
and apigenin (or genistein)
Figure 3: Cork borer test for the effect
of safflower dye against Bacillus subtilis
grown on nutrient agar medium
Figure 4: Dyed endpaper pasted at the
front and back cover of a manuscript
book, (169 mm x 122 mm), Mamluk period (thirteenth – sixteenth century AD),
faculty of medicine’s museum, Cairo University, Egypt
Authors:
Hassan Ali Hassan Ebeid – Correspondence author
hassan99a@yahoo.com, hassan.ebeid@
northumbria.ac.uk
Room 127, Lipman Building
Northumbria University, Newcastle upon
Tyne, NE1 8ST, England
Jean Brown
jean.brown@northumbria.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, England
Gibbs, P. J. and K. R. Seddon (1998). Berberine and Huangbo: ancient colorants and
dyes, British Library.
Ysanne Holt
ysanne.holt@northumbria.ac.uk
Reader, University of Northumbria at
Newcastle, England
Graaff, J. H. H. d. (2004). The Colourful
Past; Origins, Chemistry and Identification of Natural Dyes. London, Abegg-stiftung and Archetype Puplications Ltd.
Brian Singer
brian.singer@northumbria.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, England
Loveday, H. (2001). Islamic Paper; A Study
of the Ancient Craft. London, The Don
Baker Memorial Fund.
Perry, J., L. Brown, et al. (2011). “Identifying The Plant Origin of Artists’yellow
Lake Pigments By Electrospray Mass Spectrometry.” Archaeometry 53(1): 164-177.
Thackston, W. M. (1990). “Treatise on Calligraphic Arts: A Disquisition on Paper,
Colors, Inks, and Pens by Simi of Nishapur.” Intellectual Studies on Islam: Essays
Written in Honor of Martin B. Dickson:
219-228.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
65
Preservation of Architectural Drawings on Translucent Paper in Brazil:
Conservation Methods in Public Institutions
Aline Abreu Migon dos Santos
Federal University of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Introduction
The discussion proposed in this communication
comes from the observations occurred in ongoing research about a methodology for conservation1 treatment of architectural plans2 on translucent paper, on the master’s degree in Social
Memory and Cultural Heritage Federal University
of Pelotas. Conservators, who are preserving
objects of cultural heritage, must think deeply
about the whole process of achieving a conservation treatment, including not only the technical
procedure but also the underlying philosophy,
assumptions and value judgments inherent in
the object, which can contribute to each decision
during treatment. To formulate a proposal of
conservation treatment, one must irst understand the current conditions of the professionals
and institutions that preserve the cultural assets.
Translucent paper, popularly known as tracing paper, is found in collections and monetary
currency. This type of support can be grouped as
follows: architectural plans, technical drawings,
maps and drawings of artists.
Currently, it is clear that along with photography, handmade architectural design is regarded
as one of the gems that make up an architectural
background. The maker uses the architectural
language, which is a “graph instrumental, including its processes and techniques of the architect to represent an object, idea or environment
through lines on a surface” (Ching, 2006:163).
In the mid-nineteenth century and the twentieth century, traditionally, for the original3 architectural plans, three different types of paper
were used: watercolor paper for ink and pencil
drawings; paper pattern, with a coated surface,
and translucent paper, popularly known as tracing paper, whose composition varies greatly in
quality (price, 2011). Importantly, according to
Claude Laroque (1992: 15), before 1870 many architects destroyed their drawings after construction of the building, believing this documentation does not arouse interest beyond problems
for storage. Moreover, the documents were taken
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
to, or even developed further, on the actual
construction site, thereby suffering premature
deterioration. However, in the twentieth century, original drawings were kept in the ofice
of the architect and only copies were allowed to
circulate. However, the architectural plans were
stored without due care, nailed, rolled or folded.
The use of self-adhesive tape was also common in
architectural irms to protect designs around the
outer edges of the paper.
Translucent paper has been used for centuries.
Traditionally, it was a thin paper impregnated
with oil or resin to give translucency, which is
its main feature. In the irst decades of the nineteenth century, it was available in newsagencies
and through suppliers of artists, when French
translucent paper, according to the trade catalogs, was considered superior. Many manuals
contain instructions on how to make your own
paper translucent French. During this period
when the architects sought professional recognition, artists used materials of high quality to distinguish the community of arts, differentiating
itself from carpenters and house builders (price,
2011: 77).
The industrial production of translucent paper,
according to Laroque (1992: 15) began around
1860 in Europe, with Germany as the most
important producer. The industry continued
to grow with the construction of factories in
France, Belgium and Austria. It is noteworthy
that after 1865, with the intensiication of the
process of industrialization, new management
techniques were needed and the profession of
architecture acquires a management character,
with the goal of becoming more “eficient”. “The
profession of architect becomes capitalist, with
the function of generating a proit” (Lathrop,
1980: 326).
Catani, however, points out that this change
in the ield of architecture, effected not only the
needs of architecture. “In reality, is associated
with a broader social process of implementing new forms of production, which began to
66
demand greater control over the production
process on the part of those who held their planning” (Catani, 2006:115). In this context, the
function of the technical design should solve the
problems of production through the use of a uniied graphical language. That means the design
should be represented, as clearly as possible,
avoiding doubts at the time of execution of the
project. In the nineteenth century, the irst technical rules of graphical representation of projects were created, seeking a common language to
facilitate communication.
As a solution for the production of architecture of that period, translucent paper allowed
other media to be copied, and also was extremely
helpful during the process of architectural design, since it could be used to redesign and overlay different design options.
In Brazil there are some public institutions
that keep architectural drawings on translucent
paper, including archives, foundations, universities and libraries. Many of these designs have
disappeared due to a lack of awareness about
the documentary value that only in recent years
began to exist in the country. Before, these
drawings were stored without any preservation
or archival methodology and simply discarded
for lack of space in the institutions. A major
problem for the institutions, that keep architectural drawings, are their large and different
dimensions, that, due to this peculiarity, are dificult to handle and pack. In the speciic case of
translucent paper, we perceive much dificulty
for conservators, because this material is very
susceptible to physical and chemical changes,
particularly when exposed to temperature
changes, humidity and pollutant gases that exist in the air. Another problem are variations
in papermaking, where changes occur in their
coloring, texture and lexibility. The visual distinction between manufacturing methods is very
dificult to diagnose, which makes conservation
work even more challenging and necessary. This
research focuses on collections of architectural
drawings on translucent paper made between
the late nineteenth century to the present day.
The objective is to present the main public institutions in Brazil that keep architectural drawings on translucent paper and how they handle
these documents. Initially, the presentation does
not intend to discuss preservation methods used,
but a brief evaluation of what is being done in
these institutions.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Method
For gathering of information, a questionnaire
was designed and sent electronically to entities
registered in the International Council on Archives - CONARQ. This is a collegial body, linked
to the National Archives of the Ministry of Justice, which aims to establish a national policy
for public and private archives, as a central ofice
of a National Archives System, overseeing the
normative guidance document management and
special protection for records. Later, other institutions were inserted that seemed relevant to
the search, such as the Faculties of Architecture.
In total, questionnaires were sent to 229 institutions.
The questionnaire aims to seek:
• Data from the institution;
• Characterization of the institution;
• Legal nature;
• If it is an institution of custody of translucent
paper documents;
• Date of the documents;
• If there already occurs some conservation
treatment;
• The treatment applied;
• Problems during treatment;
• Tips for treatments useful for conservation.
Conclusions
Research is fundamental to start a local knowledge of collections that keep architectural drawings on translucent paper in the country, having
the opportunity to create greater awareness and
interaction among researchers from various
ields and institutions, promoting an exchange
of information, beyond seeking the earned value
of these documentary drawings. Their conservation is extremely important, as they relate
to identity, action and memory of Brazilian architecture, being considered Brazilian Cultural
Heritage, in addition to being used as a source
for historical research of science, architecture
and engineering. Preservation becomes a goal to
be achieved by archivists, conservators and especially historians of science.
Importantly, the research is still in progress
and will be inalized in March 2013.
67
Notes
1 According Salvador Muñoz Viñas conservation is “the activity that is to take measures for the fewest changes for as long
as possible.”
2 In common usage, all graphical documents produced by architects are usually
called plans or architectural plants. In
this article we will use the term architectural drawing as equivalent.
3 The architectural plans done manually in
the twentieth century often had copies.
Bibliography
CATTANI, Airton. 2006. ‘Arquitetura e
representação gráfica: considerações
históricas e aspectos práticos’.
ARQtextos, 9: 110-123.
LAROQUE-KUCHAREK, Claude. 1992. ‘Les
papiers transparents dans les collections
patrimoniales: composition, fabrication, dégradation, conservation’. Thesis.
Department of Art History, University of
Paris I.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
PRICE, Lois Olcott. 2011. Line, Shade &
Shadow workshop handouts. Presented
to the Brodsky Series for Library Conservation, Syracuse University Library.
CHING, Francis D.K. 2006. Dicionário
visual de arquitetura. São Paulo: Martins
Fontes.
LATHROP, ALAN K. 1980. ‘The Provenance and Preservation of Architecture
Records’. The American Archivist, 43(3),
325-338.
Aline Abreu Migon dos Santos
lilimig@hotmail.com
Rua Almirante Garnier, 77, Bloco C6,
apto/ 105.
Rio Grande, Brazil
CEP: 96.2012-205
Margarete Regina Freitas Gonçalves
margareterfg@gmail.com
Silvana de Fátima Bojanoski
silbojanoski@gmail.com
68
Removable Loss Integration in the Re - Treatment of Robert Delaunay‘s
Three Graces, Study for “The City of Paris” at the Albertina, Vienna.
Irene Brückle | Maike Schmidt | Eva Hummert | Elisabeth Thobois
Studiengang Konservierung und Restaurierung von Graphik, Archiv- und Bibliotheksgut,
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Germany;
Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany;
Albertina, Abteilung Restaurierung, Vienna, Austria
The case study illustrates core questions that
concern loss integration of artworks on paper:
deining and reining the treatment goal in
discussion with curators; developing a minimally invasive method for loss integration that
respects the potential future treatment desires;
the technical challenge of creating a visual
match for an unevenly discoloured, machinemade paper. The project was carried out as a
cooperation between the Museum Albertina and
the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste
Stuttgart. The large oil sketch “The three Graces,
study for ‘The City of Paris’” by the French painter
Robert Delaunay, measuring ca. 190 x 140 cm
(Fig. 1), is one of several preparatory works for
the famous painting The City of Paris in the Centre Georges Pompidou. It belongs to the Batliner
Collection in the Museum Albertina (Inv.Nr.
GE29DL). The artwork, drawn on thin, machinemade woodpulp-paper, was apparently torn into
several large pieces by the artist himself. After
Delaunay’s death in 1941, however, the work
was reassembled, lined on canvas and mounted
on a strainer. The mounting was at least once
removed and renewed. The sketch shows many
damages, many of them caused by historic restoration treatments such as illed losses, which
are visually obtrusive, wrongly overlapping tear
edges and aged retouchings. It also had undergone extensive aqueous treatment of which no
record exists, most likely including bleaching,
which subsequently caused mottled discolouration and brown tide lines along the oil paint
edges. Patches of untreated, and therefore even
coloured and darker brown paper have remained
in isolated areas between paint strokes where
treatment had not been dared. This mottled appearance of the original paper was to be matched
in the production of an insert. The problem
that was addressed in our treatment concerned
two large distracting losses resulting from the
1940ties damage, one at the right lower edge ca.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 1: Robert Delaunay, “The three Graces, study for ‘The
City of Paris’ “ (Albertina Inv.Nr. GE29DL), 1912, normal
light, before treatment (08.07.2010).
49 x 13 cm, the bigger and more prominent one
at the lower left edge ca. 46 x 74 cm. They had
soon been illed with woodpulp paper inserts
that had discoloured to a dark-brown tone contrasting with the original paper colour. The old
inserts had been pasted onto the lining, overlapping the edges of the original. Black-and-white
photographs of the work in earlier exhibition
catalogues starting 1956 already show the paper
illings (Anon. 1956; Schilling and Platte 1962;
Jenderko-Sichelschmidt 1976), but indicate that
their colour once was much brighter than today.
This suggests that the paper darkened in the
69
course of time under the inluence of light, and
that the colour of the paper illings might once
have matched the colour of the original paper
quite well. Because of their dark brown colour,
the old ills are incongruent elements disturbing
the original image and thus were attracting the
viewer’s attention. The museum wanted to exhibit this key work of Delaunay at the Albertina
and desired to make it more presentable to the
museum visitors. The goal for this treatment was
a visual improvement of the affected areas, to be
accomplished by an overlay over the old inserts,
that would not attempt to reconstruct the missing parts of the image – which would have been
impossible due to the fact that no information
exists about the missing parts. Rather, areas
covered with the dark old paper illings were to
be visually integrated with the rest of the paper.
As the removal of the old inserts would not have
provided any advantage for the preservation and
current treatment of the artwork but would have
involved an invasive procedure presenting an
unnecessary risk for the original, it was decided
to cover the old inserts with new – aesthetically
more itting – ones. This was possible because
the old ills were of a thinner paper than the
original, leaving room for another layer of paper that would not exceed the thickness of the
original. Only the overlapping parts of the old
ills were removed from the original to reveal
covered areas of the original paper and paint and
thus to minimize the area that needed to be retouched. Slightly moistened brushes worked best
to swell the paper and starch-based adhesive and
lift them with a spatula. Loose remaining ibre
residues were removed with a scalpel. Newly
revealed original paper and paint areas clariied
the previously concealed border of the original
design.
Key: insert paper choice
In order to keep the new retouching removable it
was to be adhered only at the edges. A thick Japanese kozo paper (Paper Nao, 106 g/m2, K14) was
chosen for its dimensional stability, even water
absorption capability, uniform surface quality and bulky, compressible structure and even
chamfering characteristics. It was key that this
paper also achieved a close visual match of the
original machine-made paper because it shared
its smooth, slightly shiny surface.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
The treatment process involved four
main steps.
1. Testing the paper toning materials
The inserts were cut slightly larger than the
loss shape. They were toned in over ten stages
to colour-match the original paper. A selection of colourants (reactive paper dyes, direct
paper dyes, watercolours, acrylic and airbrush
colours) were tested for an easy utilisation such
as a regular colour application. The three most
promising colourants (Pergasol® direkt paperdyes, Schmincke Akademie® Acryl Color and
Schmincke Aero Color® Professional) were then
tested for water solubility; all colourants were
adequately insoluble on the insert paper after
the dye had dried. An artiicial light-aging test
following DIN ISO 105-B02 was conducted to
check the long-term light stability of the colourants. Before and after the aging process, colour
measurements were carried out1. Samples of
the retouching paper prepared with the colourants were aged for ten days in artiicial light in a
light aging chamber (Q-Sun Xenon XE-1-BC)2. The
strong fading of Pergasol® direct paper dyes disqualiied them for the use as a retouching agent,
whereas the acrylic and the airbrush-colourants
showed almost no fading. The acrylic colours
achieved the best light stability.
2. Toning and trimming the insert
To ind the most suitable application method,
the acrylic and the airbrush colours were applied
with different techniques: dipping in a colour
bath, brush application and application with
spraying devices used with compressed air (spray
gun and airbrush). The best method turned out
to be a combination of two steps: irst applying
a uniform coating and then applying the different mottled irregularities in a second step.
To produce the initial uniform colouring, the
paper received more than ten applications of
diluted acrylic colours (Schmincke Akademie®
Acryl) applied with a spray gun. Between every
application the paper was dried and the colour
compared to the original, to adjust the colourant
concentration for the next application. In the
second step, the mottled toning of the original
was imitated by local airbrush and paintbrush
colour applications (Schmincke Aero Color® Professional). The brush was used to imitate stained
and streaky structures – the airbrush was used to
produce soft colour gradients, especially at the
70
edges. To imitate the colour of the original paper, the irregular colour patterns of the adjoining original paper parts were used as an orientation and brought together in the middle of the
insert. The inserts were trimmed and chamfered
to the exact shape of the loss and received a inal
toning with watercolours along their edges. During the dyeing processes the colour was observed
several times under different light sources to test
for metamerism3.
3. Stabilizing the toned insert by lining and
coating
To stabilize the larger insert and to protect it
from possible later distortion, in the case of
climate changes in the future, the larger insert
paper was lined verso with a thin Japanese kozo
paper. The Japanese paper had been prepared
by coating it with Lascaux® 498HV adhesive,
and was applied to the verso of the insert by
reactivating the adhesive with heat. The lining
enhances the dimensional stability of the insert
paper and protects it against distortions. The adhesive and the application method were chosen
on the basis of tests conducted with insert papers
lined with either starch paste, methylcellulose or
Lascaux® 498HV that had been exposed to cycles
of luctuating humidity (50-95% RH). The samples were measured before, during and after the
humidiication to check the degree of extension.
The test showed that only the samples prepared
with Lascaux® 498 HV were dimensionally stable
when exposed to high relative humidity. Furthermore, to smoothen the surface of the retouching
paper after the extensive colouring processes,
diluted methyl cellulose (Methocel® A4C) was applied with a spray gun and the surface was then
dried in contact with a piece of polyester fabric
(Bondina®).
4. Shaping and attaching the inserts
To create a smooth transition from the insert
paper to the original, the edges of the insert
were chamfered from the back at a width of
5 to 10 mm. Finally, the insert was adhered to the
edges with starch paste, minimizing the area of
adhesion, at some areas minimally overlapping
onto the original by about one millimetre to
cover dark stained edges, revealed after removing the former overlapping paper ills. The new
inserts remain removable, leaving the historic
treatment of the artwork accessible. With the
old ills covered, their prominent visual distrac-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 2: Robert Delaunay, “The three Graces, study for ‘The
City of Paris’”, normal light, after treatment (08.08.2012).
tion is eliminated, allowing a more focused perception of the painting (Fig. 2). Both retouched
inserts achieve a good colour match with the
whole picture. They are in-plane with the original also along their adjoining edges where there
is no noticeable step in part due to the conformable nature of the insert paper. The retouched
insert surface is very similar to the surface of
the original. No metamerism effect was noticed
when viewing the insert and the original under
different light sources.
Outcome and outlook
Where the old insert overlapping edges were
removed from the original, newly revealed original paper areas and small parts of the picture
indicate design details critical to the understanding of the painting. The project required many
micro-steps of technical and aesthetic decisionmaking. Key to its success was the continual,
interdisciplinary consensus building in which
preservation and aesthetic concerns were communicated in a differentiated way. At this point,
the oil sketch will be examined together with
71
the curators in review of the treatment to date
to see whether inal adjustments in the retouching need to be made. After that it will be decided
whether the oil painting areas should receive
any local surface cleaning. Also, similar inserts to
compensate other small losses will be decided on
when the treated painting undergoes inal evaluation.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr. Maria Luise
Sternath-Schuppanz, assistant director,
and Dr. Klaus Albrecht Schröder, director
of the Albertina, very much for their support of the project, and the conservators
of the Albertina for their professional
advice and support.
Endnotes
1 Datacolor Check Pro, software Tools,
measuring conditions: spectral range
360-700 nm, incl. gloss, standard observer
ankle 10°, LAV, illuminant: daylight D 65
2 10 days, 1,1 w/qm x nm, black standard
temperature 28°+-3°, window glass filter
W-IR (X-10761-K)
3 Metamerism describes the phenomenon
that two colours look identical under
specific light conditions, and differ when
the light source changes. A metamerism
between the original an the retouching
paper can occur when different kinds
of colours and colour mixtures are used
(Poulsson 2008).
References
Anon. 1956. Robert Delaunay, Katalog der
Ausstellung Galerie Beyeler, Basel
Jenderko-Sichelschmidt, I., Pfeiffer, A.,
Hoog, M. 1976. Robert Delaunay: Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, 25.9, 14-111976, Müller.
Johnston-Feller, R. 2001. Tools for Conservation, Color Science in the Examination
of Museum Objects, Nondestructive Procedures. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute.
Poulsson, T. G. 2008. Retouching of Art on
Paper. London: Archetype Publications.
Rubinger, K. 1983. Robert Delaunay, Ausstellung 13.5.-30.7. 1983. Köln: Galerie
gmurzynska.
Schilling, G., Platte, H. 1962. Robert
Delaunay: Kunstverein in Hamburg 26.
Januar- 11. März 1962: Wallraf-RichartzMuseum, Köln 24. März- 6. Mai 1962:
Frankfurter Kunstverein 18. Mai- 24. Juni
1962, Kunstverein Hamburg.
Schneede, U. M., Schick, K. 1999. Robert
Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay – Das Centre
Pompidou zu Gast in Hamburg, Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Authors
Maike Schmidt
Kupferstichkabinett der Staatlichen
Museen zu Berlin, Matthäikirchplatz 8,
10785 Berlin, Deutschland
M.Schmidt@smb.spk-berlin.de
Eva Hummert | Irene Brückle
Studiengang Konservierung und Restaurierung von Graphik, Archiv- und Bibliotheksgut, Staatliche Akademie der
Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Höhenstr. 16,
70736 Stuttgart, Deutschland
rest.graphik@abk-stuttgart.de
Elisabeth Thobois
Albertina, Abteilung Restaurierung,
Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Wien, Österreich
restaurierung@albertina.at
Banik, G., Brückle, I. 2011. Paper and
Water, A Guide for Conservators. Oxford:
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Schenck, A., et al. 1994. ‘Inpainting and
Design Compensation’ Chap. 30 in Paper
Conservation Catalog. Washington D.C.:
American Institute for Conservation,
Book and Paper Group.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
72
Simple yet Complicated – An Evaluation of Airbrush Technique
Applied to Filling Losses using Cellulose Powders
xing kung liao | fei wen tsai
Tainan National University of the Arts, Tainan City, Taiwan
Introduction
Filling losses is a very common practice for paper-based artifacts. This can be performed either
by machine using a leafcaster, or it can be done
manually, which can be very labor intensive.
Many methods have been designed to achieve illing purposes depending on the nature and the
condition of the paper objects. Considerations to
be observed in illing or compensation of paperbased materials include the character and thickness of the paper object, the quality of the illing
materials and the properties of the adhesives, as
well as compatibility issues between the paper
artifact and illing materials, etc.
In general, illing materials used for this purpose include paper pulp and cellulose powder.
Paper can be inserted to compensate for losses
using western paper or bast iber paper, also
known as Japanese paper. Paper pulp is another
illing material; it could be applied in numerous
irregular-shaped loss areas of an artifact if the
object can tolerate wet treatment. The paper insert method is mainly performed manually, and
paper pulp can be applied manually with the
help of a suction disc or performed mechanically
using a leafcaster. Both paper and paper pulp as
mentioned above are the most commonly repair
materials for illing applications (Paper Conservation Catalog, 2011).
Another illing material – cellulose powder
– is also recorded in conservation related literature. It can be used to ill small losses by adding
water to powder to form a paste and then applying it to loss areas. One concern about the use of
cellulose powder as a illing material is its lexibility after application. In addition, the dificulty
of applying cellulose powder evenly is also one
of the disadvantages of using it as a illing material. To avoid uneven application, spraying might
offer a viable alternative when using cellulose
powder to compensate losses.
The spraying method has been adopted as one
of treatment techniques for in-painting, humidiication and consolidation/ixing, as well as for
applying a protective coating layer on the surface
of an object (Webb, 1998). This can be done by
using various tools such as air mist, a Dahlia
sprayer, airbrushes or other methods. Among
these spraying tools, the airbrush can yield an
even coating for treatment purpose. This paper
evaluates an alternative method of illing losses
using stable and reversible cellulose powders
and airbrush techniques that is regularly used in
Asian painting conservation.
The airbrush applicator
Fig. 1: After Mapping the Areas to Be Filled
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
The invention of the airbrush is attributed to
Francis Edgar Stanley, who patented the irst
airbrush in 1876 (Patent Number 182,389). His
invention was not used for art works, however,
up until 1879 when the irst “airbrush” instrument with a hand-operated compressor used for
painting-related purposes was developed by Abner Peeler. At that time the airbrush was not at
all sophisticated, and it took four more years of
development to reine the airbrush device which
was marketed by Liberty Walkup.
An airbrush works basically by passing a
stream of fast-moving (compressed) air through a
Venturi, which reduces the air pressure (suction)
to allow liquid or paint to be pulled from an interconnected reservoir. The high velocity of the
73
cellulose powders with cellulose ethers to determine appropriate types of cellulose powders that
spread smoothly and will not block the nozzle
during spray operation. Cellulose ethers have
been studied extensively for their stability (Backer, 1984; Feller & Wilt, 1990). Three different
cellulose ibers with 0.2% methyl cellulose added
were selected for evaluation. The formula is described as follows:
1. 0.5 g of Arbocel BC 1000 iber with 10 g of 0.2%
methyl cellulose.
2. 0.5 g of Arbocel BC 200 iber with 10 g of 0.2%
methyl cellulose.
3. 0.5g of microcrystalline cellulose with 10 g of
0.2% methyl cellulose.
A spray test showed that the microcrystalline
cellulose powder mixture sprayed smoothly with
no blocking effect, and it was the only type of
cellulose which could pass through the 0.1mm
diameter nozzle of the airbrush. The results
showed that microcrystalline cellulose was an
appropriate type of cellulose for further study as
a iller material.
Fig. 2: Before and After Filling
Viscosity test
air stream atomizes the liquid or paint into tiny
droplets as it blows past a very ine paint-metering component. Various triggers are designed to
control the amount of liquid, allowing an operator to achieve inely smooth blending effects.
Three factors affect the effects of the airbrush
technique – the spray distance, the air pressure
and the viscosity of the paint. Generally speaking, the airbrush should be placed a distance of
10 to 20 cm from the object to be sprayed. Pressure should be adjusted between 0.1Mpa to 0.2
Mpa in general, although it can be reduced to
0.02Mpa to 0.05Mpa in order to achieve ine, delicate results. The ideal viscosity of the substance
used for spray purposes should be maintained
between 45 to 60 cp.
For the purposes of this study, three stages
were designed to evaluate the applicability of
airbrush techniques using cellulose powders for
illing purposes: (1) the type of cellulose powder;
(2) appropriate viscosity of the powder mixture;
and (3) the mixture for spray application.
Selecting cellulose powders
The irst stage of this study involved mixing
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
After the irst stage, the microcrystalline cellulose powders were then mixed with cellulose
ethers and gelatin. Six groups of mixtures, all
containing methyl cellulose (MC), carboxymethyl
cellulose (CMC), microcrystalline cellulose (MCC),
water and ethanol, were divided into two major
subgroups depending whether or not gelatin was
added. Among the ingredients, ethanol was used
to increase mobility and to speed up the drying
rate. Gelatin is used as a sizing agent and as dispersing agent in the paper industry. The formulations and ratio by weight are shown as follows
and in Table 1.
A: 2%MC, MCC, water, ethanol
B: 2%CMC, MCC, water, ethanol
C: 2%MC, 2%CMC, MCC, water, ethanol
D: 2%MC, MCC, water, 2%gelatin, ethanol 99%
E: 2%CMC, MCC, water, 2%gelatin, ethanol 99%
F: 2%MC, 2%CMC, MCC, water, 2%gelatin, ethanol 99%
Measurement of viscosity was then carried out
in order to adjust the viscosity of mixtures to
between 40 to 60 cp, which will yield better
consistency for spraying effects. A viscosity cup
was used for measurements. Drain time for this
test was suggested as between 17 to 23 seconds
74
Table 1. Ingredients of Powder Mixtures (Weight in grams)
Ingredients
Cellulose
Binder
MCC
MC
2%
A
1
B
1
Groups
Solvent
CMC
2%
Gelatin
2%
Ethanol
99%
Water
1
–
–
2
2
–
1
–
2
3,5
C
2
5
1
–
4
5,5
D
1
1
–
2
2
2
E
1
–
1
2
2
5
F
1
2
1
4
4
3
Table 2. Results of Viscosity Test
Group
Drain time in Average ± Standard Deviation
(seconds)
A
20.8 ± 0.8
B
20.2 ± 0.4
C
23 ± 0.9
D
19 ± 0.7
E
19.6 ± 0.5
F
23 ± 0.0
at 25°C ± 2°C, equivalent to 40 to 60 cp at ideal
viscosity for airbrush application. The results of
the viscosity test are shown in Table 2. The drain
time for all tested groups fell in the range of 19
to 23 seconds, which indicates that all of the tested mixtures are suitable for spray application.
Mixtures for Spray Test
Different amounts of mixtures were designed
for spraying at a distance of 15 to 20 cm. In this
test, 1oz and 0.5oz of mixtures were sprayed onto
a surface of Xuan paper in size of 5cm by 10cm.
After spraying, roughness of six groups were measured by using Mitutoyo Surface Roughness SJ301. The results of test showed that the roughness
values of groups A and C were greater. Group F
was shown to be the most consistent of all tested
groups. In addition, the evenness of the mixture
in Group F also appeared to be more controllable
for spray application.
Conservation Implementation
The hand scroll, painted by Lin-can Lee, used for
this study was seriously degraded by mold. The
treatment process included surface cleaning,
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
facing, backing removal, irst layer of lining, second layer of lining, removing the facing paper,
mapping the losses, applying masking to losses,
illing losses with airbrush, in-painting and mounting. The method used to ill losses using an
airbrush is as follows. Strips of Xuan paper were
used to cover holes. Water was then applied on
the Xuan paper according to the shape of the
hole. Water tear was performed to shape areas to
be compensated, shown on Figure 1. Based on the
result of this experiment, the powder mixture F
was chosen to be used as illing material in accordance with the airbrush technique. After illing,
0.2% gelatin was also sprayed to provide further
reinforcement. Before and after illing are shown
in Figure 2.
Conclusion
The results showed that airbrushing can be an eficient way to ill losses of paper. A Chinese hand
scroll was successfully restored in a follow-up
conservation operation. In conclusion, this study
offers an alternative method for illing losses in
paper artifacts with special considerations.
75
Authors
Xing Kung Liao
Conservator in private practice
xingkung@gmail.com
Fei Wen Tsai*
Associate Professor, Tainan National University of the Arts, 66 Darci Village,
Kuentien District, Tainan City, 72045,
*Corresponding author
tsaifw@mail.tnnua.edu.tw
References
Baker, C.A. (1984). Methylcellulose and
Sodium Carboxymethylcelluloses: an
Evaluation for Use in Paper Conservation
Through Accelerated Againg. IIC Preprints of the Contributions to the Paris
Congress, Sept. 2-8. 1984, Adhesive and
Consolidants.
Cavanaugh, J. (2001). The Feasibility of
Ultrasonic Misting as an Inpainting Technique. WAAC Newsletter, 23(1).
Feller, R.L., and M. Wilt. (1990). Evaluation
of Cellulose Ethers for Conservation.
Marina del Rey, CA: Getty Conservation
Institute.
Futernick, R. (1983). Leaf Casting on the
Suction Table. Journal of the American
Institute for Conservation, 22(2),
pp. 82-91.
Webb, M. (1998). Methods and Materials
for Filling Losses on Lacquer Objects.
Journal of the American Institute for
Conservation, 37(1), pp. 117-133.
Paper Conservation Catalog, Retrieved
Sept. 2011, http://cool.conservation-us.
org/coolaic/sg/bpg/pcc/
Airbrush, retrieved October, 12, 2012,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbrush
Bruckle, I, and J. Dambrogio (2000). Paper
Splitting: History and Modern Technology, Journal of the American Institute for
Conservation, 39(3), pp. 295-325
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
76
Ronald by Franz West.
Conservation of a Three - Dimensional Painted Papier Mâché Object
Andreas Hartl
Austrian National Library, Conservation Department, Vienna, Austria
Fig. 1: Ronald, recto view
Introduction1
Entitled Ronald, the object is shaped like a three
dimensional guitar (Fig. 1). It was created in the
late 1970´s by the Austrian artist Franz West (16
February 1947 – 25 July 2012), and is part of a category of works which he labelled as Namensbilder.
These objects are dedicated to particular persons
and could be described as a kind of portrait.
Ronald is one of a group of 17 artworks subtitled Our Railroad Workers and their Union (Fig.
2). The associated pieces are works on paper
including collages, drawings or overpaintings of
newspapers or photographs, and are presented in
frames, most of which were created by the artist.
All the pieces were made as independent works
of art over a period of 20 years.
In 1996, the group in question evolved from
a selection of works for the exhibition Collagen
Passstücke Werke 1972-1990 in the Viennese gallery Kalb. It was very common for Franz West to
combine works from different periods, and so he
also included furniture or sculpture as well as
works by other artists. Following this 1996 show,
the Essl Museum of Contemporary Art in Klosterneuburg, bought Our Railroad Workers and their Union.
The technical study and conservation of Ronald
was subject of a diploma thesis at the Institute
for Conservation at the Academy of Fine Arts
Vienna in 2011.
Construction
The whole object is made of papier mâché and is
shaped as a relief. The lettering Ronald is formed
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
as three-dimensional characters in a different,
unidentiied material.
Papier mâché is a material very commonly used
by West. In early years of his career, he used
telephone book pages for his raw material. Later,
he used mainly newspaper because telephone
books were no longer available in the amounts
he needed.
The recto view of the guitar shows several
layers of paint. Very similar structures of these
layers can be found in many comparable papier
mâché objects. The irst layer consists of a grey
undercoat followed by layers in yellow and pink,
onto which the lettering Ronald is applied. A
layer of white coats, the name as well as the pink
colour was probably the initial surface. This strata can be found on the entire recto of the guitar.
The verso is not painted, leaving the papier mâché exposed. For improving the stability of the
form, a wooden broomstick was worked into the
material from the middle of the body, over the
neck to the head of the guitar.
Damage
Due to a massive infestation by biscuit beetles,
the papier mâché body was almost completely hollowed out and the stability of the object drastically decreased. Because of insect holes, the surface was painted over in extensive areas, using
the same material as the initial surface. Afterwards, some of the insect tunnels on the recto’s
surface were partially overworked with different
types of gypsum.
As a result of further structural damage of unknown origin, numerous additional repairs had
been undertaken. A fracture runs the length of
the body from the bottom to the top edge, at the
beginning of the broomstick. Despite previous
attempts to repair the crack, it remains a risk.
Because of the extensive degree of damage,
Ronald was classiied as not available for loans.
However, for an exhibition in the USA, the group
should be shown in its entirety, so the museum
and West’s atelier agreed to produce a full-size
model.
77
Fig. 2: Our Railroad Workers and their Union, Exhibition catalogue Franz West, To Built a House You Start with the Roof.
Presentation
The museum is presenting the group in the same
arrangement as that created by Franz West at its
irst exhibition in 1996. There were a few exceptions, as West arranged exhibitions by himself
and would sometimes combine different groups
of artworks.
Ronald is presented in a pine showcase, which
is covered at the front and the rear with transparent acrylic glass, ixed with screws. Probably
the object was originally not presented in the
case. There are indications that the frame was
made in order to protect the damaged Ronald
within the group presentation. At the rear of
the guitar screw holes of the supposed previous
mounting were found. Like the original artwork,
the copy was to be presented unframed.
Conservation Goals
Part of the project was the examination of the
paint layer structure and the earlier repair treatments. An important question was how to treat
the object’s patina. The correlation between repairs / “patina” and their importance to the history of the object was examined. To ind out by
whom the earlier repairs had been undertaken,
people in Franz West’s working environment
were interviewed. Furthermore, objects from this
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
particular group were compared regarding structure and surface appearance. It was not possible
to answer this question in the context of this thesis. There were suggestions that the repairs and
overworking was done by West himself or, with
his permission, by one of his assistants.
As a result a strategy in dealing with the present surface condition was developed. Part of
West’s concept is that objects can be handled by
the owner. The patina which is due to the handling of the object is therefore part of its history.
As a result of the research into the artist’s modus
operandi, the surface was accepted in its current
condition.
In order to adequately stabilise the papier mâché body’s structure, two methods had to be combined. During the work, it became evident that it
would not be possible to stabilise the entire body
from surface to centre. Therefore it was decided
that only the surface and the subsurface areas
should be treated; while not a complete procedure, it would strengthen the object’s structure
somewhat.
Another major aspect was to develop measures
to optimise the situation for transport, storage
and exhibition to prevent further structural
deformations when handling the object and to
thus minimize damage.
78
The second part of the stabilisation process was
to secure the precarious crack in the body as
well as the mounting of the object in the frame.
Therefore a grid-shaped “scaffolding” was created to it seamlessly into the uneven verso
surface of the body and the head of the guitar.
The support structure is made of thin strips of
corrugated board with which the vulnerable
area along the crack could be stabilised and the
object could be mounted in the show case in one
procedure (Fig. 4).
Notes
Fig. 3: The implementation of the paper pins.
1 Interview; Andrea Überbacher,
West Archive Vienna
2 Henry Schein, Paper Pins, Maxima® Hand
rolled paper points. Colour coded. Sterile. http://www.henryscheinbrand.com/
product.php?switchlang=de&leader=&pr
oduct=9002505
Because of the instability of the crack in the
middle part of the body and the fact that the
object was not mounted in the frame, transport
and handling cannot be undertaken without a
high risk of damage. It was necessary to secure
the unstable crack and the object itself inside
the frame.
Treatment
The structural damage is similar to the insect
infestation, which can be found on wooden
objects. Initially, illers for wood conservation
were tested on mock-ups for their capabilities to
adapt to this object. Finally, it was not possible
to ind a satisfying solution with illers as they
did not match the material properties of papier
mâché. Fillers generally include high amounts
of moisture and need long time to dry which in
turn causes the material to swell and soften too
strongly.
The method inally applied involves paper
pins2 and a technique used in dentistry, which
could be adapted for stabilisation procedures.
Ranging in diameter from 0,01mm to 1,2mm,
the pins permitted illing and stabilising the
insect tunnels very accurately (Fig. 3). To adhere
the pins in the insect tunnels, paste was applied
with a dosing system by BELO3, so it was possible
to dispense a deined amount of adhesive and
avoid intense weakening of the paper material by
too much moisture. It was thus possible to work
very quickly and eficiently which was essential
for the treatment procedure.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
3 http://www.belo-restauro.de/English/
Company/Catalogue/Painting/Dosimeter/
dosimeter.html
Author
Andreas Hartl
Austrian National Library, Conservation
Department, Josefsplatz 1, 1015 Vienna,
Austria
andreas.hartl@onb.ac.at
Fig. 4: The verso view with the scaffolding made of corrugated cardboard before mounting into the show case.
79
The Restoration of Cartoons
at the Department of Drawings and Prints in the Louvre
Valentine Dubard
Département des arts graphiques, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Fig. 1: Ambassadors’ staircase, Château de Versailles, after treatment
Fig. 2: Rolled cartoons before treatment
Charles Le Brun was named Director of the Royal
Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris in
1663. The following year, he entered the service
of Louis XIV, becoming First Painter of the king
and chief oficial responsible for the painted decoration of the royal residences, a position which
led him to undertake projects that became emblematic of the reign of the Sun King such as the
Hall of Mirrors and the Ambassadors’ Staircase
at Versailles (Fig 1). This last decoration was destroyed during the reign of Louis XV in 1752; all
that remains are the preparatory drawings and
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
later prints that record the overall composition.
Upon the death of Charles Le Brun in 1690,
the superintendent of buildings, art and manufacturing in France, François Michel Le Tellier de
Louvois, seized all works of art found in the artist’s studio, including works made while he was
First Painter as well as works made prior to his
appointment.
About 3,000 drawings and 700 cartoons thus
entered the royal collection in 1690, spanning
more than forty years of the artist’s career. The
size of the collection is exceptional; it comprises
not only composition studies but also drawings
after live models as well as cartoons as large as 5
by 3 metres. As exceptional as the drawings’ quality is the light they shed on the successive design
stages of his grand scale decorative projects.
Indeed, in Charles Le Brun’s studio, the works
were kept together in “packets”1 which probably
served as repository of formal ideas for the instruction and use of his assistants and students.
The fact that in certain sheets the drawn lines
have been retraced, and that traces of repeated
transfer on to the walls can be found, suggest the
reuse of speciic cartoons. Their early entry into
the collection meant that, unlike many other
works preserved in the Department of Drawings
and Prints, they were never the object of collectors’ changing tastes, but were acquired fresh
from being used.
The history of the conditions under which the
works by Charles Le Brun were conserved, once
they had entered the royal collections, is known
through archival records and through the traces
of changes and damages left on the works themselves. Their state of conservation was regularly
noted in the reports that successive keepers of
the King’s paintings and drawings addressed to
the monarch, asking for the means to conserve
them. The cartoons were for a long time stored
rolled up or folded, and some still are (Fig. 2);
they bear stains that indicate water damage at
some point and tears that show careless handling.
The small and medium-sized drawings have
80
been the object of several mounting campaigns,
the irst of which occurred in the irst half of the
eighteenth century, at the initiative of Antoine
Coypel and of his son Charles, successive keepers
of the royal collection of drawings. They concerned about 450 drawings, which were at that
time glued on to blue cardboard mounts decorated with strips of gold paper. Much later, in the
1970s, numerous single study sheets were placed
in beveled window mounts, within which they
are maintained by a hinge on the right side edge.
Today, these drawings are the object of a restoration campaign that intends to loosen the hinges
that sometimes marked the sheets and to change
the mounts, which have become acidic.
Past treatments tell us about the perception
that our predecessors had of Charles Le Brun’s
cartons. At the time when Garnier d’Isle, Controller General of the Royal buildings 2 could write
that at least “the heads, the hands and the feet”
should be cut out in order to save them, the importance accorded to the cartoons was due to the
renown of their author, Le Brun. Their primary
function, to transfer a given composition onto
the wall, was no longer valid; cartoons were not
regarded as true works of art3. In the eighteenth
century, one exception, however, is notable:
Pierre-Jean Mariette had a head [cut out of a cartoon] stuck on to a blue mount4, as he did with
the most valuable works in his collection. In the
early nineteenth century, the remounting of cartoons on canvas marked a change in the works’
perception: it was performed in order to frame
and exhibit them in the galleries of the Louvre.
At this time, any missing parts of the drawing
were completed directly on the coloured margins
(Fig. 3).
The irst exhibition of Le Brun’s cartoons
opened in 1866 and lasted for several years. The
effects of light, coupled with the deterioration
from the mix of adhesives used for the pasting,
have caused severe discoloration. These mixtures
of lour-based, protein and carbohydrate adhesives age badly; they harden and can take on
an orange color. At the time, they were used by
painters as well as by picture restorers. Numerous small folds and creases show a deformation
of paper and a lack of understanding of paper’s
expansion and contraction phenomena, which
conirms our hypothesis that the remounting
of Le Brun’s cartoons was realized by painters
or picture restorers. In France, the conservation of graphic works of art is a relatively recent
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig: 3: Missing areas of the drawings completed in the 19th
century
discipline; formerly it was associated with the
practice of mounting and framing small- and
medium-sized drawings, while larger formats
were associated with the conservation of largesized paintings.
Between 1992 and 1994, a campaign was started to identify and photograph the cartoons by
Charles Le Brun in the collection. Basic restoration work was done on this occasion, consisting
of surface cleaning of the ensemble and a provisional consolidation of tears, in order to allow
the works to be photographed safely.
The earliest exhibitions at the Louvre Museum
were pedagogical in nature; their aim was to
allow maximum access to the works. Thereafter, little by little, the role of the museum was
redeined; it adopted a more scientiic approach
to conservation. Today, the museum not only
conserves works of art, it also wishes to afirm
the historical state they were in at the moment
of acquisition.
The works on paper preserved in the Department of Drawings and Prints of the Louvre are
made accessible to researchers and interested lay
persons in the Department’s study room. Consul-
81
tation presumes that the works are mounted in
such a way that both recto and verso can safely
be examined. This imperative directs the selection of restoration treatments.
Conserving, displaying, consulting – these
demands are sometimes dificult to reconcile,
especially for large-sized works. Conservation implies a stable environment and climate, minimal
handling, and maximum protection against light
and against atmospheric pollution. The solutions
needed for exhibition of the work may be temporary; in that case, it is more a question of means,
of the time needed for an intervention, of the
budget allocated for the restoration, installation
and taking down of the work, than an ethical
issue. However, consultation of the works on paper requires durable and sustainable solutions to
problems of conservation; the works need to be
accessible and it must be possible to manipulate
them safely.
The approach chosen by the conservation studio at the Department of Drawings and Prints
seeks to take into account, in its treatments,
to maintain as much as possible the work’s authentic character, to enable its exhibition and
its consultation, and thus to allow historians to
conduct their research.
In the case of Le Brun’s cartoons, there is the
additional dificulty of the sheer number and
heterogeneity of the ensemble. Among the 700
cartoons there are masterpieces, unique items of
great historical and artistic importance, as well
as more modest works and even copies that were
used to transfer the drawing or as teaching material for pupils. However, all share the fact that
they are essentially working drawings, carrying
the traces of their use.
Since the creation of the conservation studio
of the Department of Drawings and Prints in
1989 and following the irst restoration campaign, which involved supericial cleaning and
consolidations needed to allow an inventory of
the collection to be taken, sixty cartoons have
been restored. Over the past twenty years, restoration protocols have evolved and the materials
used have been updated. Nevertheless, the same
inherent logic and the main stages of restoration
remain valid. They take into account both the
history of the cartoons and their dimensions.
Cartoons that were folded or rolled often suffered so much friction that the radiance of the
white chalk heightening and the velvety character of the black chalk lines were lost. If the
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 4: Ambassadors’ staircase, Château de Versailles, detail
of conservation work
cartoon was pasted onto a backing canvas, on the
other hand, it usually is now badly discolored
and few traces of the white highlights are left.
The stiffness of the maroulage and the deterioration of the adhesive justify the cartoon’s removal
from the canvas backing. Additionally, poor storage conditions were often the cause of distortion
of the canvas, extreme dirt, and stains. The dificulty encountered in removing the glue depends
on the quality of the adhesive used and its age.
Selected solutions involve heat and an alphaamylase gel.
Consolidation of tears and illing in missing
areas are needed in all the cartoons. Folded or
rolled works often exhibit more tears, yet their
paper is not as distorted as is the case with works
that were backed on canvas in the nineteenth
century. Some cartoons are lined once or twice.
Wheat starch paste and Japanese “minogami”
paper are used to line the cartoons (Fig 4).
The large- scale cartoons are, in general, pasted onto a canvas of ‘aged’ linen prepared with
82
intermediary sheets of paper. This procedure is
frequently adopted with cartoons that were remounted on canvas in the nineteenth century.
The preparation of the support is done concurrently with the restoration of the work itself. The
linen is ‘aged’ three times to give it the required
inertia guaranteeing stability. It is a long but
essential process, needed to obtain optimal adhesion of the paper to the canvas. Strain gauge
frames are used to absorb the stresses the work
may undergo due to climatic variations.
Small-sized works are mounted on acid-free
board of either honeycomb structure, or simple
lightweight board. Different techniques may be
employed: the work may be stretch-mounted on
a cardboard, or mounted in such a way that the
verso of the sheet remains accessible.
The questions posed by the preservation of
the cartoons continue after their restoration.
Until few years ago, the cartoons were systematically framed in heavy wooden frames painted
black. This has been discontinued since, both to
preserve the original character of the cartoons
and for reasons of weight during handling. The
cartoons are now placed in a light type of frame
that is needed for storage or for handling during
transport.
The choices made in the restoration of the
cartoons of Charles Le Brun remain a matter of
importance. The equilibrium between conservation, exhibition and consultation is a delicate
one, and both the margins of action and those of
the budget are limited. On-going research takes
us ever closer to lighter, less invasive manners of
mounting, consistent with the preservation of
the works’ authenticity and their history.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Valentine Dubard for the team of conservators of the
Department of Drawings and Prints of the Musée du Louvre
Notes
1 The ‘packets’ gathered works according
to site and type; patterns were kept separate. See: Beauvais, L. Pinault Sørensen,
M. 2000. Musée du Louvre, département
des Arts graphiques. Inventaire général
des dessins. Ecole française, Charles Le
Brun, 1619-1690, 2 vols., Paris, for references to all historical information cited
here.
2 Statement of 2 June 1749 ; see note 1.
3 « Ces cartons de très peu de valeur »
(« these cartoons of very little value »),
circa 1730, Charles Coypel ; see note 1.
4 Department of Drawings and Prints, Inv.
29845.
Author
Valentine Dubard
31 bis rue de Montreuil
94300 Vincennes
vadubard@gmail.com
Département des arts graphiques
Musée du Louvre
14 quai François Mitterand
75058 Paris cedex 1
valentine.dubard@louvre.fr
83
To Remove or Retain? – Extensive Inills and Reworking in a
Large - Scale Japanese Wall Painting
philip meredith | tanya uyeda
Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
Introduction
Dragon and Clouds, a monumental panoramic wall
painting in ink on paper from an unrecorded
temple in Japan by the 18th century eccentric
Soga Shohaku, was acquired by the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston, from the collector William
Sturgess Bigelow in 1911. Hawk, a companion
work by Shohaku, acquired at the same time, is
believed to come from the same building. Both
works are on identical paper and of the same
proportions. Examination conirmed that Dragon
and Clouds comprised eight separate parts, at
least seven of which had originally been mount-
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
ed as fusuma, or sliding doors, as indicated by the
losses in the paper where the inger-pulls, or hikite, would have been itted. A central part of the
composition between the continuous left four
and right four sections is missing. Only two sections of Hawk are extant. A photo taken in 1912,
shortly after the acquisition of the works, shows
how they had been remounted, removed at some
point from their door structures and joined in
pairs, with white cotton borders and heavy paper
linings (Fig. 1).
Both paintings had unusually large and unexplained areas of loss, perhaps due to their
hurried removal from architectural setting in
already damaged condition. It is possible that
they may have come from a neglected or abandoned temple following the Haibutsu Kishaku
anti-Buddhist movement of the early years of the
Meiji period 1868-1874.
Losses in Dragon and Clouds had been inilled
with paper taken from now-missing sections of
Hawk. Although the two works were on paper of
matching sheet size and manufacture, the inills
taken from the ‘Hawk’ painting were darker in
tone and, in places, carried brush strokes and
imagery from the artwork (Fig. 2).
It was apparent that missing parts of the image
of the dragon painting had been repainted on
the inill paper. The repainted areas were discernable, due to the use of an ink of a different
hue and sheen to the original. In some places
the repainting was skillfully executed, whereas
in others the brushwork was clumsy and awkward. Furthermore, elements from the hawk
painting that were still visible in places beneath
the repainting created a confusing visual mix.
When the decision to treat both paintings was
taken, it raised the question of what to do with
the inills and repainted sections. To remove all
inills and retain only the original artwork would
have severely broken up the image and made it
dificult to read as a cohesive composition. To
keep all the historical inills would have retained
the distracting elements, the tonal mismatches
84
Fig. 3
and poor brushwork that were so disiguring
to the appearance of the painting in its present
condition.
Method
A damage map of both the paintings was made
to record all the original and inilled areas, and
group discussions between conservation and
curatorial staff were held to reach a consensus
of agreement. It was decided to remove the majority of background area in the inills, but to
retain repainted sections where the brushwork
was acceptable in terms of execution and worked
successfully to hold the composition together.
These areas were marked out and recorded.
The artworks had been stored rolled for some
time before their temporary display once in 1966
and again in the early 1990’s. For this purpose,
they were treated remedially to put down laking
paper fragments and latten planar distortions.
Subsequent to their display they were put back
into storage between large sheets of Plexiglas.
Prior to this, their most recent treatment,
the paintings were in an embrittled condition,
with lakes of paper lifting from the surface,
delamination of the lining papers, and heavy
creasing from previous rolling and unrolling.
The decision was made to separate the paintings
into their individual sections and remount them
onto wooden lattice cores with paper sub-linings
in a style similar to that of their irst mounting
format as sliding door panels. This would return
them to their original appearance and allow
them to be exhibited and stored in a stable and
safe manner.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
There was overall discolouration and degradation of the support paper, probably a result in
part of the heavy sizing that had been applied
to allow for the generous application of ink that
the artist employed. It was expected that some
of the discoloration in the paper would be watersoluble and, if so, should be removed before
any later wet treatments, such as re-lining and
re-pasting onto a support panel where it might
leach or migrate to other areas. The paintings
were separated into single sections, each approximately 165.6 cm high and 135.0 cm wide,
sprayed with water to relax and allow the paper
and its linings to be brushed out lat. Sheets of
thin rayon paper were dampened and applied to
the face of the artwork to protect the surface and
hold any lifting fragments in place. Lightweight
blotting paper was dampened and applied to
both sides of the artwork, turning the stack and
replacing the blotting paper until no further
discolouration was removed. The two layers of
heavy Japanese lining paper were removed from
the back of the painting and it was given a temporary lining of thick rayon paper, then medium
weight Sekishu paper to support the embrittled
artwork.
After drying, it was possible to assess the slightly
lighter colour of the paper and prepare inill
papers of a corresponding and suitable tone.
The original paper support used for both paintings was a heavy gampi (Diplomorpha sikokiana)
ibre furnish with a kaolin clay loading, known
as maniaishi. Produced in the Najio district near
Kobe, it was a popular choice for wall and door
paintings in castles and temples from the late
15th century onwards. A similar paper, currently
made by the Tanino family, was selected for the
inillings. A lighter weight of paper was chosen,
then lined with medium weight Mino paper, to
allow for easier control during the shaping and
handling of the inills. The lined repair paper
was dampened and pasted by its outer edges to
drying boards in preparation for sizing and toning. Sizing was made with a solution of animal
glue, (nikawa), 2.5% and alum 0.5% and brushed
evenly over the paper surface in both directions
and two applications. Colour for toning was prepared from sticks of colour pigments, (boenogu),
and carbon ink sticks, (sumi), ground down with
water and the addition of a little animal glue
for stability. The colour was applied with a wide,
soft brush similar to that used for the sizing, in
85
Fig. 4
repeated applications until the desired degree of
toning was achieved. For the inills in areas with
dark ink-washed background, further applications of carbon ink colour were used.
Inill papers were of the appropriate tone were
selected by consulting the damage map and the
artwork, matching for colour, then tracing and
cutting roughly to size and marking for placing
in position from the verso. For those previous
inills in the painting that had repainted areas
we wanted to retain, but background elements
we wished to remove, we partially cut along
the outline with scalpels to produce a clean
and clear edge. The paintings were once again
dampened and faced with thin rayon paper and
water, then laid face down on a double layer of
dampened heavy rayon paper to cushion the face
of the artwork and prevent it drying out during
the inilling and re-lining process. The temporary
lining was removed along with unwanted old
inills. Where a part of the old inill with repainting was to be retained, the partially pre-cut edge
was completely cut through from the back, again
with scalpels and the unwanted portion taken
away. Newly prepared inills were dampened and
put into place, heavy wheat starch paste applied
at the overlap, the excess margins reduced with
tweezers.
With inilling completed, the paintings were
lined with two layers of medium weight Mino
paper, the edges wet cut. The grain of the paper
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
was horizontal for the irst lining, vertical for
the second. Before the application of the second
lining, tears, splits and heavy creases in the artwork were reinforced with medium weight Mino
paper, wet-cut across the grain in strips approximately 1.5 cm wide. A border of thick Sekishu
paper was added to allow for handling and attaching the artwork to a drying board.
The relined artworks were placed face up on
large felts and the facing papers removed. When
the surface of the artwork had started to dry,
another felt was placed on top, to slow down the
drying, promote suppleness and prevent distortion.
The following day the relined section was
humidiied by spraying with water, brushing
out lat, and attaching by its borders to a drying
board.
For the remounting of the paintings in the
style of sliding doors, wooden lattice cores of
Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and black
lacquered wooden trims were ordered. The cores
received the traditional six linings of eight layers of paper that are commonly used for folding
screens and sliding doors. The verso of the artworks were pasted with a thin paste overall and
a heavy paste around the outer edges, then the
prepared cores lowered into place. The backs of
the screens were covered with a plain silk fabric,
pre-lined with dyed paper. Both the painting and
lined silk were put on one immediately after the
other and dried overnight between felts to slow
86
down drying and prevent warping of the core.
After drying, the lacquered wooden trims were
itted.
In place on their support cores, the paintings
were ready for inal adjustments to the toning
of the new inills. The aim was to bring the inill
to a level slightly lighter than the surrounding
original. This proved more dificult in some areas than others, particularly where there was a
strong contrast or variation from one side of the
inill to the other. In this case, a slight gradation
made the transition more visually acceptable.
Toning was carried out by building up thin washes of colour, applied with soft brushes. Stick colours and carbon ink sticks were used. Large areas in the dark background of Dragon and Clouds
had been painted with a coarse, velvet-like black
that was unlike the ink used in other parts of
the painting. It may be that this was a type of ink
known as kezurizumi, made from shaving dried
waste remnants from the production of stick ink
and soaking overnight in water. The resulting
ink is a thick, rich black that was used for painting paper lanterns and the production of inexpensive printed matter. The stick ink we ground
for use in toning the new inills had much iner
particles and produced a shinier inish than we
required. Alternative carbon black pigments
were tested and it was found that peach stone
black, cherry stone black, vine black and ivory
black produced the required colours and matt
inish that we were looking for.
Conclusions
The progress and degree of toning was constantly
monitored and discussed by conservators and curatorial staff. Areas that had been removed were
re-assessed and in one case, replaced. Prior discussion and reassessment of what to remove and
what to retain was a key factor throughout the
treatment of what was a complex mix of original
and later imagery. The aim had been to remove
obtrusive and distracting repairs whilst retaining
repainted portions whose removal would have
signiicantly affected the readability of the overall image.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Acknowledgements
Thanks go to colleagues who assisted
with work on this project; fellow conservators Jacki Elgar, Jing Gao, Yi-Hsia Hsao,
John Robbe, Hsin-Chen Tsai, Tatsuya Yamauchi and Sukesaku Wakiya, and curator
Anne Nishimura Morse.
Captions
Fig. 1: Dragon and Clouds. Acquisition
photograph of the four left hand sections, taken in 1912.
*Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William
Sturgis Bigelow Collection
*Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston
Fig. 2: Dragon and Clouds. Second section
from the right, before and during treatment. Left, before treatment. Note the
large repainted infill at lower left, with
grass and rocks from the Hawk painting
clearly visible. The repainted lower portion of the tail was retained, as was the
end of the tail at the right. Right, during
treatment. After infilling and relining,
before toning of new infills.
*Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William
Sturgis Bigelow Collection
*Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston
Fig. 3: Reviewing extent and degree of
toning new infills.
*Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William
Sturgis Bigelow Collection
*Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston
Fig. 4: After treatment. Dragon and
Clouds on display at the Tokyo National
Museum in the exhibition Japanese Masterpieces at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, 2012.
*Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William
Sturgis Bigelow Collection
*Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston
Authors
Philip Meredith
Tanya Uyeda
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Aveenue
Boston MA 02115, USA
pmeredith@mfa.org
tuyeda@mfa.org
87
The Migration of Hydroxy Propyl Cellulose During Consolidation of a
Painted Wallpaper: A Case Study Using a Fluorescent - Labelled Consolidant
Tilly Laaser | Karolina Soppa | Christoph Krekel
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Germany;
Hochschule der Künste Bern, Konservierung und Restaurierung, Bern, Switzerland
Introduction
This paper presents the evaluation of a consolidation method planned for a painted wallpaper
in the Neues Museum Berlin in 2007. Five years
before, the painted surface had been secured
with facings applied with Klucel® (hydroxy propyl cellulose) solved in ethanol. A method for
their removal and simultaneous consolidation of
the weakly bound and partly laking paint layer
was proposed by the conservators in charge and
evaluated by researchers at the State Academy of
Art and Design Stuttgart with test objects.1 The
penetration behaviour of hydroxy propyl cellulose in the test wallpapers was visualised using
luorescent labelling.2
Original wallpaper and conservation
problem
In 2008, the Neues Museum Berlin was restored
and reopened for the public after it had been
severely damaged in World War II. The ceiling
wallpaper is part of the original interior ittings
from the 1850s. Originally, maculature and paper supports had been attached to the ceilings
of the Mythologischer Saal and afterwards been
painted in situ with glue-bound distemper.3
After having suffered different damages con-
Fig. 1: Fluorochromization reaction between hydroxy propyl cellulose
and FITC ‘Isomer I’, forming a stable, fluorescing conjugate.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
nected to the partly destroyed museum building,
the 250 m2 of wallpaper were treated by conservators in 2002. The painted surface was secured
with facings applied with hydroxy propyl cellulose dissolved in ethanol and the partly detached
wall paper removed from the ceilings and transferred to a storage in anticipation of further conservation treatment.
At the beginning of the wall paper’s conservation in 2007 4, it was not possible to remove these
facings from parts of the paint surface without
risking paint loss. Thus, a method comprising
their removal and consolidation of the weakly
bound and in parts laking paint was proposed
by the conservators and investigated on test objects specially designed for this study at the State
Academy of Art and Design Stuttgart.
Method and testing
The luorescent labelling of hydroxy propyl cellulose5 with Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate (FITC
‘Isomer I’) was executed before its application,
thus guaranteeing a precise detection of the
latter. During the luorochromization reaction,
FITC and hydroxy propyl cellulose formed a stable bond (see Fig. 1). Any free luorochrome was
removed in a subsequent dialysis.
The non-luorescing test wallpaper was produced by glueing together two layers of paper
with wheat starch paste which were then painted
with several layers of glue-bound ultramarine
(see Fig. 2).6 The test wallpapers were treated with
a luorescent-labelled hydroxy propyl cellulose
(corresponding to the irst conservation treatment in 2002): Facings consisting of Japanese
tissue7 were attached to the paint layer of the
test objects with a ten per cent solution of the labelled cellulose ether in ethanol. Having allowed
a suficient period of drying, it was now tried to
remove the papers and at the same time use the
facings’ adhesive to consolidate the paint layer
(corresponding to the current conservation treatment). The conservators in charge suggested that
the hydroxy propyl cellulose should be treated
88
sharp view of the cross sections and a clear detection of the luorescing consolidant within the
sample while weak auto luorescences of the materials were eliminated.
Results
Fig. 2: Photos in visible light of thin sections (8 µm) of the original
wallpaper (left) and the test wallpaper (right). Layers: 1 Paper support, lower layer; 2 wheat starch layer; 3 Paper support, upper layer;
4 paint layer.
with ethanol and the dissolved consolidant be
transported into the paint layer and between
paint layer and paper support by means of low
pressure, avoiding however the impregnation of
the paper support. Application method and residence time of the solvent, as well as exposure to
low pressure were varied (an overview of the conservation treatments can be seen in Table 1).
After the consolidation method had been tested,
samples were cut out, embedded in Technovit
2000 LC and cut with a microtome into 8 μm
thick layers. The thin sections were examined
with luorescence microscopy using a ilter set
specially designed for FITC. The non-luorescing
test wallpaper appeared black while the labelled
hydroxy propyl cellulose exhibited a bright green
luorescence. The thin sections allowed for a
It was shown that different migration depths
could be achieved by varying the application
method of ethanol and by the time the test objects remained on the suction table (see Fig. 3).
Best results were achieved when only applying
the ethanol from the front and removing the test
objects from low pressure as soon as the facing
had been removed (treatments A and C). The consolidant accumulated between support and paint
layer as well as within the weakly bound paint
(visible in higher magniication). Exposing the
sample to low pressure before the facing’s removal (2 min. in treatment C) had only little impact
on the migration depth. Applying the ethanol
also from the back (treatment B) resulted in the
undesired effect of a slightly deeper penetration
of the consolidant; however, the consolidant
migrated mostly between paint layer and support as well as into the paint layer. Leaving the
test object on the suction table after the removal
of the facing (treatment D) lead to the complete
penetration of the consolidant into the paper
support while it was not any longer visible on or
within the paint layer. This treatment was thus
eliminated as an option.
Based on these indings, it was possible to
choose the appropriate parameters for the hydroxy propyl cellulose to migrate into the weakly
bound paint and accumulate between paint layer
and support without risking impregnation of the
paper support.
The application of luorescent-labelled consolidant on test objects designed for the conserva-
Test painting
Ethanol application
Removal of facing on suction table
Left to dry on suction table
A
from the front (5 min swelling)
immediately
no
B
from the front and from the back
(5 min swelling)
immediately
no
C
from the front (5 min swelling)
after 2 min
no
D
from the front (5 min swelling)
after 2 min
yes
Table 1
Conservation Methods tested
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
89
tion issue allowed a visualisation and an evaluation of the method without endangering the
object itself.
Endnotes
1 This study was carried out in the scope
of Karolina Soppa’s PhD project that
studies the behaviour of consolidants
using fluorescent labelling.
2 The method is described in more detail
in: Soppa, K., Laaser, T., Krekel, C. 2011.
‘Visualizing the Penetration of Consolidants Using Fluorescent Labelling’. Paper
presented at the CCI-Symposium 2011:
Adhesives and Consolidants for Conservation - Research and Applications,
Ottawa. Available at: http://www.cci-icc.
gc.ca/symposium/2011/Paper%2017%20
-%20Soppa%20et%20al.%20-%20English.
pdf.
3 Original technique and the conservation
are described in detail in: Lucker, T. 2009.
‘Decken- und Architravtapeten im
Mythologischen Saal’. In Das Neue Museum Berlin - Konservieren, Restaurieren,
Weiterbauen im Welterbe, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin et al. (ed.) 220-2. Leipzig: E.
A. Seemann.
4 The 2007 conservation campaign was carried out by Restaurierung am Oberbaum,
Berlin.
5 Klucel® MF, Hercules Inc., Aqualon.
6 Handmade, acid-free and non-ageing,
90g/sqm paper, 15% wheat starch paste to
glue paper layers together. Paint:
ultramarine pasted with water, then
mixed with 2% solution of bone glue.
7 Japanese tissue, 11 g/m2, Deffner &
Johann.
Authors
Tilly Laaser
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart, Am Weissenhof 1, 70191
Stuttgart, Germany
t.laaser@abk-stuttgart.de
Fig. 3: Penetration behaviour of hydroxy propyl cellulose
(Klucel® MF) in a test wallpaper: samples photographed
with filter set adapted to FITC, hydroxy propyl cellulose
appears green while the sample itself is black, small
sections in visible light on the left for orientation. Results
of tested treatments A-D (see Table 1) are described in the
text.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Karolina Soppa
Hochschule der Künste Bern, Konservierung und Restaurierung, Fellerstrasse 11,
3027 Bern, Switzerland
karolina.soppa@hkb.bfh.ch
Christoph Krekel
Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden
Künste Stuttgart, Am Weissenhof 1, 70191
Stuttgart, Germany
90
Poster Presentations
ICOM-CC Graphic Document
Working Group – Interim Meeting
Austrian National Library, Vienna
17 – 19 April 2013
Ethical Considerations Concerning the Conservation and Restoration
of a Herbarium from the 19th Century
Magdalena Grenda
Warsaw Rising Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Fig. 1: Page 15 before treatment.
Introduction
After two years of efforts to get inancial support,
the Reverend Krzysztof Kluk Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec ordered the conservation
of a herbarium from their collection. The artifact’s history and origin were little known, and
the author of the herbarium was anonymous.
The curator wanted to submit the item for historical botanist research but was afraid of making it
accessible for anybody due to its very poor condition. There was a clue for dating hidden in the
paper: a watermark with the date 1816. The style
of the Linnaean system for taxonomy assignment
used in the herbarium suggested it was created
before 1850 1. Nevertheless, these were only mere
pieces of information concerning the history of
the artifact and the owner was interested in further research. The conservation treatment was
intended to enable safe handling and submission
of the item for future examination.
The sheets are sewn on four rigid cords, bound
in cardboard binding with a woodblock printed
paper. On every page, 4 to 10 specimens, are located irregularly, most of them have short handwritten descriptions. Particular specimens have
longer speciications containing Polish and Latin
names, taxonomy assignment and some notes on
usage, some of which are very colorful. The specimens are attached to the paper using narrow
strips of white laid paper. The larger leaves and
petals were pasted to the paper support.
The herbarium was seriously damaged prior
to conservation treatment. Severe damages were
found on almost all the elements of the item:
only half of the front cover remained; the construction of the whole block was dismantled;
the covers’ cardboard was spongy and stratiied
and there were a lot of losses in the outer layers
of the paper. The remains of woodblock printed
paper showed heavy discoloration and the pattern was hardly visible. The spine lost its proper
shape. The paper sheets were torn at the edges,
were creased and spongy. There were a lot of
brown stains in the paper, mostly repeating the
shape of the plants, which is probably the effect
of poisoning the plants done in order to repel
pests.
However bad the condition of the paper part
of the item, the most serious problem concerned
the specimens. The majority of plants had fallen
off their places and moved to the area of the
spine which caused damages to brittle plants.
The damages were of different extent, from little
cracks to severe breakages or even crushing. Nevertheless, still a lot of specimens remained in
one piece, yet out of the intended place (Fig. 1).
The plants were brittle, often incomplete,
partially crumbled and a lot of specimens swung
when attached at one point to the sheet.
Condition of the item
Issues taken into consideration and
conservation planning
The herbarium has the form of an album and is a
compilation of various types of plant specimens,
arranged on large sheets of a greenish laid paper.
Any handling was actually risky and might cause
further damages or loss of plant material. The
main goal of the conservation of such an item
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
93
was basically to reinforce the structure of the
artifact to prevent it from further deterioration
and mechanical damages.
The priority of the owner was to bring the
item to a condition that would enable scientiic
research, and identify the origin and the history
of the herbarium. Moreover, the item was supposed to be exhibited. This meant that all the
loose material can no longer stay between the
sheets of paper and it was necessary to ind a
solution for the more than half of the specimens
loosely laying on the pages.
What did this mean for conservation? It soon
turned out that the professional knowledge of
paper conservation is not suficient to complete
a treatment that would meet the owner’s expectations. The Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec doesn’t employ a paper conservator. All
the processes should be completed during this
particular treatment. The conservation studio
was remote from the Museum’s location and
there was no possibility of frequent consultation
meetings. From the conservator’s perspective
it was a matter of scientiic responsibility. The
questions to face irst were: shall the conservator
match the loose plants to a particular place in
the herbarium using a botanic encyclopedia and
intuition or should he put all the loose material
in a buffered envelope and send it back to the
owner? What if he confuses the plants? What if
he attaches them and makes it dificult to work
with for a botanist researcher who will ind out
that somebody made some terrible mistake? Will
the researcher then be able to safely remove the
specimen from the sheet and attach it onto the
Fig. 2: Plant fragments from page 5 prepared for matching.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
right sheet without any damage to the specimen
and the whole item?
The only method to solve the problem of the
loose plant material was close cooperation between the conservator and an ethnobotanist,
notably since there were a lot of specimens belonging to the same taxonomic family and several plants were apparently not lying on “their”
sheets but were dislocated in the distance of a
few pages. Specialist’s advice seemed to be more
than necessary.
Treatment
Before the conservation treatment the herbarium was carefully documented, including pageby-page photographing which proved to be an
extremely helpful tool from the very beginning.
The binding and the book block were disassembled. Dismantling revealed fragments of the
woodblock printed paper that were not discolored, which enabled the later reconstruction.
Originally there were no numbers on the pages,
so the conservator made the pagination. After
slitting the sewing, each page was treated as follows: the loose plants and plant particles were
taken out from the area of spine, the whole loose
plants and possibly identiiable plant fragments
were put into envelopes numbered after the
number page on which they were found. Dirt,
plant crumbles and insect remains were removed
and the sheet was separated from the block.
Pages were dry cleaned. Brittleness of plant
specimens excluded the possibility of extensive
wet processes like washing, so only local wet
treatment of the paper was considered when applicable. The brown stains on the paper support
were not planned to be removed as this might
have been damage the plants. Furthermore, the
stains were considered an identifying factor,
helpful in matching some of the loose plants or
identifying the lost material. The sheets were
deacidiied from the back with Bookkeeper
Spray which is a surface deacidifying agent and
provides non-aqueous deacidiication. This was
considered the safest solution both for the paper
and plants as there are no clear guidelines for
the deacidiication of plant material. The pH rose
from 5-6.30 before to 6.5-8 after conservation.
Paper support needed strengthening which
was provided by applying 2% methyl cellulose solution from the back of the sheet. After application the sheet was turned upside down and any
excess methylcellulose on the plants was gently
94
ported with light Japanese tissue, died greenish
matching the colour of the paper support (Fig.
3, 4). If the large leaves or petals were detaching
from the sheet, they were pasted with a spot of
rice starch paste onto the sheet.
The block of the album was resewn. The binding and the woodblock printed paper were reconstructed.
The herbarium was again documented after
the treatment, page by page.
Conclusions
Fig. 3: Specimen mounting supported with dyed Japanese tissue.
removed with damp cotton swab. Then the paper
tears were mended and the paper losses were
inilled.
The lexibility of plants changed dramatically
due to the change of humidity and was expected
to get low again during drying under pressure.
The sheets were then pressed under a soft layer
of felt, which gave good results for most of the
sheets. The ones for which this method didn’t
work well were put in the press, between several
layers of Whatman blotting paper sheets, after
humidiication in Gore-Tex®.
After lattening the sheets it was possible to
start the process of matching. The irst attempt
was to match on a particular page the plants
that used to lie on its surface in the area of the
spine. If some plant didn’t match any description
or trace of plant on the page, the conservator
searched for the right place on the other sheets.
All the matches and the fragments that were
dificult to identify were photographed (Fig. 2).
The matching process was reviewed with ethnobotany professor Lukasz Luczaj from University
of Rzeszów. This cooperation made it possible
to match about 90% of specimens. The rest was
uncertain due to the lack of description or the
condition of the specimen remains.
The specimens that were not identiied and/
or remained loose were put together in the buffered paper envelope and treated as a separate
attachment to the item.
The plants were mounted onto the paper
using the original white paper strips and rice
starch paste. If the paper strips were not suficient for that purpose, the attachment was sup-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
The conservation of the Museum of Agriculture’s
herbarium was a challenging and demanding
task. It required careful observation all the time
and reevaluation of methods commonly used in
paper conservation. During the treatment both
conservator and ethnobotanist were seeking for
the most satisfying solution that is safe for the
plant material and at the same time enables
handling and exhibiting the item. In addition
the herbarium was intended to be a subject of
further scientiic research. The idea to return
the plants to their places seemed to be the best
Fig. 4: Page 15 after treatment.
95
one. It required a lot of examination, deciphering original descriptions that were not free from
mistake and occasionally very puzzling. All resulted in a very careful matching of the plants to
the handwritten text or to the identiiable traces
on the paper.
A good photographic documentation is very
important, which in these kinds of treatment
may be crucial, especially if the conservator is
consulting his work with other specialists and
uses email as the fastest way to exchange the
information. Good, extensive documentation
also allows the evaluation of all stages of conservation treatment in terms of later botanist
research. Some specimens were wrongly assigned
by the author of the herbarium. This may be
proven only by the pictures made before conservation.
The interdisciplinary character of conservation may be very satisfying if you ind a good
specialist that you cooperate with. This kind of
cooperation may also help to overcome technical problems which appeared in this case (issues
concerning the remoteness from the owner and
impossibility of frequent precise consultation).
This artifact proved to be in need of extensive
intervention. Attempts to evade plant matching
would result in making the artifact almost a useless sample instead of a historical source for botanists. Of course, it would make it less attractive
for the exhibition purposes, too.
Herbaria are speciic items and there is not
much research on the inluence of conservation
treatment methods to plant material. It would be
desirable to examine the mutual inluence of different features of paper and plant materials and
the effects of conservation on specimens 2.
The treatment was fascinating and yet provoked questions, such as the legal extent and
unusal practice and the large inluence of the
conservator on treatment decisions.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank professor Lukasz
Luczaj for his support during puzzle
matching of plant specimens.
Notes
1 Consultation with prof. Piotr Köhler
from the Botany Institute, Cracow
2 The literature on managing the herbaria covers mostly the problems of
preservation and pest management, e.g.
Herbarium Handbook by D. Bridson
and L. Forman, 2010, Kew Publishing, or
“The effects of freezing and freeze-drying on natural history specimens” by ML.
Florian, Collection Forum, vol. 6, no. 2,
1990. There rather few articles concerning conservation methods.
Author:
Magdalena Grenda
Warsaw Rising Museum,
ul. Grzybowska 79 00-844 Warsaw Poland,
grenda.magdalena.gmail.com
96
Conservation of a Book of Hours from Mafra’s National Palace collection:
Between Technique and Ethics
Rita Araújo | Conceição Casanova | Maria João Melo | Ana Lemos |
Vânia S. F. Muralha | Marcello Picollo
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Conservation-Restauration Department,
Institute of Medieval Studies, VICARTE, New University, Lisbon, Portugal
IICT, Lisbon, Portugal
Institute of Applied Physics “Nello Carrara”, National Research Council, Florence, Italy
the interventions suffered throughout its existence.
An interdisciplinary team studied the historic
context of this prayer book, its techniques and
material composition, its conservation condition, and decided the curative conservation approach (Araújo, 2012). In this article we intend
to describe all the steps taken and explain the
decision making, taking into account conservation ethics.
Identiication
Fig. 1: Manuscript of the cofre no. 24, dated ca. 1420 and ca. 1470, in use
in Autun the Funeral Procession. Image © PNF
Introduction
One of the characteristics of the Books of ours
produced in Europe in the 15th century is the
richness of the materials used in the decoration
of the devotional images, representing the social
and economic power of its owner and transforming them into luxury objects. This was one
reason why these books became “best-sellers”,
carefully donated from generation to generation.
The core point of this article is the presentation
of the ethical approach for the conservation of a
French Book of Hours dating from the early 15th
century, now stored in the Library of the 18th
century Mafra National Palace (Lisbon, Portugal),
based on the study and comprehension of the
techniques and materials used. In fact, for the
full appreciation and understanding of the work
involved in the construction of the Book of ours
and the development of a conservation strategy,
it is crucial to know which materials were used,
determine their conservation status, and attest
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
A brief look at the Book of Hours, cofre no. 24
Figure 1: The original codex’s body dated from
ca. 1420 and three leaves were added later, in the
second half of the 15th century. This manuscript,
in ‘Use of Autun’, measures 197 mm x 135 mm
x 50 mm and consists of 181 parchment leaves,
with 14 lines of text, written in Latin and French.
Among those, there are 14 leaves with illuminations, on a text of three, four, or ive lines.
The Books of ours of Mafra Library has French
origins and different characteristics, both in
technique and building of colors. The manuscript of cofre no. 24 is, from a material point of
view, the most luxurious and decorative in the
collection. However, it is also the most deteriorated one. The bookbinding is a full calf brown
leather, gold decorated on the spine with the
inscription: Heures de Votes (Hours of Votes). The
bookbinding was probably produced later in Portugal, since its features and decorative materials
are typical of the late 18th / early 19th centuries.
Our analysis aimed to identify the materials,
the color production techniques and develop a
palette, an element that may allow the characterization of a particular workshop or artist. The
study was focused on two colors, pink and blue,
that according to a study carried out earlier (Villela-Petit, 2007) were two pigments (Brazilwood
lake and lapis lazuli), mainly used by several Pari-
97
Fig. 2: Manuscript of the cofre no. 24: Deformation in the
text block caused by the binding.
sian illuminators of the 15th century. This manuscript, kept inside a strongbox in the Library of
the Mafra National Palace, characterized by low
and stable temperature levels, is now in reasonable conservation conditions.
The problem
We came across a codex that had suffered several
interventions at the level of bookbinding, which
was replaced in late 18th early 19th centuries,
contributing to the overall deterioration of the
manuscript (Figure 2). The deteriorated bookbinding, that is accompanying the manuscript,
no longer meets its essential goal, enabling the
safe and secure manuscript’s handling. We took
into account two hypotheses when considering
the need to rebind the codex: 1 recovering the
18th/19th century binding; 2 making a new binding following the original 15th century style.
It seemed more appropriate to choose the irst
Fig. 3: The body of the book is currently composed by 23 sections, from
which five presented modifications. In section II, three original leaves
were removed, resulting in discontinuity of text.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
option, since there was no evidence of an early
bookbinding. Proper conservation of the current
bookbinding would stabilize the movement of
the parchment sheets and therefore it is the irst
step for the stabilization of the pictorial layers.
In sections V, XV, and XX one folium was removed and replaced, probably in the second half
of the 15th century, by two thicker parchments,
with illuminations. In the case of the irst two
the illuminations were assembled in a puzzle
like fashion. Finally, in the case of section XXIII,
it presented a ‘collage’ of four leaves along the
hinge area. The changes led to an imbalance of
the whole and contributed to the deformation
of the body of the book and degradation of the
binding structure, affecting the entire codex.
However, sections III, VII and XVIII, which were
originally designed for the absence of a folium,
also contributed to this disparity. Regarding the
text block, two hypotheses were discussed by the
team and with the Mafra curators: 1 insertion of
a sheet of parchment on the all signatures that
presented unevenness; 2 inclusion of only three
sheets of parchment on section II, since this was
the only truncated section. The last option was
chosen, respecting the original historical evidence
and the principle of minimum intervention.
Conservation condition
Deterioration was observed on the leather cover,
namely surface soil, general wear, and missing
areas of card and leather, especially in the spine
and board corners, some caused by insects. The
tight binding, related to the production period,
was affected by incorrect handling causing stress
on the spine and breaking the sewing. This
meant that the manuscript was dismantled, with
several loose signatures.
In general, the support of parchment seems
stable under visual damage assessment (using
IDAP parameters; IDAP, 2008), but shows surface dirt and residues of animal glue, especially
along the bifolia hinge area. Also observed were
some gaps, caused by the sewing tension, and, in
smaller amounts, tears in the fore edge of leaves.
While in acceptable condition, the text showed
areas of ink fading and areas of loose pigment
due to poor adhesion of the different pictorial
layers to the support.
This condition is most evident in green, blue
and white colors, probably due to the grain size
of these pigments or low amount of binder. However, the hygroscopicity of parchment leads to its
98
Fig. 4: Pigments
movement and consequently to these kind of pathologies. In the manuscript we can also observe
the presence of abundant gold and, in some
leaves, the presence of silver, widely applied in
the backgrounds of the illuminations. The irst,
applied as gold leaf, is damaged but it is the
silver that presents extensive degradation and
darkening due to its oxidation, totally distorting
the original appearance of the whole decorated
leaves.
Results
Analysis of materials and techniques
A systematic analysis of the illuminations was
made to better understand the pictorial surface,
to gather information about the color construction techniques in illuminated leaves, and to
check for the presence of some surface material such as varnish. In addition to macro and
micro photographic records and observation
under a binocular microscope, we used in situ
non-destructive techniques, such as the EnergyDispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy,
μ-Raman Spectroscopy, Fiber Optic Relectance
Spectroscopy and, when necessary, μ-Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. For the latter,
samples were collected in micro-selected areas,
under a microscope, completely invisible to the
naked eye.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
In general, the materials and techniques used
were in agreement with what we know from
15th century’s illuminated manuscripts (Bacci
et al., 2009; Picollo et al., 2011). We can also
add that it is a luxurious palette with beautiful, precious and lasting colors (Melo et al.,
2012a). To the pigments (Figure 4) already used
in medieval illuminated manuscripts of the
12th and 13th centuries two new dyes were
added, Brazilwood lake (Vitorino, 2012) and
gamboge. Also two yellow synthetic pigments
were added, lead-tin yellow (type I) (Pb2SnO4)
and gold mosaics (SnS2) plus a basic copper sulfate, green, that we suggest to be a brochantite
(Cu4SO4 (OH)), or a mixture thereof with langite
(CuSO4.3Cu(OH)2.2H2O).
The different colors are temperate with vegetable binder (polysaccharide such as arabic gum),
protein (e.g., egg white or parchment glue) or a
mixture of both, which is consistent with the
materials and methods described in the treatises
(Melo et al., 2012b).
In general, we can say that the colors analyzed
are the original artist’s since, apart the leaves
added later in the 15th century, no other alteration or restoration signs were observed. This fact
reinforces the proposal for intervention of the
manuscript that focused only on general cleaning and rebinding.
99
Treatment
The aim of the treatment was to preserve and stabilize, physically and chemically, the text block
and binding, without neglecting the material
integrity of the object and its meaning, while
maintaining cultural evidence with a spiritual
dimension. According to the principle of minimum intervention and respecting the principle
of maximum retrievability, stable materials and
methods were used which, in addition, would
not impede future treatments.
A complete photographic survey was conducted for further information and in order to register the remedial conservation process, allowing
comparisons between the state before and after
the intervention. The treatment consisted of the
different phases described below.
The irst step was cleaning general dirt that
was mainly concentrated along the leaves hinge
by mechanical means, using soft brushes, smoke
sponge and spatulas.
Afterwards, as the glue layer present along
the leaves hinge was too thick and the use of
mechanical means to remove it could contribute
to the increase of gaps and tears, we decided to
remove dirt with a swab dipped in a solution of
50% H2O/50% CH3CH2OH, softening the glue
and allowing its removal, without causing further damage in the leaves.
Subsequently, the bifolia and the deteriorated
folium hinges were strengthened. In the irst
case, to strengthen the outer bifolia, a strip of
parchment with a thickness identical to the
original one was pasted with wheat starch paste.
Simultaneously, in the inner bifolia, a strip of
synthetic collagen was pasted to ensure its resistance during the sewing.
Only large missing areas were illed. The replacement of the three truncated leaves was
made with the inclusion of three new parchment sheets with similar characteristics of the
original ones but in a perfectly recognizable way,
respecting the authenticity of the work and evidences of its individual history.
After mechanical cleaning, the ly-leafs and
paste-down papers were subject to a deionizedwater bath. At room temperature there were no
satisfactory results, since the paper exhibited impermeable zones, so the temperature was gradually increased (not exceeding 40ºC). Afterwards,
an increase in whiteness was observed during
deacidiication in a calcium hydroxide bath to
create an alkaline reserve. The strengthening
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
of these papers with Japanese paper and wheat
starch paste was then made, allowing further
sewing and pasting-down.
Throughout the treatment, the bifolia were
kept under controlled weight in order to maintain the shape in which they would be sewn. On
the other hand, leaves with creases and without
substantial illuminations were subjected to an
ultrasonic humidiication and were left in the
press, with moderate weight, cushioned with
blotters.
After consolidating the bookbinding’s leather
with Klucel G ® solution, 2% -CH2CH(OH)CH3
/98% CH3CH2OH, it was cleaned with a bistoury
and spatulas.
The remedial conservation measures achieved
a major goal: avoiding the increase in size of the
manuscript spine. The rebinding phase, already
in process, requires leaving the necessary space
along the joint for full protection of the text
block.
Conclusion
Throughout the treatment of the text block the
main concern was interfering as little as possible
with historical evidence, while ensuring the
physical and chemical stability of the whole, and
the reversibility of the materials and techniques
applied. During rebinding we will follow a similar philosophy in terms of criteria and conservation aims.
The treatment required complex decisions covering different areas of knowledge such as history of ownership, past and present conservation
and restoration techniques, as well as authenticity and work ethics issues.
In short, this was a rich and representative
case study of what is possible to ind in the world
of graphic documents, covering a vast range of
materials (from paper, to skins, and rich illuminations) and different historical periods (15th
century text versus an 18th/19th century binding), providing interesting challenges in terms of
decision making.
Acknowledgments
We thank the Mafra National Palace for
their contribution to this project. Dr.
Marcello Picollo thanks the Foundation
FCT-MCTES for its financial support.
100
Notes
1 Brazilwood lake, lapis lazuli
(Na8(Al6Si6O24) Sn), vermilion (HgS), minium (Pb3O4) orpiment (As2S3), gamboge,
lead-tin yellow type I (Pb2SnO4), mosaic
gold (SnS2), indigo, azurite (2CuCO3.Cu
(OH2)), malachite (CuCO3.Cu (OH)2) basic
copper sulphate (Cu4SO4(OH)6·2H2O),
white lead (2PbCO3.Pb (OH)2) and carbon
black (C).
Villela-Petit, I. 2007. “Palettes comparées:
Quelques réflexions sur les pigments
employés par les enlumineurs parisiens
au début du XVe siècle”. In Quand la
peinture était dans les livres, Mélanges
en l’honneur de François Avril, s.l: Bibliothèque National de France, pp. 383.
Vitorino, T. 2012. “A Closer Look at Brazilwood and its Lake Pigments”, Master dissertation. Departamento de Conservação
e Restauro, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
References
Araújo, A. 2012. “Os Livros de Horas (séc.
XV) na colecção do Palácio Nacional de
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Bacci, M., Boselli, L., Picollo, M., Radicati,
B. 2009. “UV, VIS, NIR Fibre Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS)”. In Practical
handbook on diagnosis of paintings on
movable support, Editors D. Pinna, , M.
Galeotti, R. Mazzeo, European Project
ARTECH, Centro Di, Firenze, pp. 197.
IDAP, 2008. “Improved Damage Assessment of Parchment”. Assessment, data
collection and sharing of knowledge
2007, European Commission, DirectorateGeneral for Research. Final report. http://
www.idap-parchment.dk./
Melo, M., Lemos, A., Araújo, A., Muralha,
V. S. F. 2012a. “O que nos dizem os materiais da cor sobre os livros de horas do
Palácio Nacional de Mafra?”. In Catálogo
dos Livros de Horas do Palácio Nacional
de Mafra, Lisbon: Ed. Instituto de Estudos
Medievais da FCSH-UNL/National Palace
of Mafra.
Melo, M., Otero, V., Vitorino, T., Araújo, R.,
Muralha, V. S. F., Lemos, A. and Picollo, M.
2012b. “Three Books of Hours from the
15th century: a multi-analytical and interdisciplinary approach”, Analyst. (subject)
Authors
Rita Araújoa,b | Conceição Casanovab,c,* |
Maria João Meloa,b | Ana Lemosd | Vânia
S. F. Muralhae | Marcello Picollof
REQUIMTE, CQFB, Departamento de
Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
2829-516 Monte da Caparica, Portugal,
a.araujo@campus.fct.unl.pt
a
Departamento de Conservação e Restauro, idem, a1318@fct.unl.pt
b
c
IICT (Instituto de Investigação Científica
Tropical), 1300-344 Lisbon, Portugal, ccasanova@iict.pt
Instituto de Estudos Medievais, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas,
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1069-061
Lisbon, Portugal, ana.lemos.lfcl@gmail.
com
d
e
Research Unit VICARTE: Vidro e Cerâmica para as Artes, Faculdade de Ciências e
Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
2829-516 Monte da Caparica, Portugal,
solange@fct.unl.pt
f
Institute of Applied Physics “Nello
Carrara”, National Research Council,
50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy,
m.picollo@ifac.cnr.it
Picollo, M., Aldrovandi, A., Migliori, A.,
Giacomelli, S., Scudieri, M. 2011. “Noninvasive XRF and UV-Vis-NIR reflectance
spectroscopic analysis of materials used
by Beato Angelico in the Manuscript
Graduale n. 558”, Revista de Historia da
Arte, serie W, 1, pp. 219.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
101
The Conservation and Digitization of Jain Manuscripts at the
Victoria and Albert Museum
Michael Wheeler | Nicholas Barnard | Karine Bovagnet | Richard Mulholland
Victoria & Albert Museum, Londen, UK; Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria
Fig. 1
Introduction
The Victoria and Albert Museum has a collection
of Svetambara Jain manuscript pages from western India, including numerous examples dating
from the mid 15th to early 16th centuries, which
form a core part of the V&A’s collection of early
paintings from the Indian sub-continent.
Many of the manuscript pages in the V&A collection are richly illustrated, having been acquired as works of art. Among these is a nearly
complete Uttaradhyayanasutra manuscript of the
mid 15th century (Figure 1). This relatively early
example contains very ine illustrations. The Uttaradhyayanasutra instructs Jain monks how to
behave and expounds certain Jain ideas, but also
contains many parables and explanatory stories.
The Kalpasutra, of which the V&A has one almost
complete copy and several pages from dispersed
manuscripts, all dating from the 15th and 16th
centuries, is the most commonly illustrated text
(Figure 2). It gives a history of the 24 Jain saviours
and later teachers as well as rules for monks
in the rainy season, when the text is recited
and worshipped at the Paryushan festival. Both
texts form part of the canon of the Svetambara
sect. Members of the laity commissioned cop-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
ies of manuscripts, which were given to temple
libraries and thus preserved. The donors gained
religious merit from this activity. By the late 15th
century expensive colours such as gold and ultramarine blue had become prevalent.
The Jain religion dates back at least 2,500 years
and is fundamentally concerned with liberation
of the soul from an endless cycle of birth, life,
death and rebirth by the elimination of karma.
All living beings are believed to have souls and
partly in order to avoid accumulating harmful
karma it is considered very important to avoid
causing them injury or hardship. Non-violence
to all beings is therefore the central and most
recognised principle of Jainism and accordingly
Jains are strictly vegetarian.
Digitization and Conservation
The decision to conserve and digitize these
manuscripts in 2010 was prompted by the proposal to redisplay a selection of Jain works of
art in conjunction with the JAINpedia website
(http://beta.jainpedia.org/ ) project digitizing Jain
manuscripts in UK collections. The aim of this
initiative was to make these delicate artefacts
accessible for the public via the JAINpedia and
102
pages, which would easily have torn, decorative
marks continued to be painted on the pages in
the positions where holes would have been.
The fragility of the folios is largely a result of the
extensive use of green verdigris (copper acetate)
as a pigment. The copper degradation is evident
on most of the illustrated folios, but is also observed on many of the text only pages (Figure 3).
In both cases, acid hydrolysis and accelerated oxidation caused by the presence of copper acetate
has resulted in both discolouration of the green
pigment to a dull brown, and extensive discolouration, embrittlement and even disintegration of
the paper substrate in areas where the pigment
was applied.
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
V&A websites and to conserve and mount the
pages in order to allow them to be safely handled
by scholars and researchers and displayed in the
Nehru Gallery of Indian art, where they are periodically changed. The conservation work was
made possible by generous contributions from
the Institute of Jainology and the V&A Jain Art
Fund.
The earliest Jain illuminated manuscripts were
written and painted on prepared palm-leaves,
bound with cords, and the folios were encased in
decorated wooden covers.
Ahmedabad and Patan in Gujarat were major
centres of Jain manuscript production. From the
12th century, the support changed progressively
after the introduction of paper into western
India from Iran, but the format of the palm-leaf
manuscripts continued to be relected to some
extent in the long, rather narrow shape of the
pages of paper manuscripts. The manuscripts
are read by turning the pages about the horizontal axis, unlike Islamic and European books.
Although the practice of piercing palm leaves
for the binding cords was abandoned with paper
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
A suitable conservation treatment for retarding
such corrosion must address both the hydrolytic
and oxidative processes at the same time. Studies have demonstrated that a combination of the
complexing agent calcium phytate and an aqueous solution of calcium hydrogencarbonate are
most effective in retarding corrosion (Potthast
et al, 2008.). However, while this method may be
considered appropriate for the treatment of iron
and copper corrosion on Western manuscripts,
such an interventive treatment is rarely, if ever,
possible for richly painted Indian manuscripts
on laminated papers.
The similarity of the verdigris damage to that
caused by some iron gall inks lead the authors to
consider the use of gelatine (isinglas) as an adhesive. However as Jainism speciically prohibits the
use of animal products, it was necessary to ind
a synthetic alternative which would act as an
adhesive. Japanese Tengujo tissue and thin Minogami papers were coated with a 2 % solution
of methyl cellulose adhesive brushed on a Mylar,
the Japanese paper applied on it and brushed
through a Hollitex with a Nadebake. After drying, this coated tissue was then reactivated with
a minimal amount of moisture and then applied
to the copper damaged areas, minimising the
amount of moisture introduced to the paper during repair. Wherever possible the tissue was cut
larger than the area of damage and applied to
the verso, therefore only adhered to areas of relatively strong paper. Some old repairs were partly
obscuring the text. The main criterium to decide
to remove them or not was dictated by the need
to restore the legibility of the text. Conventional
103
Captions
Fig. 1: Folio from an Uttaradhyayanasutra
manuscript: King SreNika and the ascetic, showing the inlay method
Opaque watercolour on paper; Cambay,
Gujarat, about 1460; © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Fig. 2: Folio from a Kalpasutra manuscript:
Neminatha’s birth (left) and his renunciation to become a monk on seeing the
frightened animals about to be sacrificed
for his wedding feast (right
Opaque watercolour on paper
Gujarat, India, early 16th century
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Fig. 4
Japanese paper and wheat starch paste were used
to reinforce the most extensive insect damage
and losses. The folios were then inlaid into a
toned, hand-made paper of a similar thickness
and colour to the paper of the manuscript to allow a safe and easy handling.
The approach to both conservation and mounting of the manuscripts were decided after discussions with the curator of the Asian collection at
the V&A , with a careful consideration of the importance of these early texts to followers of Jainism and a shared awareness of the risks posed to
the original material by handling.
Fig. 3: Folio from an Uttaradhyayanasutra
manuscript: the story of king ISukara,
detail showing verdigris damage
Opaque watercolour on paper
Cambay, Gujarat, about 1460
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Fig. 4: Folios from an Uttaradhyayanasutra
manuscript showing the mounting and
storage methods used Opaque watercolour on paper
Cambay, Gujarat, about 1460
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
References
Potthast, A., Henniges, U., and Banik,
G. Iron gall ink-induced corrosion of
cellulose: aging, degradation and stabilization. Part 1: model paper studies, Cellulose, Vol.15, No. 6, Dec. 2008, pp. 849-859
Authors
Historically, the display of the Indian pictorial
collection at the V&A has been centred around
individual paintings rather than entire manuscripts, and so it seemed logical to inlay the folios in an appropriate paper, and mount them in
standard sized window mounts. In order to save
much-needed storage space and also for aesthetic
reasons, it was decided to mount three folios in
each mount, which has the additional beneit of
helping the viewer to see that the folios belong
to larger manuscripts. With this method, a manuscript can be viewed in its original sequence,
while at the same time being protected from
unnecessary handling that could lead to further
damage and loss to the already deteriorated folios. The mounted manuscripts are then stored
in Solander boxes in the Indian Study Room at
the V&A and can now be used for both periodic
display in the Nehru gallery of Indian art at the
Museum, and for close study by scholars (Figure 4).
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Michael Wheeler
is a Freelance Conservator and specialist
in the conservation of Indian art. He was
formerly Senior Paper Conservator at the
V&A. mikewathome2012@yahoo.com
Nicholas Barnard
is Curator, South and South-East Asia,
Asian Department, Victoria and Albert
Museum, South Kensington, London SW7
2RL, U.K.
n.barnard@vam.ac.uk
Karine Bovagnet
is Senior Paper Conservator at the Albertina Museum: Albertinaplatz 1 1010
Vienna, Austria
k.bovagnet@albertina.at
Richard Mulholland
is Paper Conservator at the V&A: Paper,
Books and Paintings Conservation,
Conservation Department, Victoria and
Albert Museum, South Kensington, London SW7 2RL, U.K.;
r.mulholland@vam.ac.uk
104
The Microlora Inhabiting Leonardo da Vinci’s Self Portrait:
a Fungal Role in Foxing Spots
Guadalupe Piñar | Katja Sterflinger | Flavia Pinzari
Department of Biotechnology, Vienna Institute of Bio Technology (VIBT)
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
ICRCPAL-Istituto Centrale per il Restauro e la Conservazione del Patrimonio Archivistico e Librario,
Laboratorio di Biologia, Rome, Italy
Introduction
Leonardo da Vinci’s famous self portrait is made
in red chalk on paper. It is housed at the Royal
Library in Turin, Italy. The drawing is strongly
affected by foxing spots. The damage presumably
occurred between 1890 and 1950. The portrait
has been recently brought to ICRCPAL (Rome) for
scientiic analyses.
According to Corte et al. (2003) foxing is a
modiication of paper occurring in the form of
brown, brown-reddish or yellowish spots, the origin of which has not yet been clearly explained.
In fact, despite the extensive research that has
been done in this ield, no conclusive results exist to the cause of foxing. There are two different
theories concerning its development: the biotic
theory, according to which the stains are the
result of the activity of micro-organisms (Choi
2007, and references therein) and the abiotic
theory, entailing chemical phenomena such as
oxidizing and/or heavy metals deposits (Cain and
Miller 1982). In particular, the deterioration of
paper has been linked to the presence of metals
in the pulp, and paper yellowing/browning is
supposed to be caused by cellulose oxidation catalysed by metals. There is moreover a quite clear
relationship between the occurrence of these
modiications and environmental conditions
(Gallo and Pasquariello 1989).
Recent investigations have studied the role of
fungi in foxing by light and electron microscopy
(Florian and Manning 2000). These studies found
that in some cases the initial cause of foxing was
a group of spores of conidia that had been deposited on the surface of the paper prior to printing
and had germinated in situ during the slow drying of the paper.
Arai et al. (1990) proposed the following process for the formation of foxing: absolute tonophilic fungi conidia and or ascospores attach to
paper, germinate and grow their hyphae. The
hyphae form colonies around dust particles.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
These fungi metabolize mainly malic acid, cellooligosaccharides and aminobutyric acid in the
colonies. These components react chemically
together on the materials at Aw 0.80 and 20-35°C
forming brown products and oxidative reactions
on paper that result in localised foxing spots.
From old books and manuscripts showing the
characteristic foxing discoloration more than 60
fungus cultures were identiied by ordinary light
microscopy and the most common encountered
species are Eurotium, Aspergillus and Penicillium
species.
The brown-rusty spots that deface Leonardo
da Vinci’s portrait have all the characteristics
of foxing, and some of them show a blue-yellow
luorescence that is also typical of both biological and chemical foxing (Choi 2007).
The knowledge of the nature of the stains is
a question of great concern because future conservation treatments and actions towards the
famous object would better be based on scientiic
data. Furthermore, the delicate object has been
poorly studied from the “biological” point of
view: only a couple of swab sampling undergoing
culture-dependent techniques was performed between 1960 and 2000, and no signiicant results
were obtained at that time.
With the aim to address the problem and assess the current microbiological risk of the drawing, we performed a study on Leonardo da Vinci’s
self portrait based on non-invasive sampling
using diverse membrane ilters and swabs, and a
combination of SEM-EDS imaging culturing and
molecular techniques.
Methods
Sampling
One of the main problems encountered in the
study of Leonardo da Vinci’s self portrait was
the execution of the sampling. Clearly no micro
fragments could be removed since this action
may have caused further damage to the object or
105
nm thicknesses. Reference elemental intensities
acquired from pure compounds (standards) are
commonly used to calibrate SEM-EDX systems. In
the case study presented here, conventional ZAF
correction integrated into the Oxford INCA 250
microanalysis package was applied to the spectrum dataset (Oxford Instruments).
Fig. 1
a loss of information for future research. Therefore only totally non-invasive techniques were
adopted. Different types of swabs and adhesive
tapes were employed in sampling fungal or bacterial elements from paper (Figure 1). Wooden
cotton sterile swabs were used to collect biological particles from the surface of the drawing.
Porous membranes of different materials (nylon,
polycarbonate or cellulose nitrate) with a natural
electrostatic charge were also used to collect fungal aerial hyphae, conidiophora or fruiting structures, together with a few damaged ibres from
the substrata. These objects, that can be valuable
in diagnostic phases, cling to the charged surface
of membranes and can be gently pulled from the
mat. Both membranes and swabs can be used for
direct observation with an electronic scanning
microscope or used to perform molecular analysis.
SEM-EDX technique
Single ibres dust and surface material recovered
with membranes or sampled with cotton swabs
were analysed using a variable pressure SEM
instrument (EVO50, Carl-Zeiss Electron Microscopy Group) itted with a detector for electron
backscattered diffraction (BSD). Only following
an initial observation of the samples using SEM
in VP mode at 20 kV were some of the samples
coated in gold (using a Baltec Sputter Coater) and
then subjected to further analysis in high vacuum (HV) mode. Sputtering was performed under
an Argon gas low at a working distance of 50
mm at 0.05 mbar, and a current of 40 mA for 60
seconds, so as to create a ilm of gold of about 15
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Molecular analysis
Porous membranes and cotton swabs were directly used for DNA extraction using the Fast DNA
SPIN kit for soil (Bio 101) with modiications.
DNA crude extracts were further used for PCRDGGE ingerprint analysis of the bacterial 16S
rDNA (Schabereiter-Gurtner et al., 2001) and the
Internal Transcribed Regions (ITS) (Michaelsen
et al., 2006). Clone libraries from these ampliied
fragments were screened by DGGE and selected
clones sequenced (Schabereiter-Gurtner et al.,
2001).
Conclusions
In the speciic case of certain ilamentous fungi,
the fruiting body shape, conidia size and ornamentation can lead to positive identiication
at least at the genus level. The fungal species
Eurotium halophilicum (C.M. Chr., Papav. & C.R.
Benj. 1959) was found in foxing spots especially
on the back of the drawing by means of SEM
(Zeiss EVO 50- High Vacuum) imaging (Figure 2).
Conidia appeared in different sampling points
single or in groups, slightly ovate, echinulate
with prominent scars and conidiophores inely
covered with a layer of hairy structures (Figure
2). Microscopic features of fungal structures as
observed by SEM are consistent with those determined by Christensen et al. (1959) in the original
description of E. halophilicum and by Montanari et
al. (2012). E. halophilicum is an obligate xerophilic
organism with a high tolerance to water stress:
the minimum observed water activity (Aw) for
germination and growing is 0,675, the lowest for
any Eurotium species. Its occurrence is associated
with air-dust (Montanari et al., 2012 and references therein) or house-dust in association with
mites and Aspergillus penicillioides, and storage of
dry food. E. halophilicum is reported as associated
to foxing spots by Florian and Manning (2000)
who published a SEM picture of the fungus
without identifying it; with library material by
Michaelsen et al. (2010) who found the fungus by
DGGE-ingerprinting, without culturing it; and
by Montanari et al. (2012) who isolated several
106
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr.
Maria Cristina Misiti, Director of the
Istituto Centrale per il Restauro e la Conservazione del Patrimonio Archivistico e
Librario in Rome and the Royal Library
in Turin, Italy for the opportunity of
studying the precious portrait. G. Piñar
and the molecular analyses performed in
this study were financed by the Austrian
Science Fund (FWF) project “Elise-Richter
V194-B20”
References
Arai, H., Matsumura, N. and Murakita,
H. 1990. Microbiological studies on
the conservation of paper and related
cultural properties: Part 9, induction of
artificial foxing. Science for Conservation, 29: 25-34.
Fig. 2
strains of this species from library materials
freshly infected.
This inding is consistent with the hypothesis
that absolute tonophilic fungi germinate on paper metabolising mainly organic acids, oligosaccharides and proteic compounds. These components react chemically together on the materials
at a low water activity forming brown products
and oxidative reactions on paper that result in
localised foxing spots. SEM imaging showed also
the presence of other fungal species, not only as
single spores, but as propagules and small mycelial masses.
DGGE-ingerprinting, a molecular technique
based on direct extraction of DNA from environmental samples, allowed the comparison of different sampling techniques and DNA extraction
protocols enabling the optimization of tools for
the analysis of such valuable object. In addition,
a complete screening of the biodiversity of the
fungal community inhabiting the portrait (on
the face and on the reverse side) was obtained
and showed the putative differences in microbial
composition among different samples indicating, in general, a higher biodiversity as initially
suspected. Additional phylogenetic analyses
revealed the presence of fungi with well known
cellulolytic activities, with potential for the destruction of the investigated material.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Cain E. and Miller, B.A. 1982. Photographic, spectral and chromatographic
searches into the nature of foxing. 10th
Annual Meeting American Institute for
Conservation Preprints, AIC, Milwaukee,
pp. 54–62.
Choi, S. 2007. Foxing on paper: a literature review. Journal of the American
Institute for Conservation, 46 (2):137-152.
Corte M.A., Ferroni, A. and Salvo, V.S.
2003. Isolation of fungal species from
test samples and maps damaged by foxing, and correlation between these species and the environment. International
Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 51:
167-173.
Florian M-L.E. and Manning, L. 2000. SEM
analysis of irregular fungal spot in an
1854 book: population dynamics and
species identification. International
Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 46:
205-220.
Gallo F. and Pasquariello G. 1989. Foxing,
ipotesi sull’origine biologica, Boll Ist
Centro Patologia del Libro, 43: 136–176.
Christensen, C., Papavizas, G.C. and Benjamin, C.R. 1959. A new halophilic species
of Eurotium. Mycologia, 51(5): 636-640.
Michaelsen, A., Pinzari, F., Ripka, K.
et al. 2006. Application of molecular
techniques for identification of fungal
communities colonising paper material.
International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 58: 133-141.
Michaelsen, A., Pinar, G. and Pinzari, F.
2010. Molecular and microscopical investigation of the microflora inhabiting a
deteriorated Italian manuscript dated
from the thirteenth century. Microbial
Ecology, 60: 69-80.
107
Montanari M., Melloni V., Pinzari F., et al.
2012. Fungal biodeterioration of historical library materials stored in Compactus
movable shelves. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation, 75: 83-88.
Schabereiter-Gurtner, C., Piñar, G., Lubitz,
W., et al. 2001. An advanced molecular
strategy to identify bacterial communities on art objects. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 45: 77-87.
Figure captions
Figure 1. Sampling approach to obtain
fungal spores from Leonardo da Vinci’s
self portrait. Application of porous
membranes (picture by D. Corciulo, ICRCPAL).
Authors
Guadalupe Piñar | Katja Sterlinger
Department of Biotechnology, Vienna Institute of Bio Technology (VIBT), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences,
Muthgasse 11, A-1190 Vienna, Austria
guadalupe.pinar@boku.ac.at
katja.sterflinger@boku.ac.at
Flavia Pinzari
ICRCPAL-Istituto Centrale per il Restauro
e la Conservazione del Patrimonio
Archivistico e Librario, Laboratorio di
Biologia, Ministero per i Beni e le Attivita
Culturali, Via Milano 76, 00184 Rome,
Italy.
flavia.pinzari@beniculturali.it
Figure 2. Scanning electron microscopy
(SEM) image of conidia belonging to the
fungal species E. halophilicum, collected
by swab sampling in foxing spots on the
back of the drawing. Image obtained
with a Zeiss SEM EVO 50 in High Vacuum
mode on a gold sputtered sample, operating at an accelerating voltage of 20 kV
equipped with a detector for secondary
electrons (SE).
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
108
Microorganisms in Books – First Results of the EU Project “Men and Books”
Katja Sterflinger | Patricia Engel
Department of Biotechnology, Vienna Institute of Bio Technology (VIBT),
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria;
European Research Centre for Book and Paper Conservation-Restoration, Horn, Austria
Fig. 1: Book contaminated by darkly pigmented fungal mycelium and
damaged by insects.
investigate possible remains of ethylene oxide
that might still have an impact on the microbial
community and protect the books against microbial attack but might also be health threatening for the reader of those volumes. 76 books,
44 manuscripts and 32 prints were selected for
the project. They represent an essential corpus
in terms of their information value. For microbiological analysis 20 samples were taken from
various materials in 10 different books including
textiles, different paper types, cardboard, leather
and parchment (Table 1). Samples were taken for
cultivation of fungi onto media and for genomic
analysis in order to be able to detect both the
viable and non-viable fungal community (being
aware that the former ethylene oxide treatment
might inhibit the PCR-ampliication of the DNA).
Materials and Methods
Introduction
The EU project “Men and Books” deals with
bound volumes of the Archives of the Protestant
Parish of the Holy Trinity in Swidnica, where
12.000 individual items are stored. This archive
is one of the most valuable for the history of
Protestantism in Silesia, Bohemia, Moravia and
Austria. Due to the climate, many of the books
were attacked by microorganisms – mainly fungi.
During the 1990s the books in Swidnica were
fumigated with ethylene oxide. In conservation
literature the use of ethylene oxide for book-disinfection is discussed highly controversially 1 (see
also Meyer & Petersen, 2006) and it still remains
an open question whether or not ethylene oxide
is a good choice for book-fumigation. Without
doubt fungi in archives are dangerous for both,
men and books. However, some of the methods
for disinfection are threatening both, books and
humans. Therefore it was the aim of the study (a)
to analyse if there is an active fungal community
on the ethylene oxide treated books and (b) to
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Isolation of fungi from books
Considering the high cultural and artistic value
of the books, only non-invasive techniques were
used for sampling: Porous membranes of different materials (nylon, polycarbonate or cellulose
nitrate) with a natural electrostatic charge were
used to collect fungal aerial hyphae, conidia
spores and fruiting structures, together with
a few damaged ibres or small lakes from the
substrata. Membranes were smoothly attached to
the materials´ surfaces for several seconds, removed and directly applied to cultural medium
(2% MEA, DG 18) or stored in a sterile tube for
DNA extraction and further molecular analysis.
Plates were incubated at 22°C for 7 days. Fungal
cultures were puriied by several transfers onto
fresh medium.
Measurement of ethylene oxide concentrations
from books
For the selection of books several parameters
were relevant: (1) moment of fumigation (2) material composition, (3) age of the book, (4) size of
109
graph “Doppelsäulengerät Sichromat 1-4”; Injektion: split/splitless; 2.5 μL splitted auf 2 wide-bore
colums, 250°C, Colums: 30 m OPTIMA-WAX; 0.53
mm * 1.0 μm and 30 m OPTIMA 1; 0.53 mm *1.0
μm, Both detectors FID (250°C), Carrier gas Nitrogen: 2.5 mL/min, burning gas synth. air: 300 mL/
min, Hydrogen: 25 mL/min, stove temperature
45°C isotherm 10 min, 45°C to 180°C in 5°C/
min; 180°C isotherm 13 min, 180°C to 200°C in
10°C/min, 200°C isotherm 13 min.
Results and conclusions
Fig. 2: Sampling of books by cellulose nitrate membranes.
the book. The books for ethylene oxide measurement were chosen aiming to get a representative
average of all these features. This is especially
important when it comes to transfer data into
application Europe-wide and on an “average
archive” at the end of the project. 28 volumes
bound in leather, parchment, paper and textiles,
dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th century, thus
representing also different sorts of paper as book
block, ranging from folio to quart were selected
by the Parish in Swidnica and brought to the
European Research Centre for Book and Paper
Conservation-Restoration in Horn. There these
books were put into a chamber of inert synthetic
material of 1 m3 volume and stored under closed
conditions for 60 days at 20°C and 50% R. H.
Two different analytical methods were chosen
to detect the off gassing ethylene oxide, a digital handheld device, Dräger X-am 5000, which
turned out to be too rough (measuring range 0
- 200 ppm, resolution 0.5 ppm, smallest possible
detection 1 ppm; expected concentration below)
and a GC/FID. For the later the measurement was
passive with ORSA-tubes illed with activated
carbon. The measurement lasted for 336 hours.
Then the tubes were taken out, closed and sent
to gas chromatography. The analysis was made
with GC/FID with retention time catalogues and
quantiication via external calibration function.
This standard working instruction is a modiied
NIOSH 1612. Working conditions: Gaschromato-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
The books in Swidnica were fumigated with
ethylene oxide in the 1990s. Nowadays, after 20
years, no ethylene oxide could be detected with
the methods described above. A risk for human
heath is thus rather improbable.
The results of the fungal sampling are shown in
Table 1. From some samples, especially from the
inner part of the books, no fungi could be isolated. Only very few fungi that are directly related
to the destruction of the materials where isolated (Sterlinger, 2010; Sterlinger & Pinzari, 2011):
Nigrospora and Alternaria are known to degrade
cellulose and Scedosporium is a keratinolytic
fungus, able to degrade leather. Species of Scedosporium are known to be pathogenic for humans, causing a skin infection called phyaeohyphomycosis (de Hoog et al., 2000). Most abundant
were species of the genus Cladosporium which
were isolated from nearly all samples except for
some inner parts of books. Cladosporium, however, is not regarded a true contaminant of books
and cannot be related to the phenomenology of
the sampled areas. Cladosporium rather is an environmental fungus which is extremely common
in the air and spores of which settle down in dirt
and dust. Thus, these fungi are isolated readily
from the materials because of the spore load
and not because they are actively growing and
established on the books. Typical contaminants
of humid paper, like species of Chaetomium or
Trichoderma are missing.
As a preliminary conclusion from the project it
can be stated that the fungal community isolated
15-20 years after fumigation can only to a small
extend be related to the biogenic fungal phenomena like white and dark loccose spots and areas
visible on and in the books. It can be concluded
that this is due to the ethylene oxide treatment
that killed especially those fungi that formed
110
hyaline white mycelia on and in the books. Hyline, non pigmented fungi are generally more
susceptible to biocides than darkly pigmented
fungi. Most of the fungi that were isolated now
can either be related to air borne spores or belong to darkly pigmented species that might
have had a higher resistance against the ethylene
oxide treatment. Although the amount of ethylene oxide degassing from the books was under
the detection level, certain prevention against
re-colonization by fungi seems likely also after
15-20 years. The analysis of the non-viable fungal
community based on DNA extraction could help
to support this hypothesis. However, ethylene
oxide fumigation might have intercalated into
the DNA of the original fungal micro-lora thus
hampering this type of analysis.
References
Meier, C., Petersen, K. (2006) Schimmelpilze auf Papier, ein Handbuch für Restauratoren, Der andere Verlag, 198 pp.
Sterflinger, K. (2010): Fungi: Their role in
the deterioration of cultural heritage.
Fungal Biology Reviews, 24, 47-55
Acknowlegement
We kindly acknowledge the financial
support of the project by EU-grant 2012
– 0920 / 001-001 (Culture Program 20072013, http://menandbooks.icar-us.eu/)
Notes
1 EN 1422 and EN 550, which allow the
use of ethylene oxide for sterilization of
certain medicine materials. Since 1981
Germany law which forbade to fumigate
food with ethylene oxide. For books no
regulations exist.
Authors
Katja Sterlinger
Department of Biotechnology, Vienna Institute of Bio Technology (VIBT), University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences,
Muthgasse 11, A-1190 Vienna, Austria.
Katja.Sterflinger@boku.ac.at
Patricia Engel
European Research Centre for Book and
Paper Conservation-Restoration, Wiener
Straße 2, 3 580 Horn
ercbookpaper@gmail.com
Sterflinger, K; Pinzari, F (2012): The
revenge of time: fungal deterioration of
cultural heritage with particular reference to books, paper and parchment.
Environ Microbiol. 14(3):559-566
de Hoog, GS; Guarro GJ, Figueras MJ (eds.)
(2000) Atlas of Clinical Fungi, ASM press,
2nd edition, 1160 pp.
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111
Table 1: List of books and materials sampled for microbiological analysis with morphological identiication of cultivable fungi.*
Signature
of the book
00029
00084
R0184
R0103
description
fungal isolates according to
morphological identification
1
leather, inner part of back side book cover,
white fungal mycelium
Aureobasidium sp.
Cladosporium spp.
Penicillium sp.
Scedosporium sp.
2
leather, front of book cover, white floccose
mycelium
Cladosporium spp.
Eurotium rubrum
3
leather, inner part of book cover
no cultivable fungi
4
leather, book cover
no cultivable fungi
5
suede, outside of book cover,
white to yellowish, granular colonies
Cladosporium spp.
Penicillium sp.
6
leather, inner side of book cover
Alternaria sp.
Cladosporium sp.
Eurotium sp.
Penicillium sp.
Scedosporium sp.
7
textile, glued part inside of book, white fungal
colonies
no cultivable fungi
8
paper inside, white fungal colonies
Cladosporium sp.
Penicillium sp.
9
paper inside, fist page behind book cover, white
fungal colonies
no cultivable fungi
02426
10
paper inside of book, dark spots
Cladosporium sp.
R0176
11
paper inside of book, dark spots
no cultivable fungi
12
paper, inner part of book cover
Cladosporium sp.
13
paper inside of book, dark stains and colonies
no cultivable fungi
14
textile, book cover, white spots and areas
no cultivable fungi
15
textile, book cover, white spots
Cladosporium sp.
Nigrospora sp.
Penicillium sp.
R0029
16
parchment, book cover
Cladosporium sp.
Eurotium sp.
Penicillium sp.
08122
17
parchment, book spine
Alternaria sp.
Cladopsorium sp.
R0103
18
textile, outside
Penicillium sp.
dark pigmented fungus with
meristematic growth
Penicillium sp.
white sterile mycelium
01695
19
paper inside of book
Cladosporium sp.
red-brown sterile mycelium
reference
20
reference from sampling environment
(table in book center Horn)
Cladosporium spp.
R0232
* The molecular identification of all stains by sequencing of the barcode region (ITI-5.8S-ITSII) is in progress.
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112
Deconstructing the Reconstruction
Ewa Paul | Anna Grzechnik
The Warsaw Rising Museum, Warsaw, Poland
Introduction
Broadsides are single sheets printed on one side,
used as public announcements or advertisements. These oficial notices of laws and regulations or execution lists became the common
‘newscasts’ during the war. Such paper objects
were produced quickly and inexpensively to meet
the need of the moment. Due to their ephemeral
characteristics and poor thin paper, broadsides
often vanished as quickly as they were produced.
(Website source: ’Broadsides’) A poster is a type of
broadside, a composition of pictures and words,
or words alone but with a distinct graphic expression. Similarly its main task is to spark interest in a person passing by.
This poster highlights the conservation treatments of two war-time broadsides, one a poster
‘Do Broni ‘ and the other a war-time Nazi announcement; both are part of the Warsaw Rising
Museum (WRM) collection. The poster also describes the reasons to reverse the poster’s previous restoration, a selection of loss compensation
methods and how these methods complement
the historical value of the artifacts.
‘The urge to preserve is a result of the view
that the artwork is a valuable object (…). But
decisions regarding what to preserve (…) are
based on which of the artwork’s attributed values are recognized as more important’(Schintzel
1999: 44).
At the core of this issue there is a conlict between the artifacts’ historic and aesthetic values.
While it is important to take into consideration
the aesthetic aspect of the artifact, as it usually
guides any intervention, one must not forget its
historical value, both the moment at which it
was created and its passage through time. This is
a dilemma every conservator encounters and it is
as unavoidable as it is unresolvable because some
subjectivity will always inluence the decision
making (Poulsson 2010); ‘ … it will be up to the
conservator to decide how far to take a conservation treatment, whether that treatment involves
stabilisation only or is of more interventive character. The objective must be to achieve the great-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
est effect with the least amount of interference’
(Poulsson 2010:107).
Background
The Warsaw Rising Museum along with its
modern conservation studio opened its doors
to the public in the fall of 2004. To make sure
that all the artifacts were ready for the opening
day treatments of some were contracted out to
private conservation labs. The legendary Warsaw
Rising poster entitled, ‘Do Broni w Szeregach AK’
(translation: To Arms in the Ranks of the Home
Army), underwent a treatment in 1996.
In 1944 Mieczyslaw Jurgielewicz and Edmund
Burke created this 70 x100 cm chromolithograph. Their assignment came from the 4th
Press and Publishing Division of the Home Army
Information and Propaganda Bureau. Just as the
Warsaw Rising was starting, copies of this poster
called on citizens of Warsaw to take up arms and
to join the Rising (Gola 2012:454).
The WRM archive owns a few photographs
documenting ‘Do Broni’ posters on the streets
of Warsaw in 1944. Historical institutions value
well-documented objects with interesting provenance and this particular poster has an interesting story. On August 1, 1944, the start of the Rising, a Polish scout named Jadwiga Komatowska
posted it onto a building at 49 Nowy Swiat Street
in Warsaw. When the Home Army was retreating from the area on September 13, Komatowska
took it down and hid it in a nearby trench in the
building’s courtyard. In January 1945 she dug it
up and stored it until it was later presented to
the WRM. The story of this artifact demonstrates
that sometimes losses and damage within an object are important and ought to be treated as its
integral part.
Evaluation and treatment
After evaluating an extensive reconstructive restoration which ‘Do Broni’ had undergone (Fig.
1), the WRM conservators, Anna Grzechnik and
Dorota Rakowska, found its results to be overbearing and heavy-handed. This restoration treatment was done without much consideration for
113
Fig. 1: Poster ‚Do Broni‘ after reconstructive
restoration 1994
Fig. 2: Poster ‚Do Broni‘ after the additions were removed
the historical signiicance of the object, rather
it only approached the artifact’s aesthetic value,
impaired due to parts of its design missing. The
conservators agreed that a “deconstruction” of
this restoration would be necessary.
There were also some structural questions
with this restoration treatment. The poster
became stiff and inlexible because of the illmatched thickness of backing paper used for
lining it. Large losses were made disturbingly
obtrusive by the in-ills which were made a few
tones too light and mismatched color used for
the reconstruction of the lettering.
both lower corners and along its sides. Several
loose fragments had to be reconnected with the
main section of the poster with small paper tabs
to keep them in place. Most tears and abrasions
within the ink layer ran through the center fold
line and had signs of direct retouching. In some
places the color matching was off signiicantly,
especially in the red ink areas where pinkish
over paint became evident.
To remove the surface grime and dust, the
front was gently dry-cleaned with eraser crumbs
and a soft brush. The back was cleaned with
small wads of cotton wool and deionized water
to remove any residual adhesive. The object was
then humidiied gently and blotter washed.
The large losses posed a problem; in-ills were
prepared from Japanese paper of an appropriate
weight but their color had to be toned down. The
toning became a complicated trial and error exercise but with the help of ‘hellion textile dyes’
some even tones of warm beige and tan colors
were obtained. Unfortunately several sheets of
toned tissue were needed to ill all the losses, and
not all of them turned the identical shade of tan.
The poster was then lined with a large sheet
of kozo paper and wheat starch paste adhesive
mixed with some thin methyl cellulose to extend the working time. The lining process was
Deconstruction started with the removal of the
backing paper. The artifact was humidiied in a
Gore-Tex and spun polyester ‘sandwich’ to allow
for a slow introduction of moisture. The backing
paper was carefully peeled off and the added repairs were removed with various spatulas and locally applied moisture. The adhesive was reduced
mechanically.
The poor condition of the original paper support was revealed and it showed that only three
fourths of the paper support had survived (Fig.
2). The paper support was structurally weakened
and stained by mold and other degradation factors. The artifact suffered extensive losses to
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114
Fig. 3: Poster after 2012 conservation treatment
Fig. 4: Nazi broadside before treatment
completed with the help of two large sheets of
Mylar serving as transferring aides. The object
was then placed for 30 minutes under moderate
weights in a ‘sandwich’ of blotter paper, spun
polyester and a sheet of woolen felt. The blotters
were changed a few times. When the poster was
dry and lat, pieces of toned paper shaped to it
the areas of loss were attached with wheat starch
paste from the front.
Small losses within the ink layer were retouched with dry pigments, pastel pencils and
Winston Newton watercolors. The objective was
to make the main area of the image visually cohesive but not to reconstruct the image or the
lettering (Fig. 3). Retouching proved to be tricky
in the areas where previous intervention had
taken place but overall successfully uniied the
main image.
and had its upper right–hand corner completely
missing.
Although at irst glance this treatment seemed
similar to the treatment of ’Do Broni’, it proved
to have its own challenges. The pink color of the
broadside was unstable, so only blotter washing
was possible. As in the previous treatment, lining was necessary to stabilise the very weak and
brittle original support. First, all the folded areas
were reinforced from the back with thin strips of
Japanese paper and wheat starch paste. Some of
these areas were very brittle and abraded. After
a matching color was identiied, an inill for the
missing corner was created and attached from
the back with wheat starch paste. As before, the
lining process was aided by two large sheets of
Mylar serving as transferring aides. Unfortunately the irst lining procedure was unsuccessful.
The paper chosen for the backing was too thick
and the dimensionally unstable original support
expanded too much during the treatment and as
a result did not attach well to the backing paper.
A combination of a few factors made the second
lining successful: It was done with a thinner
kozo paper. The original object was humidiied
for a shorter time. After the lining paper was
adhered to the back of the original, the back was
‘massaged’ with bone folders over thin blotters
in the folded areas. To further reduce the creases
The Nazi announcement broadside was printed
in the 1940s in Krakow on a thin, pink machinemade paper (Fig. 4). This propaganda poster
consists primarily of historical text and minimal
visual elements. Therefore the goal of the treatment was to stabilize the object with minimal
aesthetic intervention. Just as in the case of ‘Do
Broni’, the condition of the object was poor. The
paper support was dimensionally unstable, had
numerous tears and losses along its main folds
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115
along its main folds the object was gently humidiied and carefully stretched for a short time. The
color of the missing corner was well matched
which made the new inill look good. We debated the idea of adding black stripes to the border
on the attached corner. Thin strips of black paper
were cut out to serve as a mock up frame. These
strips completed the frame along the objects’ perimeter, and visually uniied this object.
Although it was an aesthetic choice, the missing black frame was added in the end as it made
the added corner less visible. Subjectively speaking, only then the greatest effect was achieved
with the least amount of interference (Poulsson
2010:107).
Conclusion
The extent of the loss compensation depends
on the goals of the treatment and the values
attached to the artifact, but also the individual
and subjective attitude of a conservator. The primary goal of these treatments and conservation
in general, is not to make an object look new or
whole again, rather it is to stabilise it and reduce
the damage that distracts from the design. If the
artwork is considered to be of historical value,
then its authenticity is vital, and the conservation will focus on stabilising its physical aspect
irst and foremost (Poulsson 2008:63). Some
conservators may choose to employ minimal
loss integration methods so that evidence of the
objects’ loss and age, although still present, will
recede to the background. Often, the artwork is
considered important because of its aesthetic
quality. Then ‘retouching may be used as means
to preserve the legibility and the composition
of the image. It may be considered a necessary
or unnecessary evil (…) No matter how it is regarded, retouching has been and still is (…) a part
of paper conservators’ repertoire (...) and subjective criteria will always inluence the decision
taken…’ (Poulsson 2008:107).
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the whole conservation team at the Warsaw Rising Museum:
Anna Grzechnik, Dorota Rakowska,
Magdalena Grenda and Piotr Matosek for
their invaluable insights during my work
with these objects.
Authors
Ewa Paul
Warsaw Rising Museum Kiev, Ukraine
ewampaul@gmail.com
Anna Grzechnik
Chief Conservator and Director of Collections at the Warsaw Rising Museum.
WRM, ul. Grzybowska 79,
Warsaw 00-844, Poland;
agrzechnik@1944.pl
Biblioraphy
Brown, A. Jean E.and Bacon, Anne. 2002.
‘Perspectives on image reintegration.’
The Paper Conservator, 26:5-8.
Gola, J., Sitkowska, M. and Szewczyk, A.
2012. Sztuka Wszedzie. Akademia Sztuk
Pieknych w Warszawie 1904-1944, pp. 45455. Warszawa: Akademia Sztuk Pieknych
w Warszawie,
Grenda, M. 2012. ‘The Conservation of
two oversized film posters: case study of
image reintegration solutions for paperbased artifacts’. Journal of Paper Conservation, 13:21-26
McAusland, Jane. 2002. ‘The Practicalities
and aesthetics of retouching: Nationality
versus Intuition.’ The Paper Conservator,
26:13-19.
Poulsson, Tina Grette. 2010. Retouching
of Art on Paper. London: Archetype Publications.
Schinzel, H. 1999. ‘Restoration - a kaleidoscope through history.’ In Oddy, A.
and Carroll, S. (eds.), 43-45. ‘Reversibility does it exist?’ British Museum Occasional
Paper 135. London: British Museum.
Web sources
‘Broadsides.’ Massachusetts Historical Society. 2012.http://www.masshist.
org/library_collections/broadsides.
cfm?display=print.
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116
Conservators’ Investigation of Chinoiserie in Wilanow Palace
Marzenna Ciechanska |Dorota Dzik-Kruszelnicka | Elzbieta Jezewska |
Joanna Kurkowska
Faculty of Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art, Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland
In the collection of Wilanow Palace there is a
large and varied set of Chinese paintings and
woodcuts on paper dating from the second half
of the eighteenth century and the turn of the
nineteenth century, which are unique in Poland
and which functioned as decorative wallpaper
in the palace. They were mostly used as wall
decorations for the Chinese Suite located in the
central part of the palace. This suite, which consists of ive rooms and a small hallway, was furnished by the contemporary palace owner, Count
Stanislaw Kostka Potocki at the beginning of the
nineteenth century. After the Second World War,
during conservation works, eighteenth century
frescoes were discovered in the Chinese Suite.
A decision was made to restore the eighteenth
century décor, whereas Chinese decorative elements were taken off the walls and underwent
conservation. From then on they have been kept
in the palace museum’s storage. Fifty-ive objects
of different kinds have been preserved. Some of
them are typical export Chinese wallpapers and
paintings, while others are traditional Chinese
folk artworks which had a ceremonial or decorative function and were used as wallpaper.
The fashion for chinoiserie in Poland, like in
the other countries of Europe, had lourished
from the seventeenth century. Chinese tapestries
were mentioned as early as in the irst preserved
inventory of Wilanow Palace made in 1696.
Wallpaper from China was very fashionable in
Poland in the eighteenth century. Unfortunately,
it has only been preserved in three palaces. It is
not known precisely when the decorations of the
Wilanow complex were brought to Poland. Both
Duchess Lubomirska, who was Count Potocki’s
mother-in-law and the former owner of Wilanow
(she bequeathed the palace to her daughter and
son-in-law in the late 1890s), and Count Potocki
were avid collectors of Chinese artwork. The
Chinese Suite was described in detail in the inventory of the palace made in 1832. It is known
from the previous inventory made in 1793 that
Chinese wallpaper had been hung on the walls
of different rooms. The so-called Chinese Suite
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
was furnished by Stanislaw Kostka Potocki at the
beginning of the nineteenth century.
The set of decorations can be divided into two
basic groups. The irst one consists of nine panels on yellow paper, six of which are medallion,
print-room style wallpapers depicting porcelain
and silk production, while the remaining ones
are: a representation of a Chinese lady and woodcuts. It is not currently known in which rooms
they were hung. The second group comprises 46
individual paintings which were separated from
the surrounding wallpapers when they were being taken off the walls or they were stuck onto
the wall individually or mounted on stretcher
bars.
This collection can be divided into several
thematic groups. Some of these objects are fragments of export wallpapers dating from the eighteenth century, which are genre works and landscapes depicting scenes of everyday life of the
Chinese people. Others are separate, full-length
igure images of Chinese women or woodcuts depicting groups of women with children indoors
or outdoors. The set also contains small New Year
woodcut prints and others which are thematically or stylistically different from the rest.
The whole set was covered by a research and
conservation programme aimed to describe the
objects in historical, iconographic and technological terms as well as to determine their state
of deterioration, develop conservation methodology and carry out a model conservation of two
selected objects. On this poster, we present the
results of identiication tests conducted on two
selected objects which were made by using signiicantly different techniques.
Preserved documents relating to the history of
the irst of the analysed objects (Fig. 1) do not
provide answers to questions that have been
raised. Information contained in the three existing inventories are too general to be associated
with a speciic object, and the documentation
concerning conservation works conducted
after the war is incomplete. Establishing the
117
Fig. 1: A woman with two children, Wilanow Palace Museum, photo by T. Rizov-Ciechanski
time when the object was made and brought to
Wilanow as well as its location within the palace
turned out to be an incredibly dificult task.
The object is a long panel with a representation of a nianhua type, bordered with an imitative nineteenth century hand-painted decoration
depicting vases and a valance. In the centre of
the composition is a lady clad in an outit from
the Ming era with two boys. This is a popular
theme in Chinese New Year prints representing the
wish to have many prominent sons. It was made
in China, probably by using a hand-primed,
woodcut technique of printing contour lines or,
as Prof. Feng Jicai from the Feng Jicai Literature
& Art Institute of Tianjin University in China has
suggested, it was entirely painted. Its dimensions
are 251x83 cm. In the Wilanow collection there
is a similar separate object with dimensions of
158x64 cm. Such an attribution required to be
supported by complementary technological and
iconographic research.
Stratigraphic studies were carried out in four
different locations (Fig.1.IV-VII). The analysis
showed that the number of layers ranges from
four to nine, whereas the object’s thickness
from 0.266 to 0.824 mm (1.034 mm with the
canvas layer). An analysis of ibre composition
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
showed that both the paper which constitutes
the surface of the Chinese object and the irst
lining layer were made of paper mulberry (Broussonetia Papyrifera). It was probably xuan zhi (xuan
paper). The second lining layer consists of paper
mulberry, Edgeworthia gardineri, and rice straw.
It was all stuck on 10 sheets of handmade paper
made from lax ibres and connected by means of
joining overlapping edges with starch paste. This
paper is evenly covered with a yellow layer which
has been identiied as a mixture of glutin glue
and litharge, where the painted layer was directly applied. The object was relined on canvas and
mounted on the stretcher.
Preliminary determination of binders was performed by microchemical methods. Starch was
identiied as a binder between subsequent layers
of paper and the canvas with Lugol’s iodine test.
The lack of stains after the application of Sudan
Black B excluded the possibility of using oil binders or natural resins. Stains that appeared after
using Ponceau S, which indicates the presence
of proteins, might have been caused by starch
penetrating the adjacent layers because of gravity and material porosity. Results obtained by
using these methods, especially with regard to
the layers where calcium carbonate or gypsum
118
had been used, may be false-positive as these
substances are good dye absorbents. Due to the
limitations of the methods, it was necessary to
perform further identiication by using FTIR
analysis. The irst samples were obtained using
swabs soaked in water, which allowed for selective isolation of substances which are the most
water-soluble – plant gums, which also constitute the object’s top layer. It is probably the layer
with which the object was coated in its entirety
during conservation works in the 50s. The comparison of the obtained spectra with the spectra
for substances in standard samples taken with
a scalpel (Fig.1.I-III) provided a probable picture
of animal glue content with a small addition of
plant gums.
In order to preliminarily establish the scope of
work, non-destructive studies were carried out by
using false-colour infrared photography. The difference between the infrared image (in the range
of 500-900 nm) and a part of the visible spectrum
indicated the presence of speciic pigments
(Fig.1.12-18). Prussian blue, ferrite and organic
yellow as well as cinnabar were identiied. Further studies were recommended, that were based
on relected-light microscope observation, water
smears viewed in transmitted light, microcrystalline and drop reactions to test the presence of
selected inorganic ions as well as analysis of the
elemental composition of samples performed
using the scanning electron microscope. Raman
spectroscopy also proved useful. Eleven pigments
were identiied (Fig.1.1-11), three of which will be
described in more detail.
Blue pigment showed up as very small particle
groupings in cloudy, greenish blue areas. The
pigment was base-sensitive and it vanished after
adding a base solution. Ferric ions were present
in the obtained solution. This means that Prussian blue had been used. Prussian blue was identiied both in the Chinese image and European
border (Fig.1.11). This pigment was obtained in
1704. After 1750 it was brought to China by the
East India Company. After 1825 it was produced
in Canton.
Red pigment showed high resistance to acid
and base reagents. No solubility was observed. A
very distinctive microscopic view revealed large,
angular and intense red grains. Characteristic
parallel striations were observed among the red
grains of natural cinnabar. Cinnabar was identiied in the border and the image’s part depicting
the boy’s attire (Fig.1.5). It is a natural pigment
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 2: A woman under a blossoming tree, Wilanow Palace
Museum, photo by T. Rizov-Ciechanski
obtained by grinding the mineral and it was
used in the ancient China as early as in the sixth
and ifth century BC. It is called zhu sha. Rich cinnabar deposits are located in southern Chinese
provinces. The method of manufacturing its
artiicial form, that is dry-process vermilion – yin
zhu, was also developed in China at the beginning of our era.
Microscopic observation of whites from the
woman’s face suggested that there might be two
white pigments. Apart from very large, angular
and colourless grains, very small, non-characteristic particles were observed as transmitting a
very small amount of light (Fig.1.6.a). The reaction with diluted hydrochloric acid revealed partial solubility. Some gas was released but a substantial part of the sample was left intact. SEMEDS analysis (Fig.1.6.b) revealed mostly calcium,
carbon and oxygen, thus evidencing the presence
119
Fig. 3: A woman under a blossoming tree, Wilanow Palace Museum,
photo by T. Rizov-Ciechanski, a fragment and a close-up of the fragment of a glittering background
of calcium carbonate. Also, a certain quantity
of titanium, magnesium as well as traces of sulphur and chlorine were detected. The presence
of titanium combined with partial resistance to
acid as well as of very small particles viewed in
transmitted light might indicate that there was a
titanium dioxide white pigment which may have
come from overpaints. The presence of magnesium can be connected with calcium carbonate
(magnesium content of calcite). Large calcium
carbonate particles make it possible to conclude
that a naturally derived calcite was used (for example, coming from a limestone or shells). The
presence of anorgenic limestone was excluded
because it has a very different microscopic morphology.
Mineral forms of carbonate were widely used
throughout the world. The Chinese tradition of
calcining and slaking crustacean shells in order
to obtain shell white dates back to antiquity. Titanium white is a synthetic pigment that has been
produced on a larger scale since 1920. The fact
that it was used means that there were conservation interventions that took place in the European area at a later time.
The second object (Fig. 2) depicting “A woman
under a blossoming tree” was an element of a
wall decoration in the Chinese Cabinet, a part
of Count Potocki’s Chinese Suite which was furnished irst. Three other similar objects were also
used as the cabinet’s decoration. It is not known
when they were brought to Wilanow or whether
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
they were reused to decorate the cabinet and if
they had not been used as a decorative element
in another room before.
It is a representation which is typical of
Chinese art exported to Europe. Thematically
and technically similar woodcuts are located
in the Schloss Favorite palace in Rastatt. The
large object (163 x 90 cm) was made by using
the woodcut technique, with painted parts (the
objects from Rastatt were identiied as woodcuts
by F. Wappenschmidt), or it may have been only
painted. It dates back to the second half of the
eighteenth century, to the Qianlong period.
A sheet of paper was used as a surface; it was
obtained by gluing the overlapping edges of ive
sheets of paper made from Broussonetia Papyrifera
ibres and then it was lined with three sheets of
paper, which was also made from Broussonetia
Papyrifera.
The paper was dyed yellow and covered with
a glittery substance (Fig. 3), the composition of
which is still being subjected to additional studies, and dusted with metallic powder. Colours
were applied onto a surface prepared in this way.
Initially it was suspected that the surface was
dusted with powdered metallic tin and sprinkled
with ink or paint as there were clearly different
colours. Analyses performed using the XRF method did not reveal any other metals (gold, silver),
whereas tin was found in all studied locations. In
order to conirm the results, studies were carried
out by using the SEM-EDS mapping technique.
In the tested sample of paper, all dots, also the
black and brown ones, contained tin, but no pigments or organic compounds were identiied.
The size of the dots ranged between 0.02 and 0.4
mm. The sample was analysed using Raman spectroscopy. Tin oxide was identiied in small, dark
brown dots.
The layers of colour were applied using paints
with an emulsion binder containing glutin
glue and vegetable oil (FTIR analysis showed
that there were lipid and protein substances).
Colours, which were slightly transparent, were
applied in very thin layers (the layers were 0.007–
0.049 mm thick). In the paints, for example calcium carbonate, copper green, white lead, smalt,
orpiment, organic red, and minium were identiied.
The performed studies and analyses were aimed
at establishing the work’s substance. Complementary studies of the objects’ content and
120
function will provide a holistic picture of the
phenomenon, which will be a basis for making
crucial decisions concerning conservation. When
selecting the methods of dealing with works that
combine oriental and European traditions, compromises will be inevitable, which will make it
an interesting challenge.
Selected Bibliography
Wappenschmidt, F. (1989). Chinesische
Tapeten für Europa: Vom Rollbild zur
Bildtapete. Berlin: Deutscher Verlag für
Kunstwissenschaft.
Winter, John ed. (2008) East Asian Paintings: Materials, Structures and deterioration Mechanisms, Archetype Pub ltd., in
association with The Freer Gallery of Art
and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery & Smithsonian Institute, London.
Eastaugh, N. and Walsh, V. and Chaplin,
T. and Siddall, R. (2008) Pigment Compendium: A Dictionary and Optical Microscopy of Historic Pigments. (1 vols). (1st ed.).
Butterworth-Heinemann: London.
Authors
Marzenna Ciechanska
Faculty of Conservation and Restoration
of Works of Art, Academy of Fine Arts in
Warsaw, Poland, ciechans@asp.waw.pl
Dorota Dzik-Kruszelnicka
Faculty of Conservation and Restoration
of Works of Art, at the Academy of Fine
Arts in Warsaw & National Museum,
dodidzik@yahoo.com
Elzbieta Jezewska
ejez@interia.pl
Joanna Kurkowska
jkurkowska@op.pl
Lust, John (1996), Chinese Popular Prints.
Leiden: E.J. Brill.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
121
A Systematic Approach to Condition Assessment and Treatment of Chinese
Handscrolls
Grace Jan | Xiangmei Gu
Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery,
Department of Conservation and Scientiic Research, Washington DC, USA
the Freer|Sackler when addressing condition
problems associated with Chinese handscrolls.
This systematic approach can serve as a guide
for other conservators and museum professionals who are less familiar with the conservation
of handscrolls, in the care of their collections.
The decision-making process is as follows: (1)
identiication of condition problems; (2) ranking
of conditions problems by severity and by fragility of the painting; (3) treatment options and (4)
prioritizing treatment solutions that stabilize
and ensure the safety of the object over intensely
invasive treatments.
Fig. 1: Patriarchs of Chan Buddhism showing sharp creases before treatment. (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC:
Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1909.229)
Introduction
Chinese handscrolls make up a large part of the
Chinese painting collection at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. The
number, size, and structural complexity of these
functional objects, combined with ongoing exhibition schedules and viewing requests from visiting scholars, make conservation treatment essential to the care of the scrolls. The Freer|Sackler
is one of only a handful of museums with fulltime conservation staff specializing in Chinese
paintings. Xiangmei Gu, senior Chinese painting
conservator, has been responsible for the examination, care, and treatment of the handscrolls
in the collection for over twenty years. Most
museums and institutions with collections of
Chinese handscrolls, however, do not have a conservator on staff trained in the conservation and
mounting of these objects. As a result, conducting condition assessments and developing treatment proposals can be intimidating. This paper
will outline the basic structure of the handscroll
and discuss the systematic decision-making process followed by Ms. Gu and the conservators in
the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio at
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Background
The handscroll is one of the most important
formats for Chinese painting and calligraphy.
The handscroll is a complex structure composed
of multiple layers, multiple sections, and different materials. The layers include the paint
layer, the painted substrate(s), the irst lining,
and additional backing linings. The sections
include, from right to left: a brocade cover, frontispiece, the painting and endpiece for titles,
inscriptions, and colophons. These sections are
divided by wide silk borders and often framed
with attached thin, paper borders. The different
materials include paper, woven silk cloth, paste,
wood, a silken cord, and a jade or ivory toggle.
The lining support layers, brocade cover, silk borders, and silken cord are considered part of the
mounting. The mounting serves as the overall
scroll structure to make a continuous handscroll.
All of these components are interdependent and
form a single art object.
The handscroll is a functional object designed
to be unrolled and rolled. The left end of the
handscroll is rolled into a tube with decorative
caps inset at the top and bottom. The right edge
of the handscroll is reinforced with a thin wooden stave to which a cord and toggle are attached
to secure the scroll when rolled. The rolled format allows the painting to be easily handled,
transported, and stored.
122
Fig. 2: Patriarchs of Chan Buddhism, after treatment. Creases reinforced and surface humidified and flattened using minor treatment.
(Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of
Charles Lang Freer, F1909.229)
Although handscrolls are usually exhibited fully
unrolled, the handscroll as a personal, functional object requires the viewer to continuously
unroll and roll the scroll to reveal lengths of the
painting that an individual can manage. The
handscroll is an elegant and convenient design,
but repeated handling often results in wear and
damage. In addition, the quality of the materials
and how the handscroll was originally assembled
can also affect its overall balance, lexibility, and
long-term stability. Conservators work to identify
and treat problems to prevent further damage.
The systematic approach used by the
Freer|Sackler involves identifying common condition problems, understanding the cause(s) of
each problem, considering and prioritizing treatment options, and determining the potential
damage to the handscroll if left untreated.
occur during storage, when the object is rolled.
Sharp vertical creases throughout the handscroll can indicate that the paper and silk are
degraded, acidic, and brittle. When creases are
primarily located on the section of the painting,
weakness is often associated with deterioration
of the painted substrate and potential imbalance between the painting and its surrounding
mounting. Sharp creases conined to the joins
in the mount generally indicate weakness in the
structure due to inappropriate width and thickness of the join and a paste layer that is too thick
or strong. Minor creases and splits that do not extend to the center of the scroll, but repeat along
the edges of the scroll, that appear tight and curl
up, indicate damage caused by uneven shrinkage
of the borders.
Common condition problems resulting from
poor or excessive handling include wear of the
cover silk, splits in the mounting attached to the
wooden stave, torn cords, and broken or missing toggles. Poor handling can lead to crushed
edges and edge splits. Unlike the damage caused
by uneven shrinkage of the borders, edge splits
caused by poor handling are common to a scroll
that appears planar when unrolled.
As a result of the scroll format and the nature
of its use, many typical condition problems will
repeat across the entire length of a scroll. Identifying condition problems and observing their
location and patterns of repetition in relationship to other parts of the scroll can help one to
understand the cause(s) of damage and determine appropriate treatment. Depending on the
condition issues and their severity, conservation
solutions range from minor, localized treatment
to complete remounting.
Problem Ranking
Problem Identiication
Conservators at the Freer|Sackler have experience identifying condition problems and characterizing the weaknesses in the overall structure
of the handscroll that give rise to them.
Poor housing and environmental conditions,
the use of low-quality materials, and the unsuccessful integration by the mounter of the various
complex components of the handscroll lead to
common condition problems that include foxing, brittleness, undulation, creases and splits,
delamination of the laminate structure, separating joins, and paint loss.
The following condition problems typically
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
After identifying condition problems, conservators determine whether the scroll can be
handled and displayed. Condition problems considered high priority are those when the stability
of the media and the lexibility of the support
layers are compromised during handling or exhibition. Friable paint, delamination, brittleness,
and severe creases and splits should be addressed
and treated before further handling.
Some minor problems are also considered
high priority if continued use of the handscroll
is anticipated because they will lead to further
damage if left untreated. Weak edges, tiny tears,
minor losses, and crushed edges, combined with
123
Fig. 3: Map of the Yellow River showing a large tear before
treatment. (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, DC: Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1909.220)
Fig. 4: Map of the Yellow River, after treatment. Tear repaired using partial remounting. (Freer Gallery of Art,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC: Gift of Charles
Lang Freer, F1909.220)
repeated and unsafe handling, will lead to large
tears in the painting.
forcements can be used to temporarily stabilize a
handscroll that still requires further treatment,
or can be applied as a permanent solution when
there are few creases and tears or they are limited to the mount joins. Successful strip reinforcements depend upon the conservator’s skillful use
of the appropriate papers and paste consistency,
otherwise, these repairs may cause additional
damage.
Humidifying and lattening handscrolls under
weight is a minor treatment for addressing undulations or the upward bowing of scrolls when
unrolled. The Freer|Sackler uses a controlled
moisture humidifying and lattening technique
that is similar to what is known in western conservation as friction drying. Controlled introduction of moisture into the support makes the
scroll more lexible, evens out areas where strip
repairs were applied, and can restore bonding
strength between the mounting layers by softening and reactivating the paste, while minimizing
the potential for water-induced stains and distortions.
When minor treatment is inadequate for
stabilizing condition problems, partial remount-
Treatment Options
The Freer|Sackler groups conservation treatment
of handscrolls into three categories: (1) minor
treatment; (2) intermediate treatment including
partial remounting; and (3) complete remounting. If possible, minimal intervention should be
the irst option.
Minor treatment can include minor consolidation of loose paint or ink, surface cleaning,
reattaching lifted support layers, strip reinforcements, repair of small tears, inill of lost material
on the brocade cover, and repair of lost or damaged cords and toggles. Minor treatment requires
sparing use and localized application of water to
minimize the potential for distortion of the absorbent paper layers.
Strip reinforcements are used to stabilize
creases and minor tears. Different thicknesses
of Chinese Xuan paper and Japanese Mino paper
are pre-cut into narrow strips. A narrow strip of
paper is pasted and applied to the crease or tear
on the backside of the handscroll. Strip rein-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
124
ing techniques, which build upon fundamental
mounting practices, should be considered. Partial remounting includes reusing or replacing
cover silks, repairing major tears, compensating
for unevenness and imbalance in the mounting
structure, and replacing the inal backing layer.
For example, severe tears and imbalance in the
mounting structure can be addressed with a
partial remounting treatment in which sections
of the original backing paper are removed and
replaced with new backing support. This approach allows serious condition problems to be
locally treated without completely dismantling
the handscroll. Partial remounting requires the
skills used to remount old paintings and should
be carried out by a trained specialist.
Complete remounting should be the last
treatment option when a handscroll is in poor
condition and can no longer be handled and
displayed safely. Complete remounting may be
necessary when the old mounting and support
layers are brittle, severely creased, delaminating,
and no longer function to protect the painting.
Specialists trained in traditional methods of
conservation and mounting techniques of handscrolls should be consulted to carry out complete
remounting.
Prioritization of Treatment Solutions
In most cases, treatment options for handscrolls,
from minor treatment to complete remounting,
relect a balance between the needs of the handscroll and the resources available to the conservator. Time requirements for proper treatment,
available working space and facilities, appropriate materials, and the expertise of specialists
are factors that inluence treatment decisions.
Minor treatment and partial remounting can
be appropriate preservation solutions even for
handscrolls in poor condition, when the time,
resources, and expertise required for complete
remounting are unavailable.
Two Ming (1368-1644) dynasty paintings on
silk from the Freer|Sackler collection, Patriarchs
of Chan Buddhism (Fig. 1-2) and Map of the Yellow River (Fig. 3 - 4), are examples of paintings
that would have been completely remounted
under the standard of traditional practice, but
were successfully stabilized using less invasive
treatment methods.
Patriarchs of Chan Buddhism was in fair condition except for several severe vertical creases
that rose into high peaks across the length of
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
the handscroll. It required treatment for safe
exhibition, but frequent handling or further
display after exhibition was unlikely. Given the
time constraints, the fairly stable condition of
the primary support, and expected infrequent
handling and display following the exhibition,
minor treatment was the most appropriate treatment solution. One- or two-layered strip reinforcements were applied to reduce the creases.
For shallow creases, one layer of paper provided
enough support, but for deep creases, two layers
of paper were used to add extra support. After
applying the strip reinforcements, the handscroll
was humidiied and dried under weight to latten it and make it more lexible.
Map of the Yellow River was in good condition overall, but had a large vertical tear that
made handling unsafe. Tears of this degree are
often addressed with complete remounting, but
a partial remounting treatment was carried out
instead because of the painting’s overall good
condition. In addition, the blue and green paint
were thickly applied and could easily be disturbed during complete remounting. The partial
remounting treatment included removing the
backing layers around the area of the tear using localized application of water, mending the
break, integrating new backing papers to achieve
the thickness and lexibility of the original support layers, and overall humidifying and lattening. In this case, partial remounting offered a
more stable and long-term solution than minor
treatment, but avoided the risks of complete remounting.
Conclusion
This systematic approach to assessing the condition of and determining treatment options
for handscrolls is used by the conservators in
the East Asian Painting Conservation Studio at
the Freer|Sackler to successfully manage the
needs of the collection while keeping in mind
the limitations of time and other resources.
Recognizing that many other institutions face
additional limitations and do not have conservators who specialize in Chinese paintings, this
paper summarizes the most common condition
problems of handscrolls and some of the treatment options that are available. It is hoped that
this paper will provide basic guidance on the
structure and problems of handscrolls and build
awareness for the sound management and preservation of these repeatedly handled objects. Like
125
all conservation treatment decisions, this approach deines the appropriate intervention as a
balance between the condition of the handscroll
and the conservator’s resources. The information
presented in this paper can serve as a basis for
future discussions on the speciic treatments of
handscrolls.
Acknowledgements
Andrew Hare and the Department of
Conservation and Scientific Research
(Freer|Sackler); Mary Oey (Library of Congress); and Kerith Koss Schrager
References
Gouet, V., Gu, X., and Hou, Y. 2003. ‘The
treatment of Chinese portraits: An introduction to Chinese painting conservation techniques’. Journal of the American
Institute for Conservation, 42(3):463-477.
Gu, X., Hou, Y. and Gouet, V. 1999. ‘The
treatment of Chinese portraits: An introduction to Chinese painting conservation techniques’. The Book and Paper
Group Annual, 18:17-24.
Mint, R. 2006. ‘Conservation of Asian art
– a select bibliography of Western language publications’. The Paper Conservator, 30:123-31.
Winter, J. 2008. East Asian Paintings:
Materials, Structures and Deterioration
Mechanisms, London: Archetype Publications.
Authors
Grace Jan
Smithsonian Institution
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M.
Sackler Gallery
Department of Conservation and Scientific Research
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 707
Washington, DC 20013-7012
jang@si.edu
Xiangmei Gu
Smithsonian Institution
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M.
Sackler Gallery
Department of Conservation and Scientific Research
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 707
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Fax 202.633.0391
guxi@si.edu
Gulik, R.H. van. [1958] 1981. Chinese Pictorial Art as Viewed by the Connoisseur.
Reprint, New York: Hacker Art Books.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
126
Applications of Image Processing Software to Archival Material
Christina Duffy
The British Library, London, UK
Introduction
Images of archival material are useful to both
conservators for monitoring changes and to researchers for detailed analysis and permanent
access to collection items. Digitisation projects
generate huge volumes of image data. Images
can be enhanced and manipulated with image
processing software to suit the speciic needs of
the user. This allows historical documents and
other collection items to be studied without the
risk of damage to the primary source.
ImageJ is a powerful public domain Java-based
image processing package. The nature of open
source software allows for the constant update
and availability of new plugins and recordable
macros designed for speciic tasks. ImageJ’s
built-in editor and a Java compiler allow for the
development of custom acquisition, analysis and
processing plugins.
In this study the applications of image processing software to archival material are described highlighting the wealth of information
that can be obtained from images.
ImageJ
ImageJ was originally designed for the purpose
of medical imaging by the National Institutes for
Health by Wayne Rasband, but has since found
applications in many ields. It can be run on any
computer with a Java 5 or later virtual machine,
as an online applet or as a downloadable application (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Mac OSX,
Linux, Sharp Zaurus PDA).
ImageJ offers features similar to commercially
Fig. 1
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
available image processing software packages
such as brightness/contrast adjustment, frequency domain iltering, binarisation and particle
analysis.
ImageJ Applications to Cultural Heritage
1.Image File Distribution
File Format Conversions: The sharing and distribution of large image iles generated by digitisation projects is often hampered by both the sender and recipient’s ability to convert between ile
formats. ImageJ is a versatile image processing
program which can open and convert between
TIFF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, DICOM, BMP, PGM and FITS
images. Plugins can be installed to allow RAW
image iles, images in ASCII format and images
which are loaded over the network using an URL
to be opened and manipulated. This versatility
allows any image format to be converted into the
users preferred format for storage and archival
purposes.
2. Digital Image Enhancement
Brightness/Contrast Adjustment: Important features in a collection item are often obscured due
to poor environment lighting during image capture. ImageJ supports 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit grayscale images, and 8-bit and 32-bit colour images.
The brightness and contrast of an image can be
interactively altered serving to optimise features
and enhance regions which are shrouded in
darkness (Fig. 1).
However, when the brightness and contrast
of the original image is altered, information is
lost; the modiied image has a reduced greyscale
range. Therefore although the modiied image
appears more pleasing to the human eye (i.e. the
differences between foreground and background
seem more evident), the original actually contains more information and is of a higher quality
(Faigenbaum et al. 2012).
3. Metadata Generation
Set and apply scale: Accurately recording the
size of a collection item is an important part of
metadata documentation. ImageJ can be used to
127
Fig. 2
incorporate scale bars in images. Without user
intervention distances and areas on a digital
plane are expressed in pixels and square pixels.
Once the distance in pixels is known then the
preferred unit (μm, mm, etc.) can be added. Any
future measurements made on the image will
present quantities in the newly assigned unit.
4. Watermark Extraction
Bandpass ilter: The subject of interest of an
image for a particular user can sometimes be
obscured by other features such as a watermark
hidden under lines of text. Bandpass ilters can
be used in ImageJ to ilter out unwanted pixel
structures. An upper size limit ilters out large
structures (shading correction) and a lower limit
ilters out small structures (smoothing). ImageJ
uses a Gaussian ilter in Fourier space allowing
isolation of important features for research.
There is an extra option to suppress horizontal
or vertical stripes, which is similar to subtracting
an image that is only blurred in the horizontal
or vertical direction in the original.
5. Colour Management
RGB Pixel Values: Colour charts should always
be included in the image capture procedure to
ensure that the RGB pixel values of the object being imaged can be compared to a standard. This
is important in cultural heritage for the accurate
preservation of colour in collection items, speciically photographic collections and illuminated
manuscripts.
Colour is expressed as an RGB triplet (r,g,b),
each component of which can vary from zero
to a deined maximum value. This value can be
determined with ImageJ. If all of the RGB components of an image are at zero, then the image is
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
black. Conversely if all of the RGB values are at a
maximum, then the image is white.
6. Provenance Determination
Colour Space Converter: Converting images
from the RGB to other colour spaces can reveal
hidden text and help determine the provenance
of archival material. Colour can be speciied by
three parameters in a colour space and there
are mathematical relationships that enable
the parameters of one colour space to be transformed into another. The colour of an image is
most often described in terms of the percentage
of red, green and blue hues combined. Images
such as these exist in RGB colour space, but there
are other ways to describe the colour of a pixel
using different colour spaces. Alternative ways
of describing colour numerically are useful for
making certain calculations easier and making
colour identiication more intuitive such as by
describing colours by their hue, saturation and
luminance.
Two ImageJ plugins allow for the conversion
of a standard RGB image into another colour
space called ‘Colour Transformer’ (Barilla 2012)
and ‘Colour Space Converter’ (Schwartzwald
2007). ImageJ can generate as many as ifty-two
combinations of the original image in different
colour spaces.
7. Degradation Monitoring
Stacks: Degradation features in a collection
item can be monitored over time by comparing
sequential images. An image stack is a collection
of images of the same size and bit depth usually
taken over the same region of interest where
the scene is not changing due to motion. ImageJ
can display these spatially or temporally related
128
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
images in a single window allowing the user to
scroll between images and monitor changes in
the region of interest. Individual images within a
stack are called slices. Cameras can be positioned
in areas to collect photographs which can be
compared to determine the rate of dust collection or mould growth in a cultural heritage site.
Placing images into a stack allows for immediate
identiication of changes. Multispectral images
can be opened as a stack in ImageJ to compare
the behaviour of parchment and pigments across
the electromagnetic spectrum.
constructed in ImageJ using the Split Channels
tool. The RGB original image separates into three
grayscale images, in three different windows representing red, green and blue colour channels.
8. Artifact Interpretation
Merging and Splitting Channels: Pseudocolour
images are used to make features such as deterioration artifacts stand-out so that they are easier
to interpret. Pseudocolour or false colour images
are single channel gray images of 8, 16 or 32-bit
pixel depth that have colour assigned to them
via a look-up table (LUT). They relect differences
in image intensity rather than differences in
the image colour. This type of processing has application for multispectral imaging where three
bands revealing different information are chosen
and assigned to the colours red, green or blue.
These images can be merged to create a pseudocolour image highlighting important features
(Fig. 2).
Sometimes image information can be observed more readily in single channel view than
in RGB combination. An RGB image can be de-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
9. Scholarly Understanding and Publication
Rotation and Transformation: Captured images are often at an unsuitable orientation for
publication. It is also useful to compare writing
on one side of a page with that on the reverse to
determine if faded text is obscured by ink overleaf. Within the Transform menu are options
“Flip Horizontally” (replaces the image or selection with a mirror image of the original), “Flip
Vertically” (turns the image or selection upside
down), “Flip Z”, “Transform”, and three related
to rotation which contains commands that rotate the active image or stack.
Image straightening or image rotation is inadvisable prior to digital restoration unless the
image is rotating through 90° or 180° (due to
the regular geometry of pixels). Slight rotations
are achieved without apparent visible effect on
the image, but a rotation results in the rewriting
of colour values and slight blurring of boundaries (Fig. 3). For cultural heritage collections, the
boundaries of letters and artefacts are crucial to
deining context (McFeely 2006).
10. Boundary Deinition
Unsharp Mask: Unsharp Mask is applied to compensate for poor focus during image capture ei-
129
ther because the user failed to focus the camera
tightly enough, or because the camera was too
far away from the subject (a possible restriction
due to limited gutter opening space for bound
collection items). Unsharp mask is a command
in the ImageJ Process menu which subtracts a
blurred duplicate of the image followed by a
rescaling of the image to obtain the same contrast of large low-frequency structures as in the
original. The image is sharpened as this process
is equivalent to adding a high-pass iltered image
to the input image.
Unsharp mask is the inal operation which
should be applied to an image during processing. It is a destructive process. Images can also
be sharpened using Process > Sharpen but the
user has no parameter control (blur radius and
strength of iltering). Unsharp mask changes
colour values and is especially destructive in the
ine gradations of colour which form part of the
image that is most vital in enhancement processes. Smooth backgrounds become grainy and lose
subtle colour deinition crucial to restoration,
while boundaries become more well-deined
(Fig. 4).
Conclusion
A suite of processing and analysing features in
the ImageJ package offers multiple applications
to the ield of cultural heritage including image
ile distribution, digital image enhancement,
metadata generation, watermark extraction,
colour management, provenance determination,
degradation monitoring, artifact interpretation,
scholarly understanding and publication, and
boundary deinition. The increase in digitisation
projects generates large volumes of image iles
that can be processed to enhance understanding
of our collections, without physically handling
fragile material.
References
Barilla, M.E. of the Digital Systems & Vision Processing
Group at The University of Birmingham, UK is the author of the ImageJ plugin ‘Color Transformer’. The first
version was released in 2007 and was last updated in
2012. http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij/plugins/color-transforms.
html.
Faigenbaum, S, Sober, B., Shaus, A., Moinester, M., Piasetzky, E., Bearman, G., Cordonsky, M., and Finkelstein, I.,
Multispectral images of ostraca: acquisition and analysis, Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 39, Issue
12, December 2012, Pages 3581-3590.
McFeely, C., An introduction to digital restoration techniques using high resolution digital images, The DIAMM
Digital Restoration Workbook, 2006.
Schwartzwald, D is the author of the ImageJ plugin
‘Color Space Converter’. The first version was released in
2006 and was last updated in 2007.
Figure Captions
Fig. 1: Brightness and Contrast. (a): original image, (b):
brightness and contrast adjusted image. The image is
processed using the automatic brightness and contrast
command which optimises the settings based on the image’s histogram. (Image: Cotton MS Nero D.IV Folio 89v).
Fig. 2: Merging and Splitting Channels. (a): multispectral
image at 420 nm, (b) multispectral image at 720 nm, (c):
multispectral image at 1,000 nm, (d): pseudocolour image which is the sum of (a), (b) and (c) where colours are
assigned as (a) = red, (b) = green and (c) = blue. (Image:
Add. Ms. 45722, Leaf from Sforza Hours).
Fig. 3: Rotation and Transformation. (a): unrotated original image of the letter a, (b): rotated image of the letter
a, (c): unrotated close-up of the letter a showing pixel
distribution, (d): rotated close-up of the letter a showing
increased pixel blur when compared to (c). (Image: Cotton Augustus ii 106).
Fig. 4: Unsharp Mask: (a): original unsharpened image,
(b): image after Unsharp Mask command is applied
once, (c): unsharp mask command is applied twice, (d):
unsharp mask is applied three times. (Image: Add. Ms.
45722, Leaf from Sforza Hours).
Author
Christina Duffy
The British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB,
United Kingdom, christina.duffy@bl.uk.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
130
Analysing Deterioration Artifacts in Archival Material
Using Multispectral Images
Christina Duffy
The British Library, London, UK
Introduction
Multispectral imaging is a non-invasive and nondestructive method with applications in remote
sensing, astronomy and most recently in the
emerging ield of cultural heritage. Details of
archival material invisible to the naked eye may
be revealed by examining them in the infra-red
(IR) and ultra-violet (UV) regions of the spectrum.
Unlike standard RGB imaging, multispectral imaging captures a dense set of spectral measurements over a wide wavelength range revealing
information unobserved in the visible bands.
Deteriorating artifacts in archival material
can be analysed and documented by processing digital images generated by multispectral
instruments, without the risk of damaging the
primary source.
Archival degradation is present in all materials due to natural aging and can be accelerated
by usage, poor storage conditions, unsuitable
humidity, mould and insect infestations, and
physical damage such as ires or loods. These
conditions lead to typical deterioration artifacts
including biological and physical damages,
metal gall inks corrosion, ink diffusion and fading, seeping of ink from overleaf (bleed-through
effect), blurred or unfocused writings, transparency, parchment gelatinisation, noise, spots,
fragmentation of ink, or paper oxidation.
Examining these artifacts in different regions
of the spectrum enables differently-coloured
features to be emphasised so that deterioration
artifacts may be distinguished and damage may
become visible.
Multispectral Imaging: The range of all possible
frequencies of electromagnetic (EM) radiation
is known as the Electromagnetic Spectrum. It
extends from low frequency and long-wave radio
waves through to high frequency and short gamma waves. The higher the frequency, the more
energy a wave contains. These energetic waves
can cause serious damage to sensitive material,
including skin when exposed to UV radiation
from the sun. Radiation either side of the visible
region cannot be observed with the human eye,
but can be captured visually using multispectral
analysis.
Multispectral imaging is a form of computational photography which extracts information
from a sequence of digital images. Computational photography is based on the interaction of
light with matter. When light falls on an object,
energy is absorbed, relected or transmitted by
its surface. The extent to which this energy is
absorbed or relected is dependent upon the
chemical nature of the object. Each material will
have a characteristic spectral curve dependent
on the chemical make-up. Multispectral instruments can provide spatially-resolved analysis and
distribution of materials with distinct spectral
signatures. Many texts which are illegible to the
eye are legible in the infrared. Similarly, deterioration artifacts that cannot be seen in the visible
can be observed at other wavelengths.
Experimental Method
Fig. 1
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Hardware: A number of multispectral imaging
systems are available on the market, but each
developed for a speciic purpose. One of the irst
systems designed for cultural heritage was developed and used for high resolution digitisation
of large easel paintings at the National Gallery
under the EU-funded VASARI project (Saunders
1993). Since the VASARI project multiple systems
131
Fig. 2
have been developed offering the user greater
choice in technical speciication.
Data in this study was collected using a MuSIS system by Forth Photonics. Pages can be
imaged rapidly facilitating real-time examination and a tunable monochromator means that
the optimum wavelength for examination can
be easily selected. MuSIS contains a sensitive
photodetector reducing the amount of illumination required to fall on the object during image
capture. Multispectral imaging with a MuSIS
system can take photographs at 32 different
wavelengths, ranging from the ultra-violet to the
near-infrared at 20 nm intervals (420 nm – 1,000
nm) as shown in Fig. 1.
analysed using HSI Labs (Joo Kim, Zhuo, Deng,
Fu, and Brown 2010). HSI Labs is an imaging software program designed in collaboration with the
Nationaal Archief of the Netherlands (NAN) and
Art Innovation, a manufacturer of hyperspectral
imaging hardware. The software is speciically
designed for use on vulnerable historical documents where visualisation and analysis methods
are required to determine the state of the collection item. Features available with HSI manipulation include interactive spectral selection,
spectral similarity analysis, time-varying data
analysis and visualisation and selective band fusion (Seon Joo Kim et al., 2010).
Results
Software: Multispectral imaging extracts information from a sequence of digital images. There
are several interactive visualisation tools available for handling multispectral imaging. Historically most software that processes multispectral
data is speciic to astronomical or remote sensing
applications. Software ranges from commercial
(ENVI from ITT Visual Information Solutions),
to freeware (MultiSpec (Biehl, Landgrebe 2002)).
These tools were designed to help solve practical problems faced by conservators in libraries,
museums, and archives for character segmentation, monitoring of degradation, evaluation of
cleaning methods, enhancing manuscript text,
visualisation of palimpsests and for pigment
identiication.
Images collected with the MuSIS system were
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Pigment Identiication and Monitoring: Each
of the 32 spectral images produced by the MuSIS
system is displayed as a monochromatic image
representing the percentage of spectral relectance at each pixel for this band. The change
in the value of the pixel’s spectral relectance
across the 32 bands can be plotted, and this corresponding plot is characteristic of the material
analysed. This information allows the user to differentiate between various pigments which may
be unknown and compared to those which are
known.
Fig. 2 displays three panels showing different
representations of the Renaissance illuminated
manuscript Add. Ms. 45722: Leaf from Sforza
Hours. To the left is the original colour image.
Using HSI Labs spectral data is used to generate
132
Fig. 3
similarity maps. Similarity maps between the
mean of the spectrum of the marked area and
the other points in the data are computed by using the entire spectral bands, visible bands and
selected bands in the near-IR. The central and
right images in Fig. 2 show similarity maps in
greyscale and jet colour respectively.
Fig. 3 shows the spectral plot of the points
marked 1-8 in the colour image of Fig. 2. The
points were chosen based on colour differences
observed visually, and were intended to capture a
wide range of pigments used in the illumination.
A plot of this data allows the user to compare
spectra of different image points to determine
their similarity (or dissimilarity). This has applications for measuring the corrosion or ink-bleed
severity and separating foreground artifacts from
the background of the image or document under
analysis.
Photographic Degradation: Historical photographs form an important part of cultural heritage collections as their examination allows for
the improved understanding of most subjects
of interest. They capture moments in time and
allow observers to connect with characters and
places in the past. Photographs are damaged by
direct sunlight, insects, degrading adhesives,
nearby sulphur compounds and high humidity
which encourages mould growth.
Multispectral analysis has been used recently
on daguerreotypes (Goltz, Hill 2012). Degradation
of daguerreotypes results in the formation of tarnish on the highly polished silver surface which
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
can obscure the graphic content of the image. It
was found that the light absorption properties of
a photograph with tarnished and untarnished areas had signiicant differences. These differences
allowed for the near-IR camera to image through
dirt and heavily tarnished areas. Multispectral
analysis can therefore be used as a means of visually showing the conservator how much and
which parts of the photograph have the potential
to be recovered. Spectral analysis could be utilised as a means of monitoring changes to tarnish and other photographic artifacts allowing
preventative measures to intervene immediately.
Fig. 4 shows a 20th century photograph of a girl
making her Holy Communion. A written inscription in ink along the top records the date and
event. Three bands (420 nm, 620 nm, 1,000 nm)
of the 32 which are produced from the MuSIS
instrument highlight the differences observed at
different parts of the spectrum. Dirt and impurities visible at 420 nm can be eliminated at 1,000
nm. The ink inscription along the top, which is
faded to observers in daylight, appears enhanced
and more legible at 620 nm.
From Fig. 4 it is evident that each waveband
produced by the multispectral instrument
contains different information. While it is
sometimes useful to isolate these bands it is
also advantageous to combine bands with and
provide contextual details in the entire data volume in a process known as fusion analysis. This
technique aids in enhancing the legibility of the
data. The fusion technique is also useful in that
it can remove artifacts on the document such as
ink-bleed, ink corrosion, and foxing for research
purposes.
Conclusion
Multispectral images are useful for analysing
deterioration artifacts in archival material and
where possible should be considered as part of
the standard condition assessment process. Multispectral data can be used to analyse the effects
of environmental aging. It is known that the
effects of changes in humidity and temperature
and exposure to light induce damage to documents over time. These changes can be systematically monitored with visualisation tools such
as HSI Labs to track the exact process of aging.
Parchment relectance can be monitored to detect degradation before it is visually observed.
Image processing is as important as image
capture. Processing and analysing digital images
133
Fig. 4
offers a non-invasive approach to study and disseminate historical documents without the risk
of damaging the primary source.
References
Biehl, L. and Landgrebe, D., MultiSpec – A
tool for multispectral-hyperspectral image data analysis, Computers and Geosciences, Volume 28, Issue 10, December
2002, Pages 1152-1159.
Forth Photonics Website, MuSIS HS,
http://musis.forth-photonics.com/products.php.
Goltz, D. and Hill, G., Hyperspectral Imaging of Daguerreotypes, Restaurator, International Journal for the Preservation
of Library and Archival Material, Volume
33, Issue 1, March 2012, Pages 1-16.
ITT Visual Information Solutions: ENVI.
http://www.ittvis.com/ProductServices/
ENVI.aspx, Jun 2010.
Joo Kim, S., Zhuo, S., Deng, F., Fu, C-W. and
Brown, M.S., Interactive Visualisation of
Hyperspectral Images of Historical Documents, IEEE Transactions on visualisation and computer graphics, Volume 16,
Issue 6, December 2010, Pages 1441-1448.
Saunders, D. and Cupitt, J., Image Processing at the National Gallery: The VASARI
Project, National Gallery Technical Bulletin, Volume 14, 1993, Pages 72-85.
Fig. 2: HSI Labs multispectral image
processing of the Renaissance illuminated manuscript Add. Ms. 45722, Leaf
from Sforza Hours. Similarity maps are
a measure between the mean spectrum
of the marked area and the other points
in the data are computed by using the
entire spectral bands, visible bands and
selected bands in the NIR. Left: Original
RGB image showing a variety of pigments
used across the illumination. The numbers represent spectral plots shown in
Fig. 3. Centre: Grey colour similarity map
of the Leaf from Sforza Hours, Right: Jet
colour similarity plots of the Leaf from
Sforza Hours. Multispectral data was
captured with the MuSIS system.
Fig. 3: Spectrum plot of the Renaissance
illuminated manuscript Add. Ms. 45722,
Leaf from Sforza Hours showing the use
of multispectral images in pigment identification. 1 = blue clothing, 2 = green
clothing, 3 = yellow hat, 4 = grey collar, 5
= baby skin, 6 = gold halo, 7 = brown roof,
8 = red clothing.
Fig. 4: Three bands of the 32 generated by
the MuSIS multispectral instrument are
shown. Left: At 420 nm the photograph
appears dirty and the ink inscription
along the top is faded. Centre: At 620
nm the impurities on the surface have
been reduced and the ink inscription is
enhanced. Right: At 1,000 nm the impurities have are removed and the image is
no longer obscured. The ink, however, is
not visible at this band. A combination
of the 620 nm and 1,000 nm band would
provide the optimum fusion.
Figure Captions
Fig. 1: The spectral range of the MuSIS
system extends from ultraviolet to near
infrared including the visible part of the
Electromagnetic Spectrum. From
http://musis.forth-photonics.com/
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Author
Christina Duffy, The British Library, 96
Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, United
Kingdom, christina.duffy@bl.uk.
134
Strategy in the Case of a Wrecked Papyrus: Is an Intervention Appropriate?
Eve Menei and Laurence Caylux
Independent conservators, Paris, France
Fig. 1: Overall view of mounts 1 and 7 (Menei & Caylux©).
Some works may be historically signiicant but
in disastrous condition. At each stage of evaluation of the artifact, the conservator inds himself
or herself confronted with the very question of
whether to intervene.
In 2010, the Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre asked us to undertake research
on the physical condition and possibilities for
intervention on a large (estimated length of the
scroll: seven metres) and exceptional papyrus,
recently acquired by the Museum (inv.E 32 847)
(Fig. 1).
of the preceding text. The manuscript is written
in hieratic script, with cursive hieroglyphs, in
carbon black ink and some sections are inscribed
in red ink. The papyrus was acquired in 1953 by a
private individual. It has remained the property
of various private owners until its purchase in
2007 by the Department of Egyptian Antiquities
of the Louvre thanks to the contribution of the
Ipsen Group. Its general condition was however
so preoccupying that the Museum hesitated in
concluding its purchase which was inally justiied by the scientiic importance of the document.
Historical background
The document inscribed recto-verso, dated to the
New Kingdom of Egypt (1550-1050 BC) displays a
medical treaty on each side. The recto bears descriptions of diseases together with remedies to
treat them, for which some parallels are known
from other papyri. The verso shows longer and
more numerous descriptions together with
magical spells unknown from other documents.
The irst text was written during the reigns of
Thutmose III or Amenhotep II (1479-1404 BC) and
the second one 150 years later at the beginning
of the Ramesside period as an updated version
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
The production of papyri
The oldest known papyrus is an unwritten scroll
found in a tomb and dated to 3100 BC.
It shows evidence of a perfectly developed production process.
A sheet of papyrus is made from strips cut
vertically from the stem of the Cyperus papyrus;
two layers of strips would be laid down one upon
the other at right angles and then pressed. Like
all organic materials, papyri eventually suffer
deterioration through ageing, but stored under
good conditions, they can still be very light in
135
Fig. 2: Detail: dust, white halo and piece displaced
colour, comparatively lexible, with a good consistency of ibres, even after 5000 years.
Present condition
The dark brown colour and the fragile and crumbly material of the document are indicative of an
unusual and advanced state of deterioration. The
scroll was probably in bad condition when it was
discovered.
It is separated into two parts (top and bottom)
by a horizontal fracture running over its entire
length. When the papyrus was unrolled, fragments were placed into nine mounts without
the corresponding top and bottom parts being
joined. Fragments were attached with strips of
self-adhesive plastic tape between two sheets of
glass bound with opaque self-adhesive tape. The
glass of the mounts is very soiled by the dust of
papyrus and some of them show white stains
due to previous exposure to water. The papyrus
comprises many vertical fractures, lacunae and
broken fragments, many of them being detached
and now loose. White haloes are today the only
traces of pieces either displaced or lost (Fig. 2).
Some fragments have become so crumbly that
it is no longer possible to distinguish the ibre
structure of the papyrus (Fig. 3).
Intervention
After a preliminary thorough assessment of the
condition and the constituents of the document,
sponsors were sought to support research into
the practical feasibility of a repair intervention.
Once this research is completed, will it be possible to open the mounts, handle the fragments
and replace them in the right order and store
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 3: Detail: crumbly fragment and adhesive tape
them in a satisfactory way?
A very progressive approach was decided consisting of several steps (0 to 5, steps 0 to 4 being
completed) in order to evaluate the practical possibilities.
Step O
Initially, an overall H-D photographic study was
carried out to document all pieces, recto and verso. This then makes it possible for an epigraphist
to work simultaneously on the texts with the
competent curator in order to ind the former
position of the fragments misplaced.
We adopted the principle of a chronological
journal in order to record every single operation
(meetings, tests, orders, conversations, recommendations).
We also got in touch with colleagues specialized in the conservation of papyri and exchanged
our views on our problem: Bridget Leach from
the British Museum in London and Florence
Dalbre from the Bodmer Foundation in Geneva.
These contacts have been very valuable to compare the conservation materials used as well as
to help us choose the methods to be applied.
Step 1
Opening the mounts
After this preliminary evaluation, we were conscious of the extreme fragility of the document
and our irst intention was to limit our intervention to a maximum by only replacing the fragments and changing the glass of the mounts. We
began by opening a irst mount but we quickly
noticed that despite all our precautions, the papyrus was too brittle to be lifted out and handled
136
without preliminary consolidation.
Our next objective was to select an appropriate consolidant (by nature irreversible) to restore
the consistency of the material.
Step 2
Consolidant
On the basis of our practical experience in the
conservation of papyri ( Menei 2010) and that
of our foreign colleagues (Darbre 2008), it was
agreed to select funori (an adhesive paste made
from Japanese seaweeds of the Gloïopeltis family). This is well known for its great smoothness.
Its low surface tension allows for better penetration inside the layers of ibres of papyri which
are not reined and not felted like paper. Used
well, it does not cause brightness nor darkening
of the papyrus.
Several methods for preparing funori exist in
Japan: it can be soaked for varying durations,
heated or unheated and can be used in various
concentrations. To reduce the surface tension,
we thought to add a few drops of ethanol. Then a
method of preparation and concentrations meeting our requirements of penetration inside our
brittle papyrus had to be chosen. We carried out
a number of tests to determine the best preparation and concentration of funori.
Two types of funori can be found on the market:
an artisanal product sold as dried seaweeds and
a product resulting from laboratory extraction
(JunFunori®) sold as a white powder. We are currently hesitating between these two products:
the irst one beneits from already being tried
and tested and the second from a laboratory
production guarantee although it may be of variable quality. We must carry out quality tests after
maturing of the later product (Dauchez 2012,
Michel 2011). For the moment we have decided
to use traditional Japanese funori sold as dried
seaweeds.
Based on our experience and on conservation
Fig. 4: Products samples and tests. Photos © Menei & Caylux
literature, the safest method for applying funori
consists in brushing it over the surface through
an intermediary ilm. The surface is too fragile to
support direct friction of the brush and vaporization does not permit overseeing easily the funori
impregnation uniformly. After a test, it appeared
absolutely indispensable to supplement consolidation by adding a lining paper.
Step 3
Facing
Our selection criteria for the lining paper were a
great transparency so that the written side being
covered should remain readable, a good solidity
and a good penetrating ability to allow the transfer of consolidant.
A number of the thinnest Japanese papers
were tested:
Paper Nao ref RK 00 3,5g/m2
Paper Nao ref RK 01 8g/m2
Berlin tissue 2g/m2
Tengu 3,5g/m2 and 2g/m2
The irst mentioned paper, although very thin, is
so coated that it does not let the consolidant get
through easily. Best results are obtained with 2g/
m2 papers.
Objective
Final choice
Determine the best method of preparation: various
durations for soaking and heating
24 hours soaking + 15 minutes heating
Define the concentration-ratio dry seaweed / water: 0,25%,
0,50%,1%
0,50%
Assess the effect of adding ethanol
None ( water penetrates more rapidly, but the long
molecules of consolidant remain on the surface)
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
137
Scope of our tests:
Objective
Final choice
Assess the number of layers of consolidant necessary
Two layers
Appraise the quantity of consolidant on the brush
The brush should be very lightly impregnated in order to
avoid overflowing on the sides and wetting the papyrus
too much
Determine if pre-pasting the paper increases transparency
Not necessary with two layers of consolidant
Evaluate the need for pre-humidification of the papyrus
Essential to facilitate penetration
Step 4
Consolidation/ facing protocol
The putting into place of this procedure has a big
inluence on all parameters (dispersion, transparency, brightness, pasting quality).
We carried out tests on pieces of paper toned
brown using watercolour paint and on pieces of
unwritten papyri provided by the Department
(Fig. 4).
As for the method of application, we chose
to lay the consolidant over the surface through
Japanese paper with a lexible lat brush. It appears to us to be the fastest and the most precise
method.
Ongoing step
At this stage, our relection and the preparation
of the protocol must be confronted with the
current condition of the document. We must
now carry out our irst tests on small original
fragments. With the assistance of the curator,
we will select them and choose the side to be covered with the facing.
After opening the mounts, the strips of adhesive bands will be cut right on the edge of the
fragments. Considering the extreme state of
brittleness of the papyrus, it is impossible at the
present time to eliminate them. After consolidation and lining, we hope that it will be possible.
This is why, we would be more favourable to lining the side without adhesive bands.
We are also developing a method for removing
fragments from their mount using a sandwich of
nonwoven fabric with the aim of implementing
the protocol for each separate fragment.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
References
Darbre, F. 2008. ‘The Papyrus Codex Tchacos’. In Papier Restaurierung, vol 9, n°4.
Dauchez, A.-C. 2012. ‘Approche comparative des colles d’algues Funori et JunFunori®’. In Conservation, Exposition
Restauration d’Objets d’Art, revue électronique, n°8, URL http://ceroart.revues.
org/2865.
Menei, E. 2008. ‘Fifteen years of papyri
conservation at the Louvre: the influence
of Japanese techniques’, in Archiv für
Papyrusforschung, Beiheft 24, p. 62-67.
Michel, F. 2011 ‘Funori and JunFunori® :
Two Related consolidants with surprising properties’, in CCI Symposium : Adhesives and Consolidants for Conservation,
Research and Application, Ottawa, 2011,
URL : http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/symposium/2011//index-eng.aspx
Acknowledgements
Marc Etienne, curator in the Department
of Egytian Antiquities in the Louvre Museum.
Florence Darbre, conservator of papyri
in the Martin Bodmer Foundation in
Geneva.
Bridget Leach, conservator of papyri in
the British Museum in London.
Authors
Eve Menei
independent conservator, 77bis, rue
Michel-Ange, 75016 Paris
evemenei@free.fr
Laurence Caylux
independent conservator, 7, rue Armand
Carrel, 75019 Paris – France, laurence
caylux@free.fr
138
Fiber Optic Relectance Spectroscopy (FORS):
A Useful Technique for the Analysis of an Early 20th Century Livre d’Artiste
ana margarida silva | márcia vilarigues | maria joão melo | vicarte | marcello picollo
Department of Conservation and Restoration, Faculty of Sciences and Technology,
New University of Lisbon, Portugal
Institute of Applied Physics ‘Nello Carrara’, Florence, Italy
In paper conservation the analysis of materials is
often quite dificult due to the fact that in delicate art work paint layers are usually very thin
and small in size. The use of in situ non-invasive
techniques is recommended as the most appropriate analytical tool.
The analysis provided by Fiber Optic Relectance Spectroscopy (FORS) is useful in these
cases. The proposed in situ non-invasive technique operates in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (Vis)
and near-infrared (NIR) regions (350–2200 nm).
It allows scientists and conservators to identify
different compounds, especially pigments and
dyes, to evaluate colour and colour changes and
to detect alteration products. Proper instrument
coniguration may promote the achievement
of these goals with just a single measurement.
This methodology is based on the measurement
of the diffuse radiation from the surface when
compared with a standard of calibration, such as
Spectralon® or barium sulphate plates.
This case study presents a livre d’Artiste by
Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (1887-1918), the most
important Portuguese artist of the Avant Guard
movements from the beginning of the twentieth
century in Western Europe. The book entitled
La Légende de Saint Julien L’Hospitalier (1912)
was copied and illustrated by the artist from the
tale of Gustave Flaubert, resulting in a piece of
artwork. The decorative elements, illustrations,
and text link each other gracefully, the result of
which is a modern reinterpretation of a medieval
codex. This beautiful and unique piece is now
at Centro de Arte Moderna – Fundação Calouste
Gulbenkian’s collection in Lisbon (Portugal).
The poster illustrates the effective use of FORS
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
in the analysis of this book. On analysis of the
book’s production, FORS technique conirmed
the use of parchment in the bookbinding. FORS
also offered interesting information about the
watercolour’s molecular palette, rich in coloured
and stable pigments, which corroborates previous studies, with the exception of the blue colours. Gold and silver were also identiied as well
as alterations in silver. However, not all pigments
can be identiied in the 350–2200 nm range by
FORS, because some materials have similar relectance spectra: for instance, cadmium red and
vermilion. The black pigments were not easily
identiied because they show a strong absorption
that masks almost all of their spectral features.
When necessary, analyses were complemented
with micro-X-ray luorescence spectroscopy and
micro-Raman spectroscopy.
The application of FORS proved to be useful
to paper conservation, providing in situ non-invasive analysis. The advantages of FORS include
among others, the portability of the instrument
(which allows analysis on site) and the ability to
analyse the acquired spectra in real time.
Authors
amcd.silva@campus.fct.unl.pt
mgv@fct.unl.pt
mjm@dq.fct.unl.pt
m.picollo@ifac.cnr.it
139
Imaging Characteristics of Graphic Materials with the Minidome (RICH)
Lieve Watteeuw | Bruno Vandermeulen | Jan Van der Stock | Pierre Delsaerdt |
Stefan Gradmann | Fred Truyen | Marc Proesmans | Wim Moreau | Luc Van Gool
KU Leuven, Faculty of Arts; Illuminare, University Library & ESAT-Visics,
Department of Electrical Engineering, Leuven, Belgium
The RICH project
The digital imaging device, IMROD (Imaging
Module for Multi-spectral, Relectance or 2D+), is
digitizing with omnimulti-directional lighting
and exports the result to 2D+ (Fig. 1). The technique is based on polynomial texture mapping,
also known as Relectance Transformation Imag-
ing (RTI), a technique of imaging and interactively displaying objects under varying lighting
conditions to reveal surface phenomena. The
module is a hemi-spherical structure with a single downward looking video camera (28 million
pixels). The object to be captured ( maximum 180
to 120 mm) lies in the center and is illuminated
from computer-controllable lighting directions,
through the subsequent activation of multiple
white LEDs. The different angles that illuminate
the surface of the artifacts are revealing extreme
details. Special attention is taken to produce raking light to provide information on the surface
topography. For each illumination an image is
taken by the overhead camera, in total 264 images for each object. After processing these 264
images, ilters in the visualization system like
virtual lighting, shading and sketch are incorporated in the software. The application of these
ilters allows detailed documentation of surface
characteristics, irregularities, undulations, laking, lacunas and the different levels of loss of
the pictorial layers of the researched artifact.
After capturing the images, ine details can be
highlighted by the use of speciic digital ilters,
bringing out structures that would be less visible
Fig. 1: Dome for digitizing with omnimulti-directional
lighting and export the result to 2D+.
(© ESAT, KU Leuven)
Fig. 2: Last folio of a severely damaged 19th century manuscript on paper, imaged with raking light and adding a
shade filter. (© RICH, KU Leuven)
RICH (Relectance Imaging for Cultural Heritage,
KU Leuven, 2012-2015) is creating a digital imaging tool for researching, studying, and exploring
material characteristics of library materials. In
2005, the irst generation of the module was created for reading cuneiform tablets in the department of Assyriology of the University of Leuven
(KU Leuven). With the second generation of the
imaging devise, developed in 2013, the visualization of paper and parchment artifacts, paper and
wax seals, illumination and bookbinding stamps
(gold- and blind tooled, on the back and on the
boards of bindings) is in development. The imaging tool can create a sharp and exact image of
the surface in 2D+ and proofs to be an accurate
documentation tool for monitoring surface characteristics of graphic materials.
Infrastructure
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
140
Fig. 3: 18th century paper seal, imaged with raking light
with IMROD. (© RICH, KU Leuven).
under single illumination (like shade, contrast,
sharpening and sketch ilters) (Fig. 2 - 4). The tool
is portable and mobile which makes it possible
to examine books and archives in situ.
Further development
Until 2015 the RICH project will further develop
this tool for researching and understanding the
material and tactile characteristics of graphic
materials. Examination and identiication of the
production of graphic objects, changes in their
structures (the supports) and pictorial layers
(paint, inks, drawing- and printing materials,
varnish, gilding, retouching, abrasion) could be
very accuratly documented during the irst stage
of the project. Complementary, RICH is useful
to monitor the conservation and preservation
status of an object before and after treatment,
transport or exhibition. The results will be managed and disseminated through a portal and an
image database (2014 – 2015).
Fig. 4: 18th century paper seal, image with raking light and
sketch filter ((© RICH, KU Leuven).
Reference
Carlo Vandecasteele, Luc Van Gool, Karel
Van Lerberghe, Johan Van Rompay and
Patrick Wambacq, Digitising Cuneiform
Tablets, in Images and Artefacts of the
Ancient World, British Academy, London,
2005
Digital Imaging for Cultural Heritage
Preservation, Analyses, restoration and
Reconstruction of Ancient Artworks, eds.
Filippo Stanco, Sabastiano Battiato and
Giovanni Gallo, Boca Raton, London, New
York, 2011
Authors
Lieve Watteeuw | Bruno Vandermeulen
| Jan Van der Stock | Pierre Delsaerdt |
Stefan Gradmann | Fred Truyen
KU Leuven, Faculty of Arts; Illuminare,
Research Centre for Medieval Art,
Central Library & Digital Humanities,
Blijde Inkomststraat 21, B - 3000 Leuven,
Belgium
lieve.watteeuw@arts.kuleuven.be; bruno.
vandermeulen@arts.kuleuven.be
Marc Proesmans | Wim Moreau |
Luc Van Gool
ESAT-Visics, Department of Electrical
Engineering, Kasteelpark Arenberg 10
B-3001 Heverlee, University of Leuven,
Belgium
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
141
The Paper Conservator’s Role:
The Metropolitan Museum’s Renovated Galleries for the Art of the Arab
Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia
Yana van Dyke
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sherman Fairchild Center for Conservation of Works of Art on Paper,
New York, USA
The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses one
of the most important collections of Islamic
art outside the Middle East. Within this worldrenowned collection is a signiicant body of
works of art on paper and parchment, representing some of the most superlative accomplishments of illuminated and illustrated manuscript
production in the Islamic world. The collection
safeguards approximately seventy-two fullybound manuscripts complete with their entire
textblocks, in addition to several thousand
detached singular folios, representing a broad
span of time, from the tenth to the nineteenth
centuries. These works of art on parchment and
paper relect great diversity and range of the cultural traditions of Islam, with works from as far
westward as Spain and Morocco and as far eastward as Central Asia and India. Comprising both
sacred and secular objects, the collection reveals
the interdependency of scholarly and artistic proiciencies within the Islamic world.
In October of 2011, the Metropolitan Museum
of Art celebrated the grand reopening of ifteen
galleries dedicated to the permanent display of
its Islamic collection; following a monumental
eight year, $50 million dollar renovation. This
massive project encompassed hundreds of all
types of objects housed within the Islamic art
department; including objects made of glass,
ceramic, wood, metal, carpets and textiles, and
jewelry, in addition to works on paper and parchment.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Throughout the course of this eight year enterprise, the responsibilities and demands of the
paper conservator were multifaceted: from irst
time surveys of the extremely rare manuscript
collection, participation in exhibition case design, collaborations with curators, to probing
scientiic inquiries. Moreover, traditional conservation assignments were consistently juxtaposed
with surprising and extraordinary challenges.
In addition to the practical and ethical considerations that arose alongside the treatment of
these complex works on paper and parchment;
material investigations with the enlistment of
numerous analytical techniques led to a deeper
scholarly and technical understanding of objects
examined.
The poster illustrates the multifarious professional demands and ever-evolving complex web
142
Fig. 3
of responsibilities requiring appropriate and
balanced conservation solutions faced by a paper conservator within a museum environment
during a major renovation project. This integral
role was one that reached far beyond the microscope and involved a host of collaborations with
scientists, designers, engineers, architects, case
and lighting designers, mount makers, as well as
website designers.
• The project team
• Conceptualizing, envisioning and deining the
new galleries
• New galleries exhibition design
• Ensuring the proper testing of all case construction materials
• Checklist: object selections including rotations
• Survey of bound manuscript collection
Fig. 4
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
• Examination and condition assessment
• Prioritization of conservation treatments:
straightforward to complex
• Conservation treatment of detached folios
• Conservation treatment of bound
manuscripts
• Spearheading scientiic inquiries
• Working with museum photographers
• Contributing to new publication of collection
catalogue
• Assessing exhibition lighting design
• Rehousing of all artworks for exhibition and
long-term preservation
• Display of single folios
• Design custom cradles for display of bound
manuscripts
• Object installation phase (Fig. 1 - 4)
• Facilitate the custom framing and housing of
the monumental timurid quran folios
• Technology: create interpretive materials for
touch screen monitors in galleries
• Training gallery tour guides on the arts of the
book
• Ongoing gallery rotations of detached folios
and bound manuscripts
• Ongoing monitoring of environmental conditions
• Sharing and disseminating through online
website content
• Presenting gallery talks
• Teaching in curatorial study course
• Participating in an joint conservation exhibition related to the gallery renovation: “making
the invisible visible” on view at the metropolitan museum spring 2013
143
Figures
Fig. 1: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands,
Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later
South Asia, Gallery 450: The Patti Cadby
Birch Gallery: Introductory Gallery, photographed in 2011. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fig. 2: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands,
Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later
South Asia, Gallery 450: The Patti Cadby
Birch Gallery: Introductory Gallery, photographed in 2011. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Fig. 3: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands,
Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later
South Asia, Gallery 455: Iran and Central
Asia (13th-16th Centuries), photographed
in 2011. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 4: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands,
Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later
South Asia, Gallery 457: Spain, North
Africa, and the Western Mediterranean
(8th-19th Centuries), photographed in
2011: Image © The Metropolitan Museum
of Art.
Author
Yana van Dyke
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sherman Fairchild Center for Conservation of Works of Art on Paper
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY, 10028, USA
yana.vandyke@metmuseum.org
144
Characterising the Origin of Carbon Black Inks by ATR FTIR Spectroscopy
Paul Garside | Rajabi Razak
British Library, London, UK
Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, International Islamic University, Malaysia.
Carbon black inks have been used in Asia for
millennia and, therefore, are found in many
documents of historic signiicance. The source
of carbon for these inks varies with period and
location, and so can provide important information about the origins and nature of such manuscripts.
The work presented here details the use of
attenuated total relectance (ATR) infrared spectroscopy to aid in differentiating these materials.
To this end, ive inks were prepared using the
following carbon sources: ivory, bamboo, coconut and lamp black, made up using traditional
techniques, along with a modern high purity carbon black. The inks were applied to rag paper,
modern printer paper, pure cellulose paper and
parchment. Subtle differences between the spectra recorded from the samples (emphasised by
applying spectral subtraction and other enhancement techniques) could be linked to the source
of the carbon and arise from incompletely burnt
residual material, allowing their origins to be
more accurately determined. These differences
were not observed with the higher purity modern materials, in which little or no residual material exists. When this method was applied to
objects using carbon inks of this kind, in many
cases it was possible to determine the likely basis
of the ink.
This technique presents a valuable method for
investigating the provenance and composition
of these historically important inks, and thereby
gaining a greater understanding of the objects
on which they have been used.
Introduction
Pigments and inks based on carbon black have
a long tradition of use, particularly in Asia,
and therefore are found in many documents of
historic and cultural signiicance. The material
used to make up these pigments is derived from
the soot resulting from the incomplete combustion of a variety of fuels, including plants, ivory,
bone, lamp oils and waxes (Eastaugh et al. 2008).
Knowing the source of the carbon black can pro-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
vide valuable information about the provenance
and history of the document in question, as well
as giving clues to modiications or alterations.
The work presented here details the study of
such inks by ATR spectroscopy, with the aim of
identifying their source by characterising residual material in the soot.
Method
Finely ground carbon samples from burnt bamboo, coconut, ivory and lamp oil, as well as a
modern carbon black pigment, were made up as
inks by combining roughly 0.2 g of the carbon
and 0.1 g gum in 5 ml water. A brush was then
used to apply these ive inks to four different
substrates: ilter paper (pure cellulose), rag paper,
printer paper and parchment.
Once the inks had fully dried, spectra were
recorded from these ink specimens and from the
substrate itself, using a Perkin-Elmer ‘Spectrum
400’ spectrometer itted with an ATR accessory,
with 16 accumulations and 4 cm-1 resolution. In
each case, two sets of spectra were recorded, the
irst using a diamond ATR crystal and the second
a germanium crystal, the former over the range
4000-550 cm-1, and the latter over 4000-600 cm-1
(the difference being due to the transmission
ranges for the crystals).
For each sample and ATR crystal type, the pure
substrate spectrum was subtracted from those
of the ink on substrate, giving a spectrum of the
residual material in each case.
In order to assess the usability and value of
this approach, carbon inks on four documents
(labelled as X1 to X4) were assessed in a similar
way (subtraction of substrate spectrum from inkplus-substrate spectrum, followed by interpretation of the result), and the material origin of
the ink thereby proposed. This assessment was
carried out using the germanium ATR set-up, for
reasons discussed below.
Results and Discussion
The original and subtracted spectra for each of
the ive types of ink, recorded using the germa-
145
Fig. 1: Germanium ATR FTIR spectra of carbon black inks on
modern printer paper.
Fig. 2: Results of the subtraction of the paper spectrum from the
spectra presented in Fig.1.
nium ATR crystal are presented (Figs. 1-2); note
that only the results for the samples on modern
printer paper are given, but those for the other
three types of substrate were similar. The results
obtained using the diamond ATR crystal were
also broadly similar, but the results of the spectral subtraction were less well deined.
If the subtraction spectra are considered, it
can be seen that certain characteristic features
may be observed, related to the origin of the
ink: For the modern carbon black ink, a largely
featureless background curve is observed, indicating that the ink spectrum consists almost
entirely of a simple carbon black absorption. The
two cellulose based inks (coconut and bamboo)
yield spectra containing an indication of residual
polysaccharide material (highlighted by the typical cluster of peaks in the region 1100 - 900 cm-1);
this is poorly deined, as the cellulosic substrate
complicates the spectral subtraction, but is suficiently good for the purposes of identiication.
For these inks, the results were more clear when
the samples using the parchment (proteinaceous)
substrate were considered. As may be expected,
it was not possible to differentiate the carbon
sources for different types of cellulosic material. Ivory black ink gives a characteristic sharp
peak centred on 1050 cm-1. Lamp black contains
residual oils, indicated by the pair of sharp C-H
stretch bands in the region 2800 - 2900 cm-1.
It is apparent that the results obtained using
the germanium ATR crystal are generally superior to those achieved with a diamond crystal.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
This may be explained if the difference in ATR
sampling depth for the diamond and germanium
crystals is considered (Fig. 3), based on the following formula (Coates and Sanders 2000; Coombs
1998; Spectra-Tech 2000):
Where:
= Depth of sampling penetration
= Wavelength of incident radiation
= Refractive index of ATR crystal
= Refractive index of sample
= Angle of incidence
The ATR accessory employs an angle of incidence, , of 45°; over the range that the spectra
were recorded, the refractive index of the crystal,
nc, is approximately 2.4 for diamond and 4.0 for
germanium; the refractive index for the sample,
ns, is taken to be 1.6 for a nominal organic material. This allows the way that the ATR sampling
depth varies with incident wavelength and,
importantly for this experiment, at any given
wavelength is approximately four times great for
diamond than for germanium. This means that
if a germanium crystal is used, a greater proportion of any material at the surface (e.g. ink) will
be observed in comparison to the bulk substrate,
than if a diamond crystal is employed.
When the spectra of the unknown historic ink
146
Fig. 3: Sampling depth for ATR spectroscopy, demonstrating the
difference between diamond and germanium crystals.
Fig. 4: Subtraction spectra for four unknown carbon black inks.
samples were considered using this information
(Fig. 4), it is possible to propose the likely source
of the carbon black: for samples X1, X2 and X4
it appears that the ink is derived from cellulosic
sources, whilst for X3 it comes from ivory.
Conclusion
It can be seen that with care, it is possible to
identify the general source of carbon used for
carbon black inks, providing this source contains
residual material. Modern ink of this kind, for
which the carbon black has been produced using
techniques which effectively ensure the combustion of the original material and thus contain a
minimum of other residues, are not amenable
to identiication in this manner. However, traditional and historic methods of manufacturing
carbon black typically allow a small proportion
of the material to escape complete combustion,
and this residue may then allow the source to be
identiied.
This technique, therefore, has the potential to
reveal important information about the origin
of carbon black inks (and provide a method of
differentiating different carbon ink found in the
same document), thereby providing an insight
into the provenance, composition and history of
the document.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank PerkinElmer UK, and particularly Kelly Palmer, for invaluable advice, help and use
of equipment whilst carrying out this
research; they would like to thank their
colleagues at the British Library and
the International Islamic University for
their help and support, including Barry
Knight (Head of Conservation Research,
BL), Deborah Novotny (Head of Collection
Care, BL).
References
Eastaugh, N., Walsh, V., Chaplin, T., Siddall, R. 2008. Pigment Compendium. Oxford, UK: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Coates, J., Sanders, A. 2000. ‘A Universal
Sample Handling System for FT-IR Spectroscopy’. Infrared Spectroscopy; 12(5):
12-22.
Coombs, D. 1998. ‘The Use of Diamond
as an ATR Material’. Internet Journal of
Vibrational Spectroscopy. 2(2).
Spectra-Tech. 2000. Introduction to Attenuated Total Internal Reflectance (Technical Note T1). Spectra-Tech.
Authors
Paul Garside (corresponding author):
British Library, 96 Euston Road, London,
NW1 2DB, UK; paul.garside@bl.uk.
Rajabi Razak: Kulliyyah of Architecture
and Environmental Design, International
Islamic University, Malaysia.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
147
A Technical Study and Conservation Project of Roy Lichtenstein’s Screen
Print on Plastic, Sandwich and Soda, 1964
Marion Verborg
Köln, Germany
Fig. 1: Lichtenstein’s blue and red ink screen print on clear plastic,
Sandwich and Soda, 1964
Introduction
The topic of this technical research is the study
of three impressions of the print Sandwich and
Soda, 1964, by Roy Lichtenstein, owned by the
Harvard Art Museums. It is a blue and red ink
screen print on clear plastic (Fig. 1). The prints
are part of the portfolio X + X (Ten Works by Ten
Painters), a set of ten works made by ten painters:
Stuart Davis, Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy
Lichtenstein, Robert Motherwell, George Ortman,
Larry Poons, Ad Reinhardt, Frank Stella and Andy
Warhol. It was published by The Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut; Five hundred
portfolios were printed in 1964. The artists were
selected by the curator of the Wadsworth Atheneum, Samuel J. Wagstaff, Jr., who states on the
back of the title folio: “This portfolio was commissioned and printed in an attempt to extend
as much of the visual impact as possible of ten
artists to paper and to make these prints available to collectors who might not otherwise have
such a vivid slice of the artist.”
In this study, the three prints Sandwich and
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Soda owned by the Harvard Art Museums were
examined and analyzed to better understand
the history, technique and degradation process.
There are many screen prints on paper by Roy
Lichtenstein but few are ink on clear ilm. The
technique and materials that Lichtenstein used
for this work are more linked to commercial
practice than the ine arts and many questions
arise from this choice: Was Sandwich and Soda
the irst time he made a screen print on plastic
and why? Did Lichtenstein keep using plastic as a
support for printmaking after Sandwich and Soda?
What process and materials were used to print
Sandwich and Soda? What are the problems we
can see today?
Sandwich and Soda was selected for an in-depth
technical study not just because of the unusual
support. The prints were also selected because
two of the three copies have pressure-sensitive
tapes applied to the ink side, presumably as hinges. The tapes are on the ink layers, in this case
the verso since the object was meant to be seen
through the transparent ilm, which is the recto.
The tapes are different from each other: there
is what seems to be two pieces of magic tape®
on one print and what looks like two pieces of
ilmoplast® tape on the other print (Fig. 2). The
carriers are slightly peeled off and the adhesive
is accessible on the sides. A previous attempt to
test the sensitivity of the ink caused some visible
damage, which prompted the need for more information about the materials before coming up
with the appropriate conservation techniques.
Method
In order to understand the materials and technique of the object better and to devise the best
conservation treatment options for these prints,
analysis was performed in the scientiic lab of
the Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies/Harvard Art Museums. The sampling
was challenging since the surface of the object is
shiny and very lat.
Micro-samples of each ink (blue in the edge of
the printed area and red in the overlapping area)
149
Fig. 2: Filmoplast® tape attached on the ink layer on the verso
of one of the prints
were taken under microscope, as was a sample
of the clear plastic support, shaved from the very
edge of the object. A sample of each type of tape
was also taken at the lifting edges (Fig. 3).
FTIR, Raman, GC-MS and LDI-MS (Laser Desorption Ionization-Mass Spectrometry) were used in
order to determine the composition of the plastic support, pigments (red and blue) and tapes
(carrier and adhesive).
Results
After GC-MS, the results show that the clear
support is not made of acetate as stipulated in
all the descriptions, catalogues or even on the
invoices the printing company sent to the Wadsworth Athenaeum, but it is polystyrene. It is interesting to note that today it appears that PVC,
polyethylene, mylar, and acetate have mostly
replaced polystyrene as clear and thin plastic
printing surface. Polystyrene is now mostly sold
as extruded white foam. LDI suggests that the
blue pigment used is PB15 (phthalocyanine blue)
which was a pigment commonly used for printing ink. The red ink sample contains chrome red,
PR63, and barium sulfate. The binder of the inks,
both red and blue, is made of polystyrenes; it is
a plastic ink which is speciically for printing on
plastic. GC-MS identiied the carrier and adhesive
components of the Filmoplast-like tape as a cellulosic material as assumed it was; and the ofice
tape as PVA.
These results were interesting as they led us
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Fig. 3: Sampling under microscope of the tape carrier
to develop a conservation procedure. Because
the support and the ink binders were both polystyrene and thus probably well bonded, we felt
more conident that the bond was strong enough
to support gentle mechanical removal of the
tape.
Conservation project
After various tests, the best option was to mechanically remove the tape and tape adhesive.
Attempts were carried out using tweezers peeling at an acute angle to remove the tape and
various white vinyl eraser pencils of different
hardness and shape were used to reduce the adhesive residues. Every step was carried out under
microscopic observation to prevent any scratches
or physical damage on the surface of the prints.
On one copy, it was possible to remove the
Filmoplast-like tape carrier irst by applying
warm water with a very small brush; this softened the tape carrier, making it removable
without affecting the ink. The tape carrier was
then removed with tweezers. Then, some cellulose powder 1 was scattered on top of the sticky
residual adhesive and the adhesive plus cellulose
powder was pushed away with a color shaper
tool 2 without scratching the surface or removing
ink. It appeared that in this case, instead of using
an eraser pencil, a color shaper tool was more
successful in reducing the adhesive residues. The
results were very satisfying (Fig. 4).
For the acrylic-based ofice tape on the other
150
plastics to object conservators and conservation
scientists at the Straus Center for Conservation
and Technical Studies to better understand the
objects and treatment options.
Endnotes
1 alpha-cellulose powder, Sigma Chemical
Co., No. c-8002
2 Royal Sovereign Ltd UK, Color Sharper,
Firm, Taper Point, #2
References
Amaya, M., 1966. Pop Art ... And After.
New York: Viking Press.
Fig. 4: Removal of the tapes adhesive residues with cellulose powder
and a color shaper tool
copy, the same treatment (without the application of warm water on the tape carrier) was carried out with great success as well.
Conclusion
This object had a ground breaking role in Pop
Art and in art history, in terms of materials,
techniques and subject matter. Sandwich and Soda
was one of Lichtenstein’s irst attempts to use an
unusual support, in this case a thin clear plastic.
Sandwich and Soda was one of many screen prints
on unusual supports, he started making in 1964.
He kept using plastic as a support, like for Seascape I (1964), Moonscape (1965), Landscape 5 (1967)
that are screen prints on Rowlux, a multi-lensed
effect ilm that can create Moire-like visual patterns.
Artworks on plastic and their inherent degradation processes is still a very relevant topic for
museum’s staff. For example, at the MFA, Houston, there was very recently a gallery talk called:
Spotlight on “Synthetic Supports: Is Plastic the
New Paper?” (December 2011) which shows how
this research falls into the trend.
Conservators now have to deal with unusual
surfaces and materials, which is challenging and
interesting, and requires being very adaptable in
our work. This project also served to remind this
author that collegiality is the most effective way
to understand a complex object and its damages
and chose the best option for treatment. It was
very helpful to be able to ask questions about
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Boatto, A., Falzoni, G. 1967. Lichtenstein.
Edizione internazionale. International
edition. Edition internationale, New
York, American distributor: Wittenborn.
Corlett, M.L. c. 1994. The Prints of Roy
Lichtenstein: A Catalogue Raisonné,
1948-1993. 1st ed. New York: Hudson Hills
Press in association with the National
Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Cowart, J., Fine, R. c. 2007. Roy Lichtenstein: Beginning to End. Madrid: Fundación Juan March.
Doris, S. 2007. Pop Art and the Contest
over American Culture. Cambridge; New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Foster, H. 2001. The Hardest Kind of
Archetype: Reflections on Roy Lichtenstein. Edinburgh: National Galleries of
Scotland.
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum,
c. 2008. Pop Art & After: Prints+Popular
Culture. New Brunswick, N.J.: Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey.
Learner, T. 2004. Analysis of Modern
Paints. Research in Conservation. Los
Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute.
Lichtenstein, R. 1975. Roy Lichtenstein:
Dessins Sans Bande: [Paris, Centre National D’art Contemporain, 10 Janvier-17
Février 1975]. Paris: Établissement public
du Centre Beaubourg, Département des
arts plastiques.
Lichtenstein, R. 1968. Roy Lichtenstein
[Exhibition Held at the Tate Gallery, 6
January-4 February 1968]. London: Tate
Gallery.
Pincus-Witten, R. 1984. Roy Lichtenstein,
a Drawing Retrospective: April 10 to May
12, 1984, on the Occasion of the TwentyFifth Anniversary of the Gallery. New
York, NY (1020 Madison Ave., New York
10021): James Goodman Gallery.
151
Pluchart, F. 1971. Pop Art Et Cie. Paris:
Martin-Malburet, 7, rue Saint-Philippedu-Roule.
Radcliffe College, Hilles, Library 1968.
Pop Art Drawings. [Exhibition] Hilles
Library, Radciffe College, January 7-February 1, 1968. Cambridge.
Robbins, D. 1969. Recent Still Life. [Exhibition] February 23-April 4, 1966. Providence.
Russell, J., Gablik, S. 1969. Pop Art Redefined. New York: Praeger.
Spalding, J.J. c. 2000. Abc’s of Pop Art:
America, Britain, Canada, Major Artists
and Their Legacy. Tallahassee, Fla.: Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts.
Waldman, D. 1970. Roy Lichtenstein,
Drawings and Prints. New York: Chelsea
House.
Waldman, D. c. 1993. Roy Lichtenstein.
New York, N.Y.: Guggenheim Museum:
Hardcover ed. distributed by H.N.
Abrams.
Whiting, C. 1997. A Taste for Pop: Pop Art,
Gender, and Consumer Culture. Cambridge [England]; New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Zerner, H. 1975. The Graphic Art of Roy
Lichtenstein. Fogg Art Museum, S.l. : s.n.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
Aknowledgments
At the Harvard Art Museums: Susan
Dackerman, Anne Driesse, Kathleen Kennelly, Narayan Khandekar, Dan Kirby,
Penley Knipe, Henry Lie, Sean Lunsford,
Erin Mysak, Jens Stenger
At the Philadelphia Muesum of Art:
Nancy Ash, Scott Homolka, Betty Fiske,
Shelly Langdale
At the Museum of Modern Art: Karl Buchberg
At the Morgan Library and Museum: Margaret Holben Ellis
At the Brooklyn Museum: Toni Owen
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Annette Manick
At the Library of Congress: Linda Morenus, Elisa O’ Loughlin
At the Wadsworth Atheneum: Ulrich
Birkmaier
At the Yale University Art Gallery: Theresa Fairbanks-Harris
R. Lichtenstein’s assistant: Jerry Simon
Author
Marion Verborg
Neuhöfferstraße 27-29, 50679 Köln,
Germany
marion.verborg@gmail.com
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Digitally Printed Paper In-ills for Compensation
as Applied to Japanese Fold - Dyed Paper
Hsin-Chen Tsai
Asian Conservation, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
Introduction
In the conservation of Japanese folding screens,
the decorative papers on the back can sometimes be replaced with new ones with the same
or similar patterns. In the case of the folding
screens, The Deities of the Tanni-sho, by Munakata
Shiko, these decorative papers are typical Folk
Art Movement (Mingei) style fold-dyed paper. The
artist, Munakata Shiko, dedicated these screens
to the founder of the Mingei movement, Yanagi
Soetsu, with an inscription on the labels at the
back of the screens. Therefore, the label and the
decorative papers should be treated as integral
parts of the art work and put back into place on
the screens.
However, several large losses to these fold-dyed
papers (Fig. 3) were present. For creating in-ills,
it is not only a matter of choosing appropriate Japanese paper by evaluating the thickness
(slightly less than support) with visually matching chain lines, color and texture, but also reproducing the patterns. Therefore, printing digital
photographic images on an appropriate Japanese
paper for use as in-ills was considered.
This paper presents the process of assessing
the appropriateness of using digital in-ills for
Fig. 1: Printing digital in-fills on the Sekishu paper.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
this case, the preparation of these digital in-ills
and the materials and equipment that were
used.
Digital techniques for loss compensation
Several papers have been presented about using
digital techniques to compensate for losses in
textile conservation. Rogerson used digital reconstruction to display the completed image next
to a beaded mask after research and discussing
with the curator (Rogerson, 2002); this example
illustrated how a digitally reconstructed image
met the need of conservation and education. In
the case in the Victoria and Albert Museum, a
digital in-ill was successfully used in compensating large losses on a Thirteenth Century carpet
(Hartog, 2009). Since the patterns of carpet are repeated and geometric, the conservator was able
to print the image from the surviving pattern on
an appropriate substrate. For recognition purposes, the image was printed in a lighter shade
than the original, so the visitor could be aware
of the digital in-ill at a distance of six inches but
would not be distracted by it when viewing at a
distance of six feet. In paper conservation, McClintock has mentioned using digital reproduc-
Fig. 2: Tracing the losses before in-filling.
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Fig. 3: The reverse of left screen overall before treatment. Large losses and punctures are clearly visible. The hinges were
split, with soiling in the lower portions and fother damage and tears in the upper portion.
tion for historic wallpapers (McClintock, 2003).
In 2012, Melody Chen presented a case of digital
in-ills as used for Japanese Prints (Chen, 2012).
A digital image of another impression from the
Japanese print collection at the Museum of Fine
Arts, Boston was printed on the Hahnemuehle
Rice Paper (‘Digital FineArt’, n.d.). This is another
successful example of how a digital image was
used for in-illing when there exists an authenticated reference.
After reviewing these cases, compelling reasons for compensating losses to the fold-dyed
paper of Munakata Shiko’s folding screens with
digital in-ills were determined. They were:
1. The digital reproduction has enough reference
from the original. The image of patterns could
be captured from undamaged fold-dyed areas
by photography.
2. The losses to the fold-dyed papers are located
on the folding screen’s reverse. The fold-dyed
papers present a style of craft-art but not the
fine art created by the artist. Reproducing
partial patterns would not change the context
and character of these fold-dyed papers.
3. The digital reproduction is less time-consuming and creates a more satisfactory method of
creating a visual in-fill than other possibilities, such as using basic toned in-fills, remak-
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
ing fold-dyed paper using traditional techniques for in-fills or hand painted in-fills.
4. The digital in-fills are printed in a lighter
color than the original, so that they would be
clearly visible at a close distance. The authenticity of the original would still be distinguishable from the repairs.
Digital in-illing treatment
After examining and documenting the condition, the folding screens were photographed before and after treatment to document their condition. Wooden trims were removed; each panel
was separated and the fold-dyed papers were
removed from the panels. The papers attached to
the back of the fold-dyed papers were removed
using Gore-tex to humidify them; followed by
pressing between Reemay, blotting paper and
thick Plexiglas.
Of the twelve fold-dyed papers, three had considerable losses and needed large digital in-ills.
Since fold-dyed papers were going to be pasted
onto the new under-cores, the papers for in-ills
had to be similar or slightly thinner in thickness
than the fold-dyed papers, so that the in-ills and
the original would have similar expansion and
shrinkage during mounting. Japanese handmade
Sekishu paper was chosen for printing the image
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Fig. 4: The reverse of left screen overall after treatment. The large losses located in the first and last panels have been filled
with digital in-fills. The hinge covers have been replaced with digital printings also.
onto it for in-illing. The image was taken from
another area of fold-dyed paper with fair condition and a clear pattern. Photoshop® was used
for adjusting the image by color balance and
brightness/contrast functions. Several trials were
carried out for comparing the color of the reproduction to the original. An Epson Stylus Pro 4900
printer was used for printing and its ink tested
and shown to have great light resistance (‘Epson
Stylus Pro4900-Print’, 2010). Trials showed that
there was no migration of ink after the lining
treatment. In addition, the trials passed the
Oddy test carried out by the preventive conservation specialist at the MFA (Chen, 2012).
Unfortunately, the Sekishu paper was not compatible with the printer. After discussing this
with the photography/printing expert, we found
the irregular surface and the thinness of the
Sekishu paper might cause the paper to jam in
the printer. Therefore, one layer of a temporary
lining of Japanese paper and thin wheat starch
paste was added to the back of the Sekishu paper
so it could be properly printed. The lined Sekishu
paper was accepted by the printer and was able
to receive the required image successfully (Fig. 1).
A coating was not necessary in this case, because
the patterns on the fold-dyed papers are irregular and slightly blurred in character.
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
After printing out the digital in-ills, sizing was
applied on the surface and the temporary lining
was removed by humidiication then the printed
papers air-dried on felts. The sizing application
was undertaken for ixing the ibers on the digital in-ills since the printing actually only stayed
on the surface and could be lost or diminished if
ibers lifted or were to be abraded through handling. Additionally, sizing aided the application
of toning washes with Japanese colorant sticks.
Digital in-ills were toned in slightly different
levels to blend into individual panels. However,
they could be easily distinguished at a close-up
distance once the losses were illed in. Before
in-illing, the digital in-ills were positioned to
match the patterns and the losses were traced
roughly with pencil marks in transmitted light
(Fig. 2). This helped to ind the position right
away after wetting the fold-dyed papers.
The fold-dyed papers were humidiied overall
using a sprayer and placed on the top of Rayon
paper for protection. Once the fold-dyed papers
were moist, they were brushed out from the
center to reduce creases and to realign tears. The
digital in-ills were set into place with a slight
overlap using wheat starch paste. One layer of
lining was added and then paper strips were
pasted into place for reinforcing tears and sup-
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porting the reverse of severe creases. Finally, the
fold-dyed papers with their lining were lattened
on the drying board to prepare them for placement back onto the folding screens. These in-ills
not only even up the fold-dyed papers in structure, but also provide continuous patterns to
compensate losses in aesthetic effect (Fig. 4).
Besides compensating the large losses, digital
printings were also used in the covers of the
hinges. Since those hinge covers appeared dirty
and severely damaged (Fig. 3) they were replaced
with new ones. The screen after completion of
the treatment is show in Fig. 4.
Conclusion
In this case, using digital in-ills was successful
in compensating losses on the fold-dyed paper
with regular patterns. In addition, this case
shows the possibility exists to print the image
on a thin handmade paper though temporary
lining. However, this technique should always be
carefully considered and thought through prior
to treatment. Before using digital in-ills, conservators should think about the following:
1. The digital image must have a strong reference
in order to support the original both aesthetically and historically.
2. Discuss with curator: Where is the digital infill going to be and will it change the context
of the original?
3. Digital in-fills can be a less time-consuming
and more effective technique than other traditional techniques.
4. The digital in-fills will not be confused with
the original by the viewer and they are reversible.
References
Rogerson, Cordelia, 2002. ‘A study if material and digital transformation: the
conservation of two ancient Egyptian
beaded items of dress’. In 13th Triennial
Meeting ICOM-Committee for Conservation, Rio de Janeirom preprints, pp.741746, London: James & James.
Hartog, Frances, 2009. ‘Digital in-fills
for a carpet’. Conservation Journal, 58.
Retrieved December 11, 2012, from http://
www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/autumn-2009-issue-58/
digital-in-fills-for-a-carpet/
ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013
McClintock, T. K., 2003. ‘Compensating
for losses in historic wallpapers’. In
Postprints of the Image Re-integration
Conference 15th -17th September 2003, pp.
35-43, Newcastle Upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Chen, Melody, 2012 ‘Digital in-filling on
Japanese prints’, Poster presented at the
40th AIC Annual Meeting in Albuquerque, NM.
‘Digital FineArt Collection: Rice Paper’,
n.d. Retrieved December 11, 2012 from
http://www.hahnemuehle.com/media/
ricepaper_rev00.pdf
‘Epson Stylus Pro4900-Print Permanence
Ratings’, 2010. Retrieved December 11,
2012 from http://www.wilhelm-research.
com/epson/ESP4900.html
Material and equipment
Sekishu Paper
Nishida Washi Kobo
1548 Furuichiba Misumi
Hamada Shimane
Japan 699-3225
Epson Stylus Pro 4900 printer
Epson America, Inc.
185 Renfrew Drive Markham
Ontario
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following
MFA colleagues. I am grateful for the
supervision of this Conservation Project:
Deities of the Tanni-sho, by Munakata
Shikô from Joan Wright, Bettina Burr
Asian Conservator and Philip Meredith,
Higashiyama-kaii Japanese Paintings
Conservator. Thank to Jacki Elgar, Head
of Asian Conservation Studio, Jing Gao,
Cornelius Van der Starr Conservator of
Chinese Paintings, Tanya Uyeda, Associate Conservator, Yi-Hsia Hsiao, Fellow
in Asian Conservation Studio and John
Woolf, Digital Systems Manager for all
their generous support and encouragement.
Author
Hsin-Chen Tsai
Assistant Conservator, Asian Conservation, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston,
MA 02115
htsai@mfa.org
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