E Conservationmagazine24

econservation
the online magazine no. 24, autumn 2012

index E DITORIAL 5 Viral Conservation
By Rui Bordalo
NEWS & VIEWS 6 Profound sounds: an accidental pilgrimage with John Cage
By Daniel Cull
9 The Renaissance Workshop: The Materials and Techniques

of Renaissance Art
Reviewed by Helen Glanville
15 Polychrome Sculpture: Artistic Tradition and Construction

Techniques
Reviewed by Ana Bidarra
19 Connecting to Conservation: Outreach and Advocacy

Reviewed by Rose Cull
22 Copying, Replicating & Emulating Paintings in the

15th‐18th Century
Reviewed by Sue Ann Chui
27 French Bronzes: History, Material and Techniques of Bronze

Sculpture in France (16th‐18th C.)
Reviewed by Carol Grissom
33 Conservation Matters in Wales

Reviewed by Rachel Robbins
37 CMA4CH 2012: Use of Multivariate Analysis and Chemometrics

in Cultural Heritage and Environment
Reviewed by Luciano D’Alessio and Pierina Ielpo
INTERVIEW 41 International Conservation Workshop Lopud:

Student Perspectives
By Sagita Mirjam Sunara
METHODOLOGY 50 British Carlo Maratta Picture Frame: Technical Examination

and Restoration Process
By Damian Lizun
60 Study and Conservation of the Painting "Paul III and Ranzio

Farnese" by Parmigianino
By Fatma Helmi, Osama El‐Feky and Yasmeen Alam Eldin
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index
SCIENCE 72 A Comparative Study of the Use of Aquazol
in Paintings Conservation
By Elisabetta Bosetti
CASE STUDY 88 A Flexible Crossbar System for a 19th Century Panel Painting
By Angeliki Bakalarou and Charis Theodorakopoulos
95 Study and Conservation of the City Center of Shahr‐e Ray, Iran

By Vahid Heidary
DOCUMENTATION 106 3D Documentation Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning of the Remains

of the Jesuit Mission in the Region of Lake Tana, Ethiopia
By Christian Dietz, Gianluca Catanzariti, Pablo de la Presa,
Víctor M. Fernández and Alfredo Jimeno Martínez
126 Between Tradition and Innovation: 3D Documentation

of Enna’s Monuments
By Antonella Versaci and Alessio Cardaci
THEORY 136 Brushes for Retouching: How to Choose Them

By Ana Bailão and Sandra Šustić
148 The Use and Influence of Varnish on Paintings

By Marc Maire
PREVENTIVE CONSERVATION 154 Preventive Conservation of the Bark Cloth Collection of

The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum
By Kate Stanway
164 Preventive Conservation: a Key Method to Ensure Cultural

Heritage’s Authenticity and Integrity in Preservation Process
By Heidi Wirilander
177 The Concept of Cultural Heritage Preservation

By Ali Miri
B OOK REVIEWS 183 The AIC Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation
Documentation, 2nd Edition
By Rose Cull
185 Materials, Technologies, Practice in Historic Heritage

Structures
By Mirela Anghelache
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editorial
Viral Conservation
By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps

us in touch with the ignorance of the community.
Oscar Wilde
Recently, the world participated in a media phenomenon that occurred for the first time ever in
Conservation. In Spain, an old woman tried to restore a XIX century portrait of Christ with
unforeseeable disastrous consequences. To the general public, the most obvious outcome was the
resulting portrait, which is frequently compared to “something out of Planet of the Apes” or to Jim
Henson’s Muppet Fozzie Bear. The news went viral worldwide in the media, not only online but also
in both television and the press, making the event even more sensational, focusing attention to
the well‐intentioned but often horrendous amateur restorations. Never, I believe, has a single
news item about conservation travelled so fast and so much, or had such an impact and response as
this one. Despite the terrible result, I’m glad that the event went public and had such fabulous
exposure. To say the least, it may help prevent other well‐intentioned people to act; at most, it
brought to the attention of the general public our profession, which is often ignored or overlooked.
However, it brought again to my attention the media boycott that art conservation usually has.
Except for high profile events, such as a fire or an intervention on a Van Gogh painting, we rarely
hear news about conservation. I don’t say this lightly because I’ve seen too many times, for
example, the name of our profession misspelled in different languages, revealing the total
ignorance of many journalists and of the general public on conservation issues. In order to keep
the public informed, the media could easily provide stories that would help sensitise the public,
thus helping to avoid future actions of ignorance or vandalism. In the recent years there have been
many initiatives of institutions that wish to show to the public what conservation really is and how
it is done. Exhibitions or “behind‐the‐scenes” sneak peeks often take place in museums but these
initiatives are usually limited to a local or national level at their best. None of these could possibly
have had the exposure in international press that the Spanish matter did.
But now, on the aftermath of this news, many journalists have started to search for similar cases, both
locally and nationally, riding on the current momentum. One of them, for example, occurred 30 years
ago in Portugal, however only now came to my attention when it made the national headlines. Why
did this dreadful restoration of a 300 year‐old mural painting have no international or national
exposure, despite its very colourful results? How many other hundreds of untold cases still exist out
there, I wonder?
This news‐gone‐viral is a perfect example that illustrates how we should use the mass media to the
advantage of conservation, art and cultural heritage. Our work does not only entail conserving
artworks closed in a laboratory, but also showing people why they should care about conservation,
why it is important and, frankly, that vandalism is not limited to big city graffiti. It should be,
perhaps, one of the objectives of our associations across the world to invite the media to
participate in projects that inform the public. But it almost seems that conservators tend to avoid
the media, seeing it perhaps as a necessary evil and not as a useful tool, indeed as very separate
worlds. Could it perhaps be that uncomfortable feeling of having to keep up to date with
technology and internet advances? Cultural marketing is a very important and powerful tool. The
opportunity is there, so let’s use it to our maximum advantage.
Rui Bordalo
Editor‐in‐Chief
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news & view PROFOUND SOUNDS: AN ACCIDENTAL PILGRIMAGE
WITH JOHN CAGE
By Daniel Cull
On August 29, 1952, the pianist occasional sounds from other people in the room,
David Tudor premiered the composer the back‐ground noise of the building system, the
John Cage’s piece 4’33” (read as audience walking out in disgust, all mix in an
“Four minutes, thirty‐three seconds”); auditorium designed for perfect acoustics to give
the performance challenged the very an amazing sensory experience. If it’s possible to
definition of music. Sixty years later experience sound in such a direct way, I wonder,
on September 5, 2012, to mark the could we also experience cultural heritage in a
centennial of Cage’s birth I took part similar manner?
in a performance of this masterpiece
[1]. The piece consists of three move‐ I recently visited El Santuario de Chimayo and the
ments arranged for any instrument, shrine of Santa Niño de Atocha in the mountains
or combination of instruments, and of New Mexico [4]. This world renowned historical
the score simply instructs the perfor‐ site is centered on the small church of El Santuario
mer/s not to play their instruments de Chimayo, which was built in 1813 in the com‐
during its entirety. The composition munity of El Potrero just out‐side of Chimayo.
has been described as “sonic zazen” There are a variety of legends that discuss the
[2] the content of which is not silence, origin of the chapel, the most repeated states
as is sometimes assumed, but rather that in 1810, during Holy Week, the crucifix
the sounds of the environment heard "Nuestro Señor de Esquipulas" was dug up, and
by the audience during the perfor‐ sent to Santa Cruz church but mysteriously retur‐
mance. Amongst his influences, Cage ned to the spot where it was first excavated.
cites Robert Rauschenberg’s 1951 After this happened three times the spot was
white paintings, but his developing chosen to build a chapel to house the crucifix.
interest in Eastern religion and parti‐ Other legends are less interesting, but probably
cularly Buddhism are also clear to more plausible. As I entered the church, I heard
see. The piece was a joy to perform, the “Hail Mary’s...” of a group of old men and
but it isn’t easy, as Noah Levine points women saying the rosary, as one old man walked
out about meditation: “sitting still is the aisles handing out plastic beads to anyone
a pain in the ass” [3]. The real genius who wishes to join in, I took a seat at a pew near
of 4’33” is that it forces you to experi‐ the back and sat in silence staring at the icono‐
ence your surroundings, to take in graphy. Before long I got up and walked through
the world as it is right at that second. a small doorway to the left of the altar into a
The sound of your breathing, the narrow room. In this room, there are messages,
beating of your heart and the pictures, small gifts and cast off crutches left by
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John Cage (right) with David Tudor at Shiraz Arts Festival 1971. Photo courtesy Cunningham Dance Foundation archive.
pilgrims as well as a small shrine to Santo Niño and uttered the suggested closure of “... Glory be
de Atocha; there is a nearby chapel with a larger to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
version of the shrine. At the end of this room, Amen.” I entered as a bemused tourist, and came
behind a tiny door, is “el pocito” (the little well) out as a pilgrim, albeit an unrepentant sinner,
which contains Holy Dirt. This dirt is believed to covered in magic dirt.
have curative powers and is the reason so many
people come to this historic site. I joined the In the American Southwest it is aesthetically
queue into the small room. The literature advises fascinating to experience the indigenous and/or
that “The Holy Dirt is not to be eaten or drunk”... hispanic influences that make churches both
until that moment the thought hadn’t actually familiar and unfamiliar to my western European
crossed my mind, but... Instead a prayer is sug‐ eyes. But taking part in the folk life of churches
gested. I bent down, put my hands in the soil and allows us to experience these places in a whole
let the warm soil fall through my fingertips until new way; beyond a simple admiration for religious
there was just a small amount remaining, with this art and architecture. It’s even more fascinating
I made the sign of the cross with the dirt upon my to note that the popular appeal of the church
head, to clear my thoughts and mental distractions, hasn’t waned in the face of its colonial history;
and with my hands now dusty with soil I followed my own suspicion is that the folk rituals of the
the instructed act of rubbing the Holy Dirt over church hold as great, if not greater, appeal than
the parts of my body in need of healing, and then any theological ties to the Holy See. Experiencing
I brushed the soil over my whole body in the same cultural heritage in this spirit of 4’33” involves
motion as if taking part in a smudging ceremony, such an embrace of the myths and legends, living
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Entrance to Chimayo. Photo by Daniel Cull. Crucifixes left by Pilgrims. Photo by Daniel Cull
with the site in the moment, following the form DANIEL CULL
of rituals to create a direct connection with those Conservator
who’ve trod the road before. Just as 4’33” without The Musical Instrument Museum
an audience with musical knowledge is simply a Contact: [email protected]
post‐modern joke, the chapel without pilgrims is
just a building with a pit full of soil. By allowing Daniel Cull is a board member of e‐conservation.
us to experience the connection and commonality As a conservator he specializes in ethnographic
between people, living and dead, the performance materials, and holds the position of Conservator
space (whether church or auditorium) becomes at the Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix,
a sacred space. Arizona (USA). Daniel trained at the Institute of
Archaeology, University College London, where
he received an MSc in Conservation for Archaeo‐
Notes: logy and Museums, an MA in Principles of Conser‐
vation, and a BSc in Archaeology. His recent
[1] TheMIMvideo, MIM Team performance of 4'33" research interests have focused around Web 2.0,
by John Cage, URL (accessed 5 September 2012) Wikipedia, and the ethical implications of the
emerging social media landscape for conserva‐
[2] A. Tsioulcas, “Silence and Sound: Five Ways of tors. He has also published on post‐colonial
Understanding John Cage”, deceptive cadence: ethics, Native American contemporary art, and
from npr classical, URL (accessed 5 September collaborative or consultation‐led conservation.
2012)
[3] N. Levine, Against the Steam: A Buddhist Manual

for Spiritual Revolutionaries, HarperOne, 2007
[4] http://www.elsantuariodechimayo.org/
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THE RENAISSANCE WORKSHOP

The Materials and Techniques
of Renaissance Art
Review by Helen Glanville
11‐12 May 2012, Rome, Italy

Organised by: CHARISMA
On 11th‐12th of May, the British Museum hosted

a two‐day cross‐ and inter‐disciplinary meeting
centred on the practices of Renaissance Workshops.
The two days, subdivided into sessions represen‐

ting different art forms ‐ paintings, bronze sculp‐
ture, polychromy and wood, enamels and jewel‐
lery, prints and drawings, and moulding and
casting techniques ‐ brought together a broad
variety of speakers from different disciplines –
the conservator, the conservation scientist, the
technical art historian and the art historian.
Not only was a broad spectrum of the different
workshops in the Renaissance represented, and
the practical techniques which would result in
the creation of the art work investigated, but
what was particularly interesting I found, were
the different optics underlying the different
approaches to and of examination. For instance,
the speakers and posters were from both the
private and public sectors showing the possibility
of fruitful cross‐pollination, a dialogue between
the disciplines – so cross‐disciplinary rather than
inter‐disciplinary.
Several of the presentations and posters were the

fruit of research funded by CHARISMA. Having
myself benefited from access to technical data
for my research under the ArchLab , I would
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British Museum Director Neil Macgregor opening the conference.
greatly encourage people within the conser‐ through a few of the current projects which are
vation profession to take advantage of such currently being funded by CHARISMA. If there are
opportunities. still members of the conservation profession –
conservators, scientists or technical art histo‐
The proceedings were opened on behalf of the rians who are still unaware of the opportunitites
host institution by Neil McGregor, its Director, offered, I strongly encourage them to look at the
and previously Director of the National Gallery in website.
London, and an open advocate of what the confer‐
ence underscored: the necessity of understanding The first session was launched in style by Paola
the process of the making of art in order to fully Ricciardi (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge) relating
understand the product. What the two days pro‐ the use of non‐invasive techniques such as FORS,
ceedings also brought to the fore, was the need to for the examination of Lorenzo Monaco’s manu‐
compare techniques across media at a particular script illuminations in the context of his panel
moment in history when the division between the painting practice. The most illuminating (!) result
arts was not not entrenched in the same way it is was the selective use of egg yolk for the painting
now, to a certain extent within the creative arts, of the flesh in the illuminations, raising the
but more conspicuously, so within the conserva‐ question as to whether this practice was confined
tion profession. to Monaco and his workshop, or whether there
might be a more broadly based cross‐over between
Bruno Brunetti, who heads the CHARISMA project the medium used by illuminators and panel
introduced the different strands, and then ran painters in the 15th century in Italy.
10 e‐conser vation
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were used to determine attributions of undocu‐

mented bronzes through the preferential use of
certain alloys, and an evolution in casting
methods – piece‐meal rather than whole –
allowing a higher finish of even the most conti‐
guous elements.
Robert Van Langh (Head of Conservation, Rijks‐

museum Amsterdam) discussed the influence of
neutron imaging and diffraction techniques ‐
CHARISMA coordinator Bruno Brunetti during his keynote used both separately and in combination ‐ on our
lecture. knowledge of Renaissance hollow cast bronze
statuettes. As neutrons, unlike X‐rays, will pene‐
trate everything, differences in metals are distin‐
This was followed by a very impressive and intel‐ guishable whilst remaining a non‐destructive
lectually cogent presentation given by Anabelle means of investigation. A useful by‐product of
Križnar (Department of Art History, Ljubljana the study for dating was the fact that it proved
University) on the comparative investigation of that historic bronzes (pre‐1850), because of the
workshop practice in a series of wall paintings in iron impurites, were magnetic, unlike post‐1850
Slovenia in the 14th and 15th centuries, which bronzes – useful distinguishing for distinguishing
looked at the interrelationship of Northern Italian later copies.
fresco/secco techniques, and indigenous Slove‐
nian practice. The next two sessions were devoted to investiga‐
tions of workshop practices in the working of
The session devoted to bronze sculpture began wood. Peter Stiberc (Opificio delle Pietre Dure,
with a survey of Roccatagliata’s small bronze Florence) spoke of the construction techniques of
statuettes; relating their “family” resemblance Renaissance crucifixes around 1500 in Florence,
to their method of fabrication as revealed by X‐ and the shift from the traditional carving of these
radiography, that is use of a pre‐formed core with from whole trunks which were then hollowed out
added wax appendages which would vary. This to prevent cracking, to that of individual blocks
presentation was given by Shelley Sturman (Head of wood which allowed both finishing in the
of Object Conservation, National Gallery of Art in round, and obviated the need for hollowing out.
Washington, DC), and was then followed by two Filipa Raposo Cordeiro presented part of her PhD
more papers within the field of bronze sculpture. research on the joinery of rare Portuguese altar‐
The first was given by Dylan Smith (also from the pieces, with a case study of one by a foreign
Objects Conservation Department of the same painter of English origin – Thomas Lewis – looking
instituion) presenting the results of an investiga‐ at his practices in the context of Portuguese
tion into the casting techniques and alloy compo‐ artists, as well as that of foreign artists working
sition of bronze statuettes from the workshops of in Portugal.
the Susini family (uncle and nephew ‐ inheritors
of the workshop tradi‐tions of Giambologna). We then moved on to Transylvania, Cristina Seren‐
Portable XRF analysis as well as X‐radiography dan (Department of Conservation and Restoration,
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National University of Arts, Bucharest) presenting of gemstones in the Renaissance – the practice
interdisciplinary research on behalf of herself of the gem‐setter compared to that of the alche‐
and colleagues from the Czech Republic and Aus‐ mist: that is making appear what is not. I found
tralia/Netherlands, looking at the identification this particularly fascinating, as this concept is so
of materials and “technological signatures” of essential to the understanding of Renaissance
two little documented or known workshops – that art as a whole, and would seem to be fundamental
of Johannes Stoss in Sighisoara (Schassbourg) across all disciplines and art forms: counterfeit
and the Vicentius workshop in Sibiu. Examination being valued more highly than the thing itself
and a variety of analyses were carried out in situ because of the skill involved.
and in the laboratory.
Isabelle Biron (C2RMF, Paris) gave a fascinating
Maite Jover de Celis presented the results of the talk on proton induced non‐destructive analysis
investigations carried out by the Prado Museum of Venetian enamelled glass. Of particular interest
Analysis Laboratory on the Altarpiece of St. was the presence and role of pigments such as the
Dominic of Sylos by Bartolomé Bermejo, dating lead/tin/antimony opacifier used as an opacifier
from the last quarter of the 15th century. A fasci‐ in glass, which then at a slightly later date was
nating analysis of technical results proving the used as a yellow pigment on the painter’s pa‐
presence of two different hands in the altarpiece, lette, and from the point of authentication and
juxtaposed with the contract and other documen‐ distinction between Renaissance artefacts and
tary material relating to this particular altarpiece, their 19th century copies, the high lead of these
revealing the degree of collaboration, as well as which is absent in their 16th century counterparts.
a wealth of fascinating detail. This talk brought
to a close the first day of presentations, and was The next session was devoted to painting work‐
followed by a poster session (for the broad range shops with three talks looking at aspects of work‐
of subjects covered by the posters as well as by shop practice in Renaissance Spain, Jacobean
the oral presentations, please see the relevant London and Italy.
attached programmes).
Rafael Romero spoke about a rare and unique
Friday’s sessions on workshop practice in the example of a glue on canvas painting by Morales,
field of enamels, gemstones and jewellery got off exploring the technique both in the context of
to a very lively and highly polished start with Jack documentary sources (Pacheco and the ordonanza
Ogden examining the traditional elements pre‐ of Cordoba and Saragoza for instance), the
sent in jewellery workshop practice in the 16th arrival in Valencia in 1521 of two paintings on
and 17th centuries, and the introduction of new fabric by Sebastiano del Piombo which now hang
technologies in the 17th (for instance blow‐pipe in the Prado Museum, and the materials and tech‐
soldering) based on the juxtaposition of micros‐ nique of workshop productions of similar paintings
copic examination of artefacts (from the Cheap‐ on fabric. Catherine Daunt and Edward Down
side hoard), and contemporary representations (National Portrait Gallery, London) – as part of
of jewellery workshops. This was followed by an the Making Art in Tudor Britain Project ‐ gave an
equally fascinating talk given by Joanna Whalley amusing but nonetheless serious cross‐discipli‐
(Victoria and Albert Museum, London) looking at nary overview of Renaissance painting workshop
the techniques used to enhance the appearance practice in England, looking at the production of
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Poster session.
three “sets” of paintings, examining the issues of technique or tools used in its illustration: so for
multiple hands within sets and within individual instance a goldsmith producing an engraving of an
paintings, as well as the difference in technique ornament used the dots and punches associated
between commissioned paintings, and those with his craft rather than a burin. Angela Campbell
produced for the market place. Erma Hermens (Conservation Department of the Metropolitan
(Glasgow University), using documents and ledgers Museum, New York), who was looking at the mate‐
from the Della Rovere sets of workshops in Pesaro rials and processes used by Dürer in three of his
(and the similar ones erected in Florence by the iconic engravings, amply demonstrated the impor‐
Medici), built up a picture of this highly collabo‐ tance of the role of reconstructions in the under‐
rative enterprise which brought together artists standing of technique when she paired up with a
and craftsmen under one general roof under a practising engraver – Andrew Raftery – to repro‐
general “supervisor” to produce artefacts, revealing duce one of Dürer’s engravings of 1514 – St Paul.
the patterns of organisation and collaboration Hundreds of impressions from the plate were
between the incumbents. systematically pulled and documented, estab‐
lishing that beaten plates were harder and non‐
The following session, devoted to prints and directional, and therefore easier to engrave than
drawings, was launched in sparkling fashion with rolled plates, and that the small percentage of
a paper by Antony Griffiths, former keeper of lead in the copper not only affected the softness
prints and drawings at the British Museum, that of the plate for engraving but also its durability.
demonstrated in the context of ornamental prints, Theresa Smith (Harvard Library) looked at hand‐
the surprising connections between the technique coloured anatomical woodcuts in collaboration
used to make a particular artefact, and the with conservation scientists, art historians and
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historians of science, reconstructing print‐shop French authors from a variety of disciplines, on

practices which combined/balanced the seem‐ the practice of the ceramicist, alchemist and
ingly extravagant production technique of hand‐ scientist Bernard Palissy. Using the ceramic shards
coloured prints with the cost‐cutting production found during excavations when building the
techniques through the physical traces on the Carrousel in the Louvre, and juxtaposing and
engravings. interpreting these findings in the light of his
writings, not only did the gathered information
Still in the area of paper, Maria Clelia Galassi shed light on the techniques of this Renaissance
(University of Genova) investigated the visual master, but it will in the future help in the authen‐
evidence for the use of carta lucida (parchment or tication of artefacts attributed to him in museums
paper soaked in linseed oil or olio di abezzo) for throughout the world.
the transferral of designs in Italian workshops,
despite the fact that so few survive as they were David Saunders on behalf of both CHARISMA and
not collectable items. the British Museum drew the proceedings of this
highly successful meeting to a close, re‐empha‐
Moving on to the final session on casting and sising how all the different kinds of technical
moulding practices in the Renaissance Workshop, evidence and research can contribute to one’s
a very interesting talk on the Royal Mint in London understanding of workshop practices as well as the
was given by Justine Bayley which further demon‐ inter‐relationship between the various artisans
strated (as in the previous talk), how important and artists, and the pivotal role that the CHARISMA
concrete physical, archaelogical evidence – in this consortium plays in generating and supporting
case in the form of shards – is to the reconstruction such research.
of workshop practices, an element which in other
fields is absent, and has to be reconstructed from The Proceedings will in due course be published
such second hand evidence as illustrations. The by Archetype Publications, together with the
importance of reconstruction to one’s knowledge Poster Sessions.
of workshop techniques, also played a crucial role
in the investigation presented by Tonny Beentjes
relating to the reconstruction from documentary
sources of life‐casting techniques. As a result of
these experiments, the authors found new evi‐ HELEN GLANVILLE
dence of procedures when re‐examining the arte‐ Conservator
facts anew after the experiments, which neatly Contact: [email protected]
emphasised an aspect of all investigation ‐
whatever its nature – which is often overlooked:
that what one sees, one’s observations and inter‐ A practising paintings conservator, Helen Glanville
pretations, will be largely directed by one’s has taught and published widely. She is currently
previous knowledge and understanding, not Research Associate at the Hamilton Kerr Institute,
an objective “innocent eye”. University of Cambridge where she is carrying out
research in technical art history, specialising in
The session – and meeting – drew to its close 16th and 17th century painting techniques in
with a lively presentation on behalf of multiple Italy.
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POLYCHROME SCULPTURE:
ARTISTIC TRADITION AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
ICOM‐CC Working Group Interim Meeting
Review by Ana Bidarra Organised by:

ICOM‐CC Sculpture, Polychromy and Architectural
13‐14 April 2012 Decoration Working Group
Glasgow, Scotland Stichting Restauratie Atelier, Maastricht (NL)
Glasgow Museums / Glasgow Life
The Burrell Collection, Glasgow (UK)
This two‐day symposium was focused on artistic 13th and a dinner at a restaurant in Merchants
tradition within the field of polychrome sculpture City.
relating to construction techniques. The meeting
followed the conference held in Maastricht in The first day started with Stephanie de Roemer
October 2010 on “Tool Marks and Construction (Glasgow Life, UK) – one of the organizers – with
Techniques”. The symposium was hosted by The a presentation on “Conservation study of mate‐
Burrell Collection, one of Glasgow’s most presti‐ rials and techniques of Medieval and Renaissance
gious museums. A wide variety of three‐dimen‐ sculpture as a strategy for the Burrell’s sculpture
sional polychrome supports were discussed such collection re‐display”. The Burrell collection, with
as wood, stone, terracotta, metal, wax, paper or around 400 pieces of sculpture from the 12th to
cloth. the 16th century, includes several materials,
techniques and dimensions. Stephanie de Roemer
These meetings are organized by the Sculpture, talked on the planned re‐display of the collection
Polychromy and Architectural Decoration Work‐ for 2016‐2017 as an opportunity to apply a con‐
ing Group (SPAD) of ICOM within the planned tri‐ servation strategy for the investigation and docu‐
ennium activities and work as an opportunity to mentation of the materials, tool marks and
present the most recent achievements on poly‐ physical conditions of the sculptures and to
chrome sculpture construction techniques and on define the type of interventive and preventive
conservation treatments. The presentations are conservation measures for re‐display and storage.
limited to a small number and all of the speakers The second presentation was given by Peter
have a 30 minutes period to present, allowing a Stiberc (Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Italy) who
detailed approach to the different subjects and pointed out several doubts related to the early
making these conferences rather appealing and Renaissance Florence sculptures by Donatello,
enjoyable. The Glasgow conference had 14 speakers Brunelleschi and others. The wood sculpture
and 7 posters and was attended by 40 participants from this period is rather unknown although all
from 15 different countries. For such an interesting of the main early Renaissance sculptures were
conference, the number of delegates was quite commissioned to carve wood statues. Peter
reduced. Along with the conference a social pro‐ talked on the techniques used by the sculptures
gram was offered: a civic reception at The Winter in order to prevent cracking and compared two
Gardens offered by the Lord Provost on Friday masterpieces by Donatello and Brunelleschi. The
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Poster session.
third presentation, by Lynn Lee (Getty, USA), was cover flaws in wood sculpture but to outline and
entitled “Technical analysis of the J. Paul Getty complete sculptures. The cloth was applied as a
Museum’s 18th century Genoese Christ Child: an substitute for the delicate parts of carving, to
example of a variation in regional practice” and form the drapery or even combined with other
was focused on the different exams and studies materials such as straw or wax, creating light‐
carried out in order to achieve a better knowledge weight sculptures in a time‐saving manner. Some‐
of the sculpture. The morning ended with Anne times artists would make an entire sculpture out
Ørnhøi (NIKU, Norway) and the investigation of of stiffened cloth. It was also possible to use this
the construction methods and workshop tradition technique in the past for restoration purposes or
of a group of Norwegian medieval wood crucifixes. even to make alterations, such as covering naked
representations of Christ or angles. The speaker
After lunch and visits to the conservation and showed several examples from Germany and
restoration studios of the museum it was time southern Europe, from the 14th to the 19th cen‐
for the poster presentations. Since the number tury when this sculptures were made for ephe‐
of posters was reduced it was possible for each meral installations, processions or temporary
author to present the poster individually. The day presentations. The inadequate state of conser‐
ended with two presentations by Beate Fuecker vation is one of the reasons why so few examples
(Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Germany) and survived. The final presentation, by Maria
Maria Rodríguez (Polytechnic University of Valen‐ Rodríguez, was about the preliminary findings
cia, Spain). The first afternoon presentation was and conservation treatment of a sculpture depic‐
“Use of sized cloth for the construction of poly‐ ting the “Virgin and Child” from the Cathedral of
chrome sculpture” by Beate Fuecker. It was a Valencia (Spain) from the second half of the 15th
very interesting talk on the use of cloth not to century.
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Visit to the stained‐glass conservation studio.
The second day started with a very interesting clay Nativity Scene” and “On the trail of a select
presentation by Agnés Le Gac (New University of group of Central European reliquary busts; Au‐
Lisbon, Portugal) on “Materials and construction thorship attribution on the bases of construction
techniques used to produce two wax‐cast figu‐ typology”, respectively. The first communication
rines”. The figurines belong to the Machado de focused on the study of a Nativity Scene with more
Castro National Museum (Coimbra, Portugal) and than 60 clay sculptures with heights between 10
are dated from the second half of the 18th cen‐ and 20 centimetres. This figurines presented
tury. Both sculptures were cast from the same several details similar to the wooden sculpture
mould and their study and systematic comparison decorative motives along with particular techni‐
offered an opportunity to verify aspects inherent ques such as the use of glass eyes or glacis. The
to the production of multiple copies in wax cast‐ technical and analytical investigation preceded
ing. The second morning presentation was on the the conservation and restoration of the set.
“Monumental polychromed clay sculptures in Emilio Ruiz communication revealed the results
blocks” from the second half of the 17th century of years of study and investigation of a group of
from the Monastery of Saint Mary of Alcobaça by five reliquary busts. The study used several ana‐
André Remígio (Portugal). Particular attention lytical techniques in order to provide information
was given to the study of authorship, workshop, on the structure, materials, assembly systems
construction techniques and materials. and manufacturing stages. The results allowed
establishing a very specific typology that could be
After the coffee break, Ana Bidarra (Aveiro Uni‐ compared with other works with similar features.
versity, Portugal) and Emilio Ruiz de Arcaute
(Diputación Foral de Álava, Spain) spoke on the After lunch, the second and last day ended with
“Technical study of a Portuguese 18th century four communications. The first one, by Kim
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Woods (Open University, UK), focused on “Late several questions regarding the similarity be‐
Medieval polychromed alabaster sculptures from tween the techniques and materials used in the
Spain to England: an Art Historian’s view”. The 19th century and the ones from the Gothic period.
speaker exposed what is known about polychromed
alabaster sculpture and its variation within dif‐ This two‐day symposium was of great interest
ferent European countries. Several questions on with several enlightening and eye‐catching
colour and luminosity were also addressed, mainly presen‐tations. The opportunity to speak for 30
how the material itself should be more or less minutes and few, but good presentations, made
covered by layers of paint. It was also discussed all the difference!
who was responsible for polychroming this pieces
and the information provided by documents. Postprints will be published by Archetype Books.
Another interesting question was to what extent
restoration has distorted the knowledge of the The third and final symposium will be held in
technique and how art history could set some Tomar, Portugal in the end of May 2013 and it
parameters. The second afternoon presentation, will focus on artistic tradition within the field of
by Tone Olstad (NIKU, Norway) was on “An 18th polychrome sculpture decorative practice. The
century altarpiece dated to the first part of the main subject will be on decoration techniques,
16th century”. The presentation focused on the from painting materials, to varnishes or metal
construction of the altarpiece and how, in fact, leaf applications.
what was thought to be an 18th century work
with pieces of more than one medieval altarpiece
was in fact a 16th century work. Next, Elsa Murta
(Institute of Museums and Conservation, Portu‐
gal) spoke on the construction techniques of
three altarpieces from three different 16th cen‐ ANA BIDARRA
tury Flemish centres: Brussels, Mechelen and Conservator‐restorer
Antwerp. The presentation focused on aspects of Contact: [email protected]
the traditional art and construction of Flemish
altarpieces as found in imported artworks, along Ana Bidarra is a conservator‐restorer specialised
with comparative details and conservation and in sculpture. She has a degree in Conservation‐
restoration procedures for each work. The last Restoration from the Polytechnic Institute of
presentation was entitled “19th century construc‐ Tomar and a Master in GeoSciences from the
tion and polychrome techniques of Pierre Cuypers University of Aveiro on white structured pigments
and his studio; All that glitter is not gold” by for restoration. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at
Arnold Truyen (Stichting Restauratie Atelier the same university researching the compositional
Limburg, Netherlands). It was a very interesting and technological aspects of gold leaf from Portu‐
presentation on the study of the sculptures from guese baroque altarpieces. She is an assistant‐
the studio of Pierre Cuypers (1827‐1921) and its coordinator of ICOM Sculpture Polychromy and
neo‐gothic works. His studio worked to a strict Architectural Decoration Working Group (SPAD)
set of rules and models to create new decorative and she is also a collaborator of e‐conservation.
elements, including sculptures, on a mass scale. Ana works as a conservator‐restorer in private
During the presentation, Arnold Truyen addressed practice since 1999.
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CONNECTING TO CONSERVATION: OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY

AIC 2012 Annual Meeting
Review by Rose Cull
8‐11 May 2012 Organised by:

Albuquerque, New Mexico, US American Institute for Conservation of Historic
and Artistic Works (AIC)
The theme of the 2012 annual meeting was Con‐ the re‐housing project in the future. Other pre‐
necting to Conservation: Outreach and Advocacy. conference events included one‐day workshops
This year, the format of the general sessions was on project management, funding disaster reco‐
modified: in addition to the usual keynote spea‐ very, assessing collection risks, digital imagine
kers, there were 90‐minute Outreach sessions, rectification and mapping with Metigo MAP soft‐
running concurrently, that were coordinated by a ware, using outreach to grow a conservation
group of conservators. These longer sessions business, suction table basics, and respirator fit
could be experimental with their format, there testing. As well as workshops, there were tours
were panel discussions, a lecture followed by of local cultural sites including Acoma Pueblo,
focus group discussions, and a debate with three Coronado State Monument, Tamarind Institute,
conservators on each team arguing a position by and the University of New Mexico Art Museum
responding to a series of statements in two print and photograph collection.
minutes or less. This new approach to the general
session was effective because it allowed the The lectures during the annual meeting are sepa‐
audience to really mull over a topic, and the rated by specialty group, of which there are ten:
resulting discussions brought up many interest‐ architecture, paintings, objects, textiles, wood,
ing ideas and capitalized on the intelligence in electronic media, photography, book and paper,
the room, letting conservators learn from each research and technical studies, and conservators
other. in private practice. The meeting had around 900
attendees and a record number of participants,
Tuesday, May 8th prior to the start of lectures, I there were 55 presenters in the outreach ses‐
participated in one of two “Angels projects”, sions and 90 presenters at the specialty group
where conservators volunteer at a local organiza‐ sessions. The Book and Paper specialty group is
tion to assist with collections care. The project I the largest and had two full days of lectures, the
volunteered for was with the Sandoval County other specialty groups had between one or two
Historical Society at the historic adobe home of days of lectures. I attended the lectures on ob‐
artist Edmond DeLavy. There were fifteen volun‐ jects conservation and electronic media conser‐
teers who assisted in re‐housing maps, oil paint‐ vation.
ings and archival materials. The conservators
performed the re‐housing while instructing the The talks presented by the objects specialty group
historical society volunteers in how to carry on covered a range of topics, and one session was
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Albuquerque Civic Plaza, view across the street from the Albuquerque skyline. Photo by Jason Church.
convention center. Photo by Jason Church.
held jointly with the research and technical techniques. Qeros have been made continually
studies specialty group. A memorable talk from for millennia and provide an important link
the American Museum of Natural History was a between the past and present in the Andes, as
discussion of options for re‐coloring faded taxi‐ they are still made and used today. The project
dermy, for example, Orasol dyes in ethanol ap‐ has been an active area of research since 1995,
plied with a special brush on the taxidermy hair and in that time advances in technology and
offers a reversible option that is safe to use in analytical methods have allowed smaller samples
active gallery spaces. Emily Kaplan, conservator to be taken, and the conservators have built up
at the National Museum of the American Indian an electronic database of their findings instead
presented an ongoing research project on Qeros of relying on paper records. The lecture offered
she is conducting with Ellen Howe, Conservator at an insightful look at the workings of a large pro‐
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ellen Pearlstein, ject and the amount of commitment and passion
Associate Professor at UCLA, and Judith Levinson, these conservators have for the study of Qeros.
Director of Conservation at the American Museum
of Natural History. The project has analytical The electronic media talks discussed a number of
participants including the Museum of Fine Arts, ideas, one of the points I took home was the re‐
Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale cognition by electronic media conservators of the
University, the Museum Conservation Institute, great need for collaboration with experts in the
and the University of Barcelona. Qeros (also spelled media they are trying to preserve. There were
Kero or Quero) are drinking vessels, made of many also discussions about whether keeping media in
materials, most commonly wood, created in pairs, the original analog format instead of migrating to
and decorated with polychrome imagery. The goals a digital format is soulless because it makes the
of this research are to understand the polychrome conservator reliant on playback machines, or does
materials and techniques, and through this un‐ migrating to a new format remove the ‘soul’ from
derstanding create a chronology of materials and the piece? I enjoyed the discussion of the soul of
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Paintings storage at the historic adobe home of artist Edmond DeLavyat before (left) and after (right) during one of the Angels
projects. Photos by Jason Church.
the object, and I saw many similarities between ROSE CULL

the conservation of electronic media and current Conservator
discussions about the conservation of intangible Contact: [email protected]
cultural heritage.
One of the new initiatives that were celebrated at Rose Cull is a board member of e‐conservation.
the meeting was the launch of the Collections Rose runs a private practice in Phoenix, AZ,
Care Network, a group that all members of AIC where she specializes in the conservation of
can join and a group that it is hoped will be ap‐ sculpture and contemporary art. Rose trained at
pealing to all who work in the field of collections the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program
care. The network had a brief introduction fol‐ in Art Conservation (WUDPAC) where she re‐
lowed by focus group discussions, and a recep‐ ceived an MS in Art Conservation. Her recent
tion. research interests have focused on the role of
the artists interview, and the conservation of
One part of the AIC annual meeting that sets it electronic dance music. She has previously pub‐
apart from other conservation meetings is the lished on the legal rights of artists and conser‐
presence of conservation suppliers and an ex‐ vators under VARA, issues of sustainability in
hibit hall. I could wander around booths pro‐ conservation, and the changing views of pre‐
moting conservation materials like books, hand ventive conservation. Rose is the assistant co‐
tools, paints, portable XRF analytical tools, ordinator the ICOM‐CC Theory and History of
mannequins, and many other materials. It is a Conservation working group, and the American
good way to think if I have become too tired from Institute for Conservation (AIC) Electronic Me‐
lectures. The meeting felt more commercial than dia Group.
other conservation conferences; perhaps this is a
uniquely American twist.¨
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COPYING, REPLICATING & EMULATING PAINTINGS

IN THE 15 th‐18th CENTURY
Review by Sue Ann Chui
21‐22 May 2012

Copenhagen, Denmark
Organised by: National Gallery of Denmark
The newly founded Centre for Art Technological thoughtful and varied selection of art historians,
Studies and Conservation (CATS), a collaborative conservators and scientists who gave nineteen
venture between the National Gallery of Denmark, papers divided among seven sessions organized
the National Museum of Denmark, and the School more or less chronologically over the two‐day
of Conservation (SoC) at the Royal Danish Acade‐ conference. In addition to the talks, there was a
my of Fine Arts, held its first international confe‐ poster session with over ten contributions that
rence, Copying, Replicating & Emulating Paintings could be viewed during the breaks. As there were
in the 15th‐18th Century, at the Statens Museum for too many presentations to describe each one in‐
Kunst in Copenhagen 21‐22 May 2012. The theme dividually, only some papers will be highlighted
of the conference was inspired by a pan‐European from each session.
research project, Tracing Bosch and Brueghel: Four
Paintings Magnified, in which four versions of Christ After Jørgen Wadum, Keeper of Conservation at
Driving the Traders from the Temple were studied. the National Gallery of Denmark and Director of
The research was published in the book On the CATS, welcomed the attendees, the first session
Trail of Bosch and Brueghel – Four Paintings United “Emulations and Copies in the 15th‐16th Century”
under Cross‐Examination which was generously started with the keynote speaker Matthijs Ilsink,
included in the attendees’ conference packet. The (Bosch Research and Conservation Project,
well‐attended conference hosted 165 participants Noordbrabants Museum, The Netherlands) who
representing 17 countries, the largest contingents extracted new meaning from a small panel by
coming naturally from Denmark, followed by The Pieter Bruegel the Elder in his talk “Inversive
Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the USA. Emulation: Pieter Bruegel and the cripples from
Croton”. He proposed that this small painting in
The reconsideration of the role copies and imi‐ the Louvre after a print by Bosch was not merely
tating play is timely as for too long they had been a copy, but also a conscious exercise in emulating
considered of minor intellectual and artistic the great Greek painter Zeuxis, and in turn was
value. The goal of the conference was to shed new taking to task Nature and Art with which the
light on European workshop practice from the artist was competing.
15th‐18th centuries through art historical and
technical examination of paintings. This multi‐ In “Pieter Brueghel as a copyist after Pieter
disciplinary approach was reflected in the Bruegel”, Christina Curries and Dominique Allart
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(IRPA, Brussels and University of Liège, Belgium)

gave us a peek into the recently published three‐
volume book on the Brueg(h)el family. Peter
Brueghel the Younger, who was four or five years
old when his father Pieter Bruegel the Elder died
in 1569, was nevertheless able to make faithful
replicas of his father’s paintings because he in‐
herited a trove of working drawings. Their research
allowed distinctions to be made between the
Younger’s productions and that of his rival copy‐
ists. But not all can be revealed ‐ for example,
five versions of the Wedding Dance were studied,
and while a common cartoon seems to exist for
all five paintings, the exact copying method is
still not known.
“England in the 16th‐17th century” was the theme

of the second session, and for that Sophie Plender
and Polly Saltmarsh (National Portrait Gallery, Lon‐
don and independent practice, Cambridge, United
Kingdom) demonstrated that there was continued
interest in portraits by Holbein long after his death
in “Copies and Versions: Discussing Holbein’s lega‐
cy in England. Technical examination of copies of
Holbein portraits at the National Portrait Gallery”.
Their study of eight paintings, which was a part of
the Making of Art in Tudor Britain project, showed
they were only superficially similar to Holbein’s
paintings as various hands were present as well
as different materials and techniques from Hol‐
bein which might suggest he did not leave behind
a workshop that would carry on his methods.
In the third session “Materials as Markers”, Melanie

Gifford (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC)
related visual conventions adopted by 17th
Up to down: the picturesque Nyhavn, Copenhagen (photo by

Sue Ann Chui); Jørgen Wadum welcomes the audience on the
first day (photo by Sue Ann Chui); conference attendees listen
to a presentation (© SMKFoto); questions and discussion
during the first session (© SMKFoto).
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Melanie Gifford delivering Julia Burdajewicz's paper "Assump‐ Coffee break. © SMKFoto.
tion of the Virgin by studio of Peter Paul Rubens from the Na‐
tional Gallery of Art in Washington ‐ between master's piece
and student's copy". © SMKFoto.
century artists to recent neuroscience research in engaging exhibition, designed in collaboration

her paper “Material innovation and convention”. with a group of young museum supporters, on
The “peak shift effect” helps to explain how historical painting technique and modern day
artists in emulating other artists, such as Pieter conservation that featured the version of Christ
Bruegel the Elder and Rembrandt, came to exag‐ Driving the Traders from the Temple belonging to
gerate certain visual qualities of their painting the National Gallery of Denmark. Illuminated –
techniques because the brain picks out and tracing Bosch & Brueghel was presented in two
responds to certain features that describe a visual parts. In the first room, visitors stepped into a
stimulus. The case studies presented showed that simulated conservation lab lined with bottle‐filled
the process of emulation contributed to both an cabinets with a reproduction of the painting on
evolution of innovation and conventionalization an easel in the center. Next to it was a restorer’s
of painting techniques. tabouret covered with a bonnet to protect the
display of the tools of the trade. As one left this
At the end of the first day, the conference parti‐ space, you came face to face with a “virtual”
cipants were introduced to an innovative and conservator ‐ a life‐size projection of Jørgen
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Wadum explaining the various steps of conserving

a painting. The second room represented a step
back in time, about 450 years, to the artist’s
studio where the actual panel painting was on
display on an easel, so one could view not only
the front, but the reverse as well.
On the second day, the fourth session “From the

Netherlands to Antwerp, 17th‐18th Century” Anita
Jansen and Johanneke Verhave (Museum het
Prinsenhof, Delft, The Netherlands and indepen‐
dent art historian and paintings conservator)
gave a fascinating paper on the prolific portraitist
“Michiel van Miervelt – Copy master. Exploring
the oeuvre of the Van Mierevelt workshop.”
Miervelt’s workshop was without equal, and pro‐
duced around 5,000 portraits over a fifty‐year
period, of which over 600 survive. An impressive
The exhibition Illuminated – tracing Bosch & Brueghel.
250 of these surviving paintings were included in Photo by Sue Ann Chui.
Jansen and Verhave’s study, and they created a
database which details art historical, archival
"Virtual" conservator explains the art of conservation to
and technical information. Based on their research,
visitors. Photo by Sue Ann Chui.
fifty percent of his oeuvre consisted of copies of
famous and important people, such as the por‐
trait of Prince Maurits. This was Mierevelt’s most
important commission and over the years his
studio made many variants of this portrait, even
aging the prince in 4‐stages. His methodical and
consistent painting technique was revealed to
facilitate a production line of portraiture.
Philip IV gave Rubens extraordinary permission to

make scale copies of Titian paintings in the Royal
collection that had to be taken off the walls and
brought to a temporary studio set up for Rubens.
The extent of Rubens’ involvement in the copies
versus his assistants was the focus of Jeremy
Wood’s (University of Nottingham, UK) paper
“The problem of Rubens’s copies painted in
Madrid in 1628‐29” which lead the fifth session
“Rubens and his Workshop.” Woods placed the
at least 22 copies, which were kept by the artist
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Simulated conservation studio in the exhibition. Photo by Sue Ann Chui.
until his death, into three groupings: those mechanical copies” was investigated by David
mostly by Rubens, those painted by workshop Saunders (British Museum) mostly through docu‐
assistants and retouched by Rubens, and those mentary sources about the copies that the artist
executed entirely by assistants. Unfortunately, had renamed polygraphs. The written descriptions
no technical information was available from the left by Booth revealed more about his promotional
paintings in Madrid, which constitute the majority abilities rather than the process of making them,
of the extant copies, to corroborate Wood’s so his technique still remains a mystery.
findings, so this group still needs to be explored.
Look for the proceedings of the conference in a
In the sixth session, devoted to “Italian copies”, special edition of the online publication ArtMat‐
James Hamm (Buffalo State College, Buffalo, ters: International Journal for Technical Art History
New York, USA) delivered a follow‐up to the to be published in early 2013.
sensational story of the discovery of a supposed
painting by Michelangelo in “A Lost Michelangelo
Discovered?”, co‐authored with Dan Kushel. Non‐
invasive analysis of the Pietà, which duplicates a SUE ANN CHUI
print by Michelangelo, included x‐radiography, Conservator
x‐ray fluorescence and infrared reflectography. Contact: [email protected]
Hamm implied that the results of the analysis
were inconsistent with a painting purported to Sue Ann Chui is a paintings conservator
be from the 16th century. specialized in the structural conservation of panel
paintings. At the moment she works as associate
In the last session on 18th‐19th Century Copies, conservator of paintings at the J. Paul Getty
the mystery of “Joseph Booth’s chymical and Museum, Los Angeles.
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FRENCH BRONZES: HISTORY, MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUES OF

BRONZE SCULPTURE IN FRANCE (16th ‐18th C.)
Review by Carol Grissom
9‐12 June 2012 Organised by:

Paris, France Musée du Louvre and Centre de Recherche et de
Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF)
The French bronze conference held 9‐12 June 2012 sally known sculptor (and a personal favorite)
at the Musée du Louvre and Centre de Recherche Jean‐Antoine Houdon, cast by the sculptor him‐
et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF) self no less. In between were such treats as the
in Paris proved to be a stimulating experience for oft‐illustrated bronze reduction of an equestrian
this American objects conservator with a long‐ statue of Louis XIV from Copenhagen complete
standing interest in bronze sculpture. Titled with gates and vents, together with a similar
“French Bronzes: History, Material and Techniques finished reduction from the British Royal Collec‐
of Bronze Sculpture (16th‐18th C.)”, the confer‐ tion. The exhibition catalog, with contributions
ence followed the 2008‐2009 exhibition “Cast in by art historians, curators, conservation scien‐
Bronze: French Sculpture from Renaissance to tists, and conservators (conservator‐restorers in
Revolution” at the Musée du Louvre, Metropolitan European parlance) is excellent, priced reason‐
Museum of Art in New York, and J. Paul Getty ably considering its size (more than 500 pages)
Museum in Los Angeles. and quality, and with good photographs.
At the exhibition in New York, I had been aston‐ I would have liked more technical studies in the
ished to see the cream of French sculpture from exhibition catalogue, so that I was delighted
this period, and I marveled at the circumstances when the 2012 conference was proposed to take
that led to this once‐in‐a‐century travelling ex‐ advantage of momentum generated by the exhi‐
hibition. Its extraordinary sculpture is not so well bition. Many of the same art historians, curators,
known outside France, probably because much of conservation scientists, and conservators who
it was made for French royalty (particularly the contributed to the exhibition catalogue had taken
earlier pieces) and under normal circumstances the opportunity to study the sculptures collabo‐
can only be seen at the Louvre or other French ratively and in depth during the exhibition. At
museums. Among the first items encountered in the 2012 meeting they presented new results as
the exhibition were statuettes of a stark naked well as overviews, while other colleagues also
and recognizable Henry IV as Jupiter and his half‐ submitted papers.
naked wife Marie de Medici as Juno by Barthélemy
Prieur, as well as a charming portrait of Louis XIV The goals of the conference were described as
at the Age of Five commissioned by his mother better understanding of: (1) the origins and
from Jacques Sarazin. The exhibit ended with the cross‐fertilization of ideas related to the making
statue of Diana the Huntress by the more univer‐ of bronzes in France between the Renaissance
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and eighteenth century; (2) the production of

sculptors, founders, or individual works of art;
and (3) current state‐of‐the‐art research meth‐
ods and their application. Organizing committee
members were David Bourgarit (C2RMF), Jane
Bassett (J. Paul Getty Museum), Francesca Bewer
(Harvard Art Museums), and curators Geneviève
Bresc‐Bautier, Philippe Malgouyres, and Guilhem
Scherf from the Louvre. Support for the confer‐
ence was provided by American Friends of the
Louvre and Peter Marino Architect, who sat in
the front row in full biker regalia and Mohawk
on the first day.
The four‐day conference began with a well‐at‐

tended public lecture day in the large auditorium
at the Louvre. On the second day, a much smaller
group of around 60 specialists was treated to a
tour of the Coubertin bronze foundry and the
galerie des Cerfs (hall of stags) at the Château
de Fontainebleau. The foundry is located on a
property with a chateau and seventeenth‐cen‐
tury farm, inherited by the Baroness Yvonne de
Coubertin from her uncle Pierre de Coubertin,
founder of the modern Olympic Games. As part
of the Baroness’s interest in promoting tradi‐
tional craftsmanship, a bronze foundry was
started in 1963 by Jean Bernard. Sculptures by
Joseph Bernard (his father) and others dot the
property’s landscape. Knowledgeable foundry
staff served as guides, showing sculptures in
various stages of preparation for both the sand
casting and lost wax ceramic shell casting prac‐
ticed there.
Above: Seventeenth century farm buildings at the Château de

Coubertin, where Jean Bernard established a bronze foundry
in 1963 at the behest of the Baroness Yvonne de Coubertin.
Courtesy Clare Finn.
Middle: Sculptures displayed outside the Coubertin bronze
foundry.
Below: Hands‐on sculpting exercise during the meeting.
Courtesy Francesca Bewer.
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At Fontainebleau, chief curator Vincent Droguet

and Geneviève Bresc‐Bautier provided short intro‐
ductions to five Renaissance copies of Antique
statuary, which introduced the Antique to north‐
ern France. Amazingly the statues were cast in
bronze around 1540 at Fontainebleau itself from
plaster molds of Antique statues made in Rome
under the supervision of Primaticcio at the re‐
quest of Francis I: the Laocoön, Hercules, Apollo
Belvedere, Belvedere Venus, and Dying Cleopatra
(also known as Sleeping Ariadne). Also in the
galerie des Cerfs was Barthélemy Prieur’s Diana
with a Hind, which has been replaced in its ori‐
ginal location on a nearby fountain by a copy
made by Balthazar Keller. Close examination was
permitted. The third and final days were mainly
lectures at C2RMF, but included a molding exer‐
cise one afternoon. Ample breaks facilitated
renewal of old friendships and discussions with
new colleagues.
The following highlights and a few low points

must be regarded as my opinions only, and they
no doubt reflect my knowledge of particular sub‐
jects and ignorance of others. I enjoyed a review
of ancient and medieval casting by Nicolas Thomas,
complete with photographs of recent finds such
as the Antique Captive Gaul from the Rhône River
at Arles (on temporary exhibit at the Louvre) and
of several recently excavated medieval foundries.
Benoît Mille presented experimental techniques
measuring fusion welding and castability (using
a mold with channels of different widths) to ex‐
plore differences in fabrication between Greek
Above: Examination of the Belvedere Venus, cast in bronze by

P. Beauchesne around 1540 from plaster molds of the Antique
statue in Rome, galerie des cerfs at the Château de Fontaine‐
bleau.
Below: Examining interior of Diana with a Hind cast in bronze
by the sculptor Barthélemy Prieur from plaster molds of the
Antique statue in Rome. Clockwise from right are David Bougarit,
Françoise Urbain, Élisabeth Lebon, and Regina Seelig‐Teuwen.
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Entrance, Château de Fontainebleau.
and Roman and early modern European bronze showed his metallurgical expertise in discussing
statues. This work showed that the very thin the so‐called Keller alloy (for example,
metal walls and a large number of welds charac‐ CuZn6Sn4Pb2) and its use (or as it happened,
teristic of Antique bronzes were enabled by suc‐ more often not) for equestrian monuments in
cessful fusion welding, while the inability of later France and northern Europe during the eight‐
founders to master the technique led to thick eenth century. Arlen Heginbotham presented
walls, a small number of assemblies, and the holy the first of a number of sets of bronze reference
grail of casting in a single pour. standards to Robert van Langh, noting that he
has found free PyMca software to be best for
Swedish art historian Linda Hinners showed rare X‐ray fluorescence analyses. He also illustrated
documents illustrating a French‐style lost‐wax technical evidence of different methods of pro‐
bronze foundry planned but never constructed in ducing gilt bronze decoration from the late seven‐
Stockholm in 1697 for François‐Jacques Aubry teenth through the eighteenth century, as well
and the sculptors Charles Langlois and Jacques as nineteenth‐century copies.
Foucquet. Tony Beentjes once again demonstrated
his outstanding practical skills in a paper on ex‐ As a conservator I especially liked seeing photo‐
perimentation with Renaissance life casting graphs of the disassembly of Benvenuto Cellini’s
techniques of recently killed animals and plants Nymph of Fontainebleau at the Louvre and other
in southern Germany (for example, by Wenzel sculptures treated by Antoine Amarger, which
Jamnitzer) and northern Italy based on a French demonstrated how fortunate this man has been
technical manuscript (ca. 1580) at the Bibliothèque to work on so many masterpieces. Julia Day’s
Nationale in Paris, in conjunction with historian presentation of the results of thorough exami‐
of science Pamela Smith. Jean‐Marie Welter nation of a questioned medieval French bronze
REVIEWS
Participants on the steps of the château. Courtesy Francesca Bewer.
Angel by Jean Barbet in the Frick’s collection Geneviève Bresc‐Bautier’s overview of excellent
proved to me that the statue can no longer be provincial foundry production, such as Jean Rancy’s
reasonably questioned. The equestrian statue of Dame Tholose (Lady of Toulouse) originally atop
Charles I (1633) by Hubert Le Sueur at Charing City Hall in Toulouse, would have been far better
Cross, London and its replication throughout with more illustrations. It was also a pity that
Great Britain presented by Louvre art historian she and another French curator went well over
Charlotte Chastel‐Rousseau were new to me, their allotted times, forcing rushed talks by
and I was heartened by her apologies (and that others at the end of the day. I would have liked
of another art historian) for a dearth of tech‐ to have heard a talk focusing on patinas, but
nical information. This is progress from my they are notoriously difficult to analyze and
standpoint! document, and perhaps no one is working on
them in depth.
I had been dismayed that nineteenth‐century
bronzes were generally excluded from the con‐ As I expected, Jane Bassett, Francesca Bewer,
ference, but fortunately one exception was made. and David Bougarit each provided excellent
Élisabeth Lebon’s gave an excellent discussion of overviews, but since I am somewhat familiar with
the historical, political, and ideological aspects their work I was particularly taken with their en‐
that contributed to the rise and fall of sandcast‐ thusiasm and collegiality. Presentation of alter‐
ing during the nineteenth century. This pheno‐ native casting possibilities made me question
menon had always seemed peculiar to me but everything I knew and sometimes made my head
now makes perfect sense (look out for her forth‐ hurt. I will never forget Benvenuto Cellini’s
coming book Fonte au sable, fonte à cire perdue: “lasagna” technique, however, or the possible
historie d’une rivalité, www.ophrys.fr, 20 Euros). misinterpretation of geometric cut‐back cores
REVIEWS
presented by Jane. On days without translators,

Francesca’s command of languages enhanced The News section is bringing up‐to‐date
understanding for those of us whose French is far information on cultural heritage topics such as
from perfect. The sweet patter of David’s five‐ on‐site conservation projects reports, reviews
year old twin boys alleviated an otherwise hellish of conferences, lectures or workshops and
any other kind of appropriate
trip back to Paris from Fontainebleau in Sunday
announcements.
evening traffic. And David must also have been
instrumental in arranging the fantastic lunches
If you are involved in interesting projects and
provided at the C2RMF and Coubertin.
you want to share your experience with
everybody else, please send us your news
As I find often occurs at smallish targeted con‐ or announcements.
ferences of this sort, the meeting proved to be
excellent, and it was truly interdisciplinary. I For more details, such as deadlines and
look forward to obtaining the postprints, which publication guidelines, please visit
are scheduled for publication by Archetype. www.e‐conservationline.com
CAROL GRISSOM
Conservator
Contact: [email protected]
Carol Grissom has been Senior Objects Conser‐

vator at the Smithsonian Institution since 1984,
specializing in treatment of plaster, stone, and
metal sculpture. An authority on zinc sculpture,
she published a 700‐page book entitled Zinc
Sculpture in America: 1850 to 1950 in 2009 and
“The zinc statuettes of Cornelius & Baker” in
Winterthur Portfolio in 2012. After a bachelor’s
degree in art history from Wellesley College, she
received a master’s degree in art conservation
from Oberlin College and then took advanced
training at the national conservation institutes
of Belgium and Italy. She previously worked as a
conservator for Friuli Arts and Monuments
(FRIAM) after the 1976 earthquake in the Friuli
region of Italy, sculpture conservator at the
Center for Archaeometry, Washington University,
St. Louis, and exhibitions conservator at the
National Gallery of Art. She is currently the book
review editor for Studies in Conservation.
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CONSERVATION MATTERS IN WALES
Review by Rachel Robbins
14 June 2012, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Organised by: Amgueddfa Cymru ‐ National Museum Wales, The Federation of Museums
and Art Galleries of Wales and Cardiff University
The bi‐annual conference “Conservation Matters all conservation decisions, she also detailed that
in Wales” chose to focus its attention upon the the most valuable opportunity the project gave her
theme “Know your place: Conservators in pro‐ was the chance to develop her people manage‐
jects”. Specific project work is often viewed as a ment skills.
short‐term solution between fixed employments
and as a result, in some views, can carry several The second speaker, Bronwen Roberts, presented
negative connotations. The conference set out to her talk on “Finding my place: Maryhill Inventory
question these issues whilst showing the adapt‐ Project, Glasgow”. The talk focused upon her be‐
ability of the conservator in project work, high‐ ing the sole conservator in this vast inventory
lighting the value of sharing expertise with other project. There were no set conservation aims at
departments and the opportunity for a conservator the start of the project, apart from the fact it was
to develop and build upon their skill set outside known a conservator was needed! The job spanned
of the lab! across five warehouses worth of objects and had
two teams of documentation assistants and a
The first speaker, Marie Jordan, a conservator for photographer. The overall aim of the project was
Newport City Council, spoke about her involvement to create an online collection/database that was
as the sole conservator on the Newport Medieval accessible to the general public. With this in mind,
ship that is currently going through its final stages Bronwen prioritised her workload depending on
of treatment. In “Definitely Bigger than a Bread‐ the usefulness of any remedial conservation
box: Scaling Treatment Methods for the Newport needed towards the collation of the inventory.
Medieval Ship?”, she spoke about the psycholo‐ This project fundamentally allowed Bronwen to
gical implications on taking on a project of scale write her own job description, setting her own
and how adaptability is key in this situation. The aims and deciding on the key conservation pri‐
ability to jump from using a scalpel to a full two orities. She noted that a lot of time was spent at
handed chisel lying under the vessel whilst still the start, getting to know the issues. Something
remaining completely confident and comfortable of a luxury and certainly allowing a greater scope
in using your tools is a necessity on a job of such to manage the project as a whole.
scale. As the sole conservator, she was faced with
making all key treatment decisions on her own and The “The Kyffin Bequest: Collaboration, Creativ‐
as result she described her role as being an advo‐ ity and Pragmatism” talk was split between four
cate for the object when faced with balancing the speakers, Lona Mason, Pam Small, Kate Newton
quick the good and the cheap! As well as making and Jenny Williamson, who each viewed the
REVIEWS
project from their varied roles and involvement.

The ‘Kyffin Bequest’ was a collection bequeathed
to the National Library of Wales in 2006. This en‐
compassed the late Sir Kyffin Williams artwork
owned by himself, his collection of art by others,
prints, and his archive. This project highlighted
the need for adaptability, not only in terms of the
role of the conservator, but also in terms of the
building that the collection was going to be
housed in. Due to the sheer quantity of paintings
and prints, a new storage space was required
within the National Library to house the newly
acquired collection. Not only did the work need
storing in the long term, but also needed to be
accessible in the short term in order for essential
work to be carried out. As a result, the needs of the
collection were re‐evaluated in the early stages
of the project, specifically allowing visitor access
to the collection. Budget management became
key at this stage trying to incur no extra charges
and make use of what was already available, ad‐
apting the resources instead of compromising the
collection. All four speakers stressed the need to
preserve the “spirit of the collection”, keeping
the works together as a whole unit, due to the
nature of the bequest. Several works were not
signed, sections cut from the canvas and choice of
materials had purposefully caused damage. The
artists overall choice to leave the works in an
outhouse store were a pointer towards the
artist’s intentions towards the work. The artist’s
wishes were felt to be paramount over any
From up to down:
Sarah Lawrence, Ruth Jones and Marie Jordan, who spoke about
the Newport Medieval ship.
Jenny Gosling, Bronwen Roberts, who spoke about the Maryhill
Inventory Project, and Amelia Drewdun.
The team from the National Library of Wales who presented “The
Kyffin Bequest: Collaboration, Creativity and Pragmatism”:
Kate Newton, Lona Mason, Pam Small and Jenny Williamson.
Diane Gwilt, from the National Museum Wales, Luisa Russo
who spok about the KADMOS Project and Katrina Deering.
REVIEWS
aesthetic integrity. The team had to work to‐ scale of the project involved a vast amount of
gether in understanding these priorities. planning, over eighteen months worth, and
management of various teams, that on a smaller
The first speaker after lunch was Maria Luisa Russo, scale project might not necessary cross paths.
from the University if Turin. Her talk focused upon Nathans role varied throughout the project, visi‐
the awareness of the conservator’s role on the ting each private collector to assess the condition
project of dealing with the Paul Kahle fonds. The of the chosen piece and to gain consent for use.
KADMOS (Kahle Documents Management, Organi‐ Being the last person to sign off the safety and
sation, Study) Project transcended between condition of the final installation a vast amount
various professions, which allowed Maria’s role as of responsibility was felt.
the conservator to be highlighted as a necessary
part of the team. She described fascination Diane Gwilt, from the National Museum Wales was
amongst the team when she began working in her the final speaker of the day. In groups she asked
lab coat and gloves, gimmick or not, it promoted us to discuss the pros and cons of project work.
the role of the conservator and potential involve‐ What came from this discussion was an abundance
ment in future projects within the University de‐ of advantages when involved in project work. For
partments. Due to the involvement of a conser‐ me personally, as a training conservator, the con‐
vator, more in‐depth problems and issues could ference helped to dispel some of the negative is‐
be identified. This, in turn, had an effect upon the sues surrounding project work that I had previ‐
project funding, and allowed some to be re‐dir‐ ously had. Instead, it highlighted the opportunit‐
ected towards essential preventive measures to ies available to conservators who might not nor‐
ensure accessibility and promotion of the archive, mally get the chance to build upon other valuable
which were the ultimate aims. skill sets outside of the basic role. Projects would
provide a chance to gain transferable manage‐
The fifth speaker, Nathan Otterson from the ment skills that could help in future employment
Guggenheim Museum in New York, focused on his opportunities, which seems of key importance in
involvement in the planning and installation of the current job climate today.
“Maurizio Cattelan: All” which went on display in
the Guggenheim in November 2011. The installa‐
tion including the majority of Maurizio Cattelan’s RACHEL ROBBINS
work since 1989, the works used came from the Trainee Conservator
artist himself and from a vast amount of private Contact: [email protected]
collectors. Due to the nature of the artists metho‐
dology and value he places on his finished works, Rachel Robbins is a training conservator, having
the project at times became a back and forth recently completed the Graduate Diploma in
dialogue between the team and the artist. A very Conservation Studies at the University of Lincoln.
clear vision was in place for exactly how the works She will be returning in September to begin the
needed to be displayed and mounted. The con‐ MA in Conservation of Historic Objects. She is
servator had to act as an advocate for the objects, currently undertaking placements at Oxfordshire
juggling their individual conservation priorities Museum Resource Centre and with the National
and display options whilst still adhering to the Trust as a Conservation Assistant over the summer
artist’s intentions for the overall concept. The months between her studies.
REVIEWS
CMA4CH MEDITERRANEUM MEETING

Use of Multivariate Analysis and Chemometrics in Cultural
Heritage and Environment
Review by Luciano D’Alessio and Pierina Ielpo
27‐30 May 2012, Rome, Italy

Organised by: Rome University, La Sapienza
The 4th biennal CMA4CH Mediterraneum Meeting The increase of welfare, technological develop‐
was held in the beautiful city of Rome, Italy, from ment and consumption led to an increase of pollu‐
27 to 30 May 2012. The four days event was care‐ tion. The effect this has on cultural heritage is
fully organized by the research group of professor degradation. A correct procedure for the conser‐
Giovanni Visco of Rome University “La Sapienza” vation of cultural heritage must start with moni‐
and colleagues and hosted at the ”P. Bisogno” toring the macro and/or micro environments to
room of the National Research Council. This bien‐ recognize the main impact factors. This approach
nial meeting deals with multivariate analysis and leads to a large and complex data matrix that
chemometrics applications both to environmental cannot be treated by univariate methods. The
and cultural heritage topics. In particular, it is application of different multivariate statistical
aimed at building a bridge between researchers technique for interpreting the complex databases
involved on environment and cultural heritage offers a better and wide understanding of the
and chemometricians. Exhaustive information problem under study. In fact, the advantages of
can be found at the webpage where details of multivariate statistical techniques for cultural
previous editions are also shown. heritage and environmental data can be summa‐
rized as to: reflect more accurately the multi‐
This edition included 33 works and 102 authors variate nature of natural and /or environmental
coming from 12 countries. As in the previous systems; provide a way to handle large data sets
editions, the meeting was combined with the with large numbers of variables by summarizing
Multivariate Analysis Course, School for Novices, the redundancy; and provide means of detecting
held from the 28th to the 30th of May 2012 and and quantifying truly multivariate patterns that
devoted mainly to the neophytes of the matter, arise out of the correlation structure of the
although more advanced participants also variable set.
benefited from the high level teaching.
Going over the meeting abstracts one can find
The meeting communications were organized in applications of chemometrics as well obtaining
invited lectures (4), oral (21) and poster (9) exhaustive information about material degrada‐
presentations divided in five sessions on Cultural tion and micro‐environmental quality. There are,
Heritage topics and three sessions on Environ‐ for example, studies about the identification of
mental ones. artistic pigments by pattern recognition which can
REVIEWS
Visiting the excavation of Palazzo Valentini.
help identifying painting techniques; classification from Parma University and Dr. Barry M. Wise, presi‐
of objects, such as ceramic artifacts and clays, dent and co‐Founder of Eigenvector Research, Inc.
and their provenience; discrimination of objects
composition such as ancient bronzes dating back The meeting opening and welcome ceremony
from the Neolithic period to the end of Bronze were hosted, on Sunday evening, at “Casa
Age, etc. dell’Aviatore”, the officer’s club of Italian air
force, close to La Sapienza University and
Among the participants of the CMA4CH meeting, meeting venue.
one could find both experts in chemometrics
applications and people that approach the multi‐ The organizing committee decided to draw prizes
variate statistical methods for the first time. The among the participants in a ceremony that took
leitmotiv of the meeting could be summarized in place at the end of the first day at Bar Leonardi.
the following sentence: “In a multivariate world, The ceremony, held in a cheerful and convivial
let’s exchange our experience in the advanced environment, included a tasty cake offered to the
statistical methods”. meeting participants from cake shop Paci, very
famous in San Lorenzo quarter. The prizes
Among the meeting participants, we want to high‐ abundance, which are offered by the sponsors, is
light the inaugural and invited lecture of R.G. a distinctive trait of CMA4CH. This time, they
Brereton, Professor of Chemometrics and Director consisted of 21 books, an USB memory stick
of the Centre for Chemometrics of Bristol Univer‐ filled with multi‐variate/chemometrics software
sity, who spoke about the quantitative application and one PLS tool‐box and MIA software (from
of self‐organizing maps applied to NMR study of Eigenvector Research, Inc.). Another eight books
saliva metabolites and fungal degradation of were offered to students attending the Course
apples. Other chairmen were prof. A. Montenero “Multivariate Analysis Course, School for Novices”.
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From left to right:The original colour picture of Pollock; the same image converted in binary black and white dots; the log‐log
plot of the binary image showing a fractal scaling and the value of the box dimension.
In the second day, the program included outdoor Other applications can be made in the study of
activities such as a visit to Palazzo Valentini. rock porosity, paper foxing, degradation of glass
Standing in the center of Piazza dei Santi Apos‐ and plastic materials. It is hoped that in the
toli, in front of the building of Provincia di Roma, future people will apply this tool more widely in
one cannot imagine the beauty of the treasures the field of cultural heritage.
underground. After descending some stairs, the
visitor is found fluctuating three meters above a As mentioned above, the meeting deals with appli‐
fourth century B.C. thermal plant, an ancient spa cations to environmental data as well. Among the
with lead plumbing, baths, saunas which belongs to presentations, “Gaseous Pollutants and PM10
the remains of a very rich Roman house, presumably Trends from Monitoring Networks in Bari Province:
from a senator or a dignitary of the imperial court. PCA and APCS Applications on Two Years and Half
Data Set” by P. Ielpo, V. Paolillo, and G. de Genna‐
Concerning the original contributions, two cases ro wan the “Best Overall Presentation”. The presen‐
can be highlighted. The first is “Everything is tation showed an example of the use of statistical
fractal” by prof. D’Alessio. It is known that Jackson models in the interpretation of atmospheric pollu‐
Pollock's paintings have a fractal dimension. How‐ tion and identification of pollutants sources. The
ever, it has been only recently discovered that this paper deals with the trends of atmospheric pollu‐
dimension increases gradually with time, which tants collected for two and half years in six moni‐
can be exploited for authentication and dating toring stations in Bari, Italy. The model identified
purposes. The author applied the box‐counting three recurrent sources, associated with traffic
method to the outline to Jackson Pollock’s “Number and particulate transport.
18”. The log‐log plot of the binary converted image
showed a clear fractal scaling with a fractal dimen‐ The poster session was held during the last day
sion of about 1.75. Interestingly, it was high‐ of the meeting. In front of each poster, its author
lighted that this application was only an example presented their results to the other participants.
of the potential of this technique. In the same way, Among the posters,a study of the effect of drug
anyone can measure the irregularity of every other packages on the degradation of pharmaceutical
fractal object taking a digitalized image of it. active substances, by D. Ruiu, M. Castrucci, G.
REVIEWS
Participants to the 2012 Chemometric Course.
Visco, and L. Campanella from the Department of of Basilicata, Potenza. His research interests span
Chemistry at La Sapienza University, Italy received from thin film deposition by pulsed laser ablation
an honorable mention. to chaos, fractals, dynamic systems, cellular auto‐
mata and elastic properties of macro‐molecules.
As stated by the organizers, this is a small confe‐ In recent years he has been studying complexity in
rence to help building a bridge between research‐ paintings and architecture, and its applications to
ers involved on cultural heritage, conservators the valorization of works of art.
and chemometricians which, in our opinion, was
achieved with success. The next meeting is sched‐
uled for 1‐4 June 2014 in Ischia, Italy.
PIERINA IELPO
Chemist
LUCIANO D’ALESSIO Pierina Ielpo graduated in Chemistry at Bari Uni‐

Chemist versity and obtained her PhD degree in Environ‐
Contact: [email protected] mental Sciences on 2004. Since 2008, she works
as researcher at the Water Research Institute
Luciano D’Alessio graduated in Chemistry in 1975 (Istituto di Ricerca sulle Acque) IRSA‐CNR, Bari
at the University of Rome where he worked as Division, Italy. She is also an external staff
coordinator of a research team in the field of mole‐ scientist researcher at Institute of Atmospheric
cular spectroscopy. Since 1992 he is Associate Sciences and Climate (ISAC) of the Italian Natio‐
Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University nal Research Council (CNR), Lecce division (Italy).
interview
INTERVIEW
INTERNATIONAL CONSERVATION WORKSHOP LOPUD:

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES
By Sagita Mirjam Sunara
The International Conservation Workshop Lopud scattered over several locations. After the comple‐
(ICWL) is a collaborative project of four European tion of the project in 2001, the group moved to
graduate programs in conservation‐restoration: the church of Our Lady of Šunj. Professors Hans
the Institute for Conservation Sciences of the Portsteffen and Andreas Krupa, now in charge
University of Applied Sciences in Cologne (Germa‐ of the workshop, were eager to make it an inter‐
ny), the Arts Academy of the University of Split national project. Finally, in 2003 ICWL started.
(Croatia), the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in When the conservation works on one of the side‐
Antwerp (Belgium) and the National School of altarpieces in Our Lady of Šunj were brought to
Visual Arts in Brussels (Belgium). Started in 2003, an end, two altarpieces from the church of Our
the project focuses on conservation of wooden Lady of Spilice were included in the project.
polychrome altarpieces in two churches on the
Lopud Island in Croatia, the church of Our Lady of ICWL takes place annually and lasts for two weeks.
Šunj and the church of Our Lady of Spilice. Several Students work under the mentorship of profes‐
textile objects and pieces of church furniture sors and the workshop usually has 25 participants.
have been treated, as well. Securing financial support for the project is often
a challenging task. Ministry of Culture of the
The idea of a workshop that enables art conser‐ Republic of Croatia provides only part of the
vation students to learn and develop practical funding (lodging and meals). Institutions that
skills through safeguarding endangered heritage take part in the project cover the travel and living
of the island of Lopud was born in the late eighties, expenses and provide conservation materials.
when dr. Karlfriedrich Lange von Stocmeier, chan‐ The support of people of Lopud, especially those
cellor of the University of the Applied Sciences in gathered around Association for the Protection of
Cologne, learned about the sad state of Lopud's Lopud's Cultural Heritage and Nature, is crucial.
sacral monuments. In 1987, the first group of Collaboration has also been established with
German students came to the island, headed by local institutions: the Conservation Department
professor Knut Nicolaus. In the following years of the Ministry of Culture in Dubrovnik and the
objects from the parish museum were treated. Croatian Conservation Institute – Department in
During Croatia's civil war (1991‐1995) all activi‐ Dubrovnik.
ties seized. The workshop continued in 1997,
when German students, lead by professor Ingo ICWL provides great learning opportunity for
Sandner, undertook the conservation of a 16th students. Organizing the working space, assigning
century altarpiece in the Dominican church of tasks and responsibilities, dealing with diverse
St. Nicolas. The altarpiece had been torn apart conservation‐restoration problems and taking
and its pieces, most of them badly damaged, were part in the complex decision‐making process are
INTERVIEW
Top: Catherine Balteau (left) from Brussels, Belgium and Jelena Zagora from Split, Croatia.
Frances Berry (right) from Antwerp, Belgium.
Below: Saskia Mench from Cologne, Germany.
just some of the challenges that the participants Frances: I have just finished my third year of the
of the ICWL face every year. Another important Bachelor diploma in conservation and restoration
aspect of the workshop is the opportunity to meet at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. I
new people, establish professional contacts and am specializing in conservation and restoration
make friendships. of wood and polychromed surfaces.
Jelena: I study conservation and restoration of
Four students who participated in the 2011 easel paintings and polychromed wood at the
campaign shared their impressions and thoughts Arts Academy in Split. I have completed my fifth
on the ICWL: Frances Berry (Antwerp), Catherine year and my interest is in art historical research
Balteau (Brussels), Saskia Mench (Cologne) and of paintings, painting technology and retouching
Jelena Zagora (Split). techniques.
Catherine: I hold an MA in Art History. While I was
studying art history, I realized that I wanted to get
What is your background? closer to the magic of the artworks, to reach the
Saskia: I have finished my second year at the depth of the artwork, so to speak, so I enrolled
Institute for Conservation Sciences in Cologne. in the master's program in conservation and
My specialization is in paintings, polychrome restoration at the National School of Visual Arts
sculptures and modern art. My private interests La Cambre in Brussels. I graduated in June 2011,
are more in the modern and contemporary arts. specializing in the conservation of sculpture.
INTERVIEW
Participants of the ICWL in Our Lady of Spilice.
How were you selected for ICWL 2011? sculpture of Christ from the Holy Cross altarpiece
Jelena: In Split, we don't have many students in the church Our Lady of Šunj.
who specialize in conservation of easel paintings
and polychromed wood. Each year, two or three
students are selected, but all 4th and 5th year Every year, students are divided into groups and
students eventually get to go to Lopud. each group is assigned a different task. How did
Frances: I expressed an interest in participating you choose your working group?
in the ICWL after the possibility had been verbally Catherine: I think it was three years ago that I
communicated to the students. I had to submit first heard about the sculpture of Christ from
a motivation letter to support my application. Lopud; an object made of an unusual material,
Saskia: In our school there is a list for everyone the plant called Ferula communis L. It is because
who is interested in participating in the ICWL. of this sculpture that I came to Lopud. Naturally,
Students who haven't been to the island in earlier this was the group I wanted to work in.
years are preferred. Three or four students are Frances: I tried not to set my mind on a particular
selected from the list by a lottery. project before I went, because I suspected parti‐
Catherine: At my school, two students are offered cular projects would be more popular than others.
to participate in ICWL; one specializing in paintings For me, the most important thing was to work
conservation, and the other in sculpture conser‐ with teachers from other schools to have an idea
vation. A draw was organized at the Sculpture of different concepts and approaches, and this is
Conservation Studio in 2011, and I was the lucky what I did. I joined the team that was working
winner. One student from the Paper Conservation on the documentation of the altarpieces in the
Studio was also asked to join the project, because church Gospa od Spilice.
of the specific construction technology of the Jelena: I wanted to learn something new, so the
INTERVIEW
Retouching the Holy Cross altarpiece in Our Lady of Šunj.
first week I joined Frances' group. We were docu‐ conservation project developed over the years,
menting the as‐found condition of the two side‐ to listen to the discussions about concepts and
altarpieces. I haven't had experience with this to see the actual outcome. It was the first time
so far, as I've mostly worked on polychromed for me to retouch with dry pigments and binder
sculptures and canvas paintings, doing a lot of and I was surprised how well it worked.
filling in and retouching. I wanted to get some Frances: I learnt the importance of communi‐
experience in cleaning, too, so the second week cation within a group and between the different
I joined the team that worked on the sculpture disciplines.
of Christ in the church Gospa od Šunja.
Saskia: I couldn’t really decide what I wanted to
do, so I chose the group with the least people. Many questions arise during the course of the
conservation treatment, so group discussions
are regularly organized. Do you feel it is
Did you learn anything new? important to discuss each step of the work?
Catherine: I worked on the sculpture of the Frances: These discussions are important to
Crucified Christ. Because it's such a complex highlight that opinions and concepts regarding
object, the conservation treatment was different the treatment of objects have changed during
from anything I've ever had the opportunity to the (relatively short) duration of the Lopud
do. Furthermore, this was the first time I worked project.
in situ and with an international team. Saskia: It can be very hard if there are too many
Jelena: I worked in two different groups, on different opinions but it really helps to see things
projects that were quite new to me. I gained a from every angle and to be aware of all aspects.
lot of practical knowledge. Frances: I agree. Discussions can be most fruitful
Saskia: It was interesting to learn how the in small groups, where the participants feel less
INTERVIEW
Students presenting the results of the work on the Christ sculpture.
inhibited to question methods and challenge Frances: For me, minimal intervention is about
one another. postponing the deterioration of an object.
Catherine: I would like to add to this that A moderate intervention goes further and can, for
constructive remarks can improve one's work. example, strengthen the object, allowing further
use as well as further decay. These concepts are
relating to conservation and this is different to
Different countries have different approach to restoration.
conservation. Every year, there is a lot of discus‐ Catherine: It is not only to respect – in the best
sion about the minimal and moderate interven‐ way – the material life of the artwork, from its
tion, a concept applied on the two side‐altar‐ creation to the present, but also to stand in front
pieces in the church Our Lady of Šunj. What is of it with humility.
your opinion on this approach? Does it differ Jelena: Although I am aware that sometimes
from what you do at your school? How would much more than moderate intervention has to
you explain this concept to someone who was be applied to preserve the artefact, I completely
not familiar with it? agree with the minimal intervention concept
Saskia: It isn’t easy to explain the concept to because it complies with authenticity. Why take
someone who is not familiar with conservation more of authenticity than necessary?
concepts. I think the best way to explain it, is to Frances: From what I saw in Lopud and Croatia, the
say less is more. That is the basic idea of the approach to conservation and restoration is a bit
concept, to achieve a good condition but trying different to what I have so far experienced at my
to touch the original substance as less as possible. school in Belgium. Some of the restorations in
The result should be a well‐preserved and conser‐ Croatia were easier to detect than those I have
ved object that will stay in a stable condition for seen in Belgium. I got the impression that the
a long time. interventions were possibly more hands on in
INTERVIEW
Cleaning the Christ sculpture of Our Lady of Sunja.
Croatia, and that interventions are carried out What were the experiences of your colleagues
more openly. who participated in previous conservation
Jelena: At the Conservation‐Restoration Depart‐ workshops on Lopud?
ment of the Arts Academy in Split, we're trying Catherine: Every year, students return from Lopud
to follow the principle of minimal intervention. delighted. They are taken by the charm of the
In some cases, however, a compromise solution island, its inhabitants, the conservation work,
has to be found, for example, if you have a badly the colleagues, the organization of the project...
damaged object or if the owner insists that the Jelena: The only complaints were about the
object be treated to a greater extent. unstable weather. Everything else – organization,
Saskia: The concept of minimal intervention is knowledge transfer and accommodation – was
applied often at my school, that way I already said to be excellent.
participated in some discussions about it. I like Saskia: Everyone at my school experienced a very
the idea of the concept very much and I think I good time, had fun with the colleagues from the
support it most of the time. But in the everyday other schools and collected many practical
practice it is very hard to realize concepts with experiences.
minimal intervention. Usually, even if the concept
was planned for the object, it changes during the What were the greatest benefits of
conservation works and it is often the case that in participating in ICWL?
the end there were more interventions done than Jelena: Networking, opportunities for visits,
originally planned. I like the direction conserva‐ professional collaboration, Erasmus exchange…
tion work is going and I think the concept will get There's a mailing list of all participants – students
more "popular" and be more recognized. and professors – and some collaborations have
INTERVIEW
already been arranged.

Frances: For me, the ICWL was a fantastic oppor‐
tunity to meet future colleagues, collaborate
with professionals and feel reassured that there
was a collective goal. And above all, it’s made me
really want to get involved in a wider range of
projects in the future.
Saskia: The greatest benefit, for me, was to meet
so many other students and professors from other
institutes. Every one of them is really good at
what he or she is doing and it has been a pleasure
to work with them.
Catherine: I think it's amazing to have ten
teachers instructing fifteen students – moreover,
ten teachers from different schools, with diffe‐
rent work experience and methods of instruction.
The same goes for the students, who can share
their knowledge and experiences during these two
weeks. The fact that the workshop is in English
is also a chance to practice the language and
enrich the vocabulary and oral expression. Last,
but not least, the time I spent on this beautiful
island allowed me to "recharge my batteries".
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to professor Hans Ports‐
teffen of the Cologne Institute for Conservation
Sciences, for his corrections of the manuscript.
SAGITA MIRJAM SUNARA

Conservator‐restorer
Sagita Mirjam Sunara is a conservator‐restorer of

easel paintings and polychromed wood. She works
as an assistant professor at the Department for
Conservation and Restoration at the Arts Academy
of the University of Split, teaching about research
and documentation, preventive conservation, easel
paintings conservation and restoration and doing
Overview of the works in Our Lady of Šunj.
practical conservation work with MA students.
article
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methodology
BRITISH CARLO MARATTA

PICTURE FRAME
technical examination
and restoration process
By
Damian Lizun
BRITISH CARLO MARATTA PICTURE FRAME
This paper describes the technical examination and restoration treatment of a British Carlo Maratta style
frame. The frame belongs to the 1867 oil canvas painting of Joseph Poulter Mackesy by Catterson Smith.
The preservation state of the frame was very poor. It was renovated on one occasion and suffered several
areas of substantial loss. The technical examination of the frame was conducted using cross section and
polarized light microscopy. Examination was focused on establishing the history of the frame and original
gilding techniques. The core treatments consisted of surface cleaning, consolidation, filling and
replacement of the losses and in‐gilding. A full set of photographs was taken before, during and after
treatment to document step‐by‐step the restoration procedure.
Introduction attributed [2]. Due to close social relations with

Britain this framing style become naturally
The frame with painting belongs to the Waterford popular in Ireland. The Carlo Maratta frames were
Museum of Treasures in Waterford, Ireland and is very economical as they could be bought ready‐
exhibited in the main stair hall of the museum. It made or quickly made to measure, because there
was designed and created probably in 1867 or were no complications of corner ornaments [3].
shortly after1 for the full scale portrait of Joseph
Poulter Mackesy by Catterson Smith. The maker of
the frame is unknown. Its dimensions are 191 x Materials and Technique
283 x 12 cm (WxHxD). Its distinctive profile is
decorated with four passages of independently The four construction elements are mitre joined
carved and gilded ornaments. The main decoration with the internal wood splines in grooves along
includes the torus ornament which is carved with the length of the mitre. Additional screws were
bunches of oak leaf‐and‐acorn, banded at the added across the mitre to secure the corner joints.
corners and cross‐banded at the centres. The The screws are 18 cm long and have a 15 mm dia‐
acanthus leaf‐and‐shell decoration was placed in meter. The framer marked all corners by chiselling
the depth of the front hollow. The decoration the numbers I‐IV. Also the screws were numbered
along the back and sight edges is represented by in the same way to assure the correct assemblage.
the stylised leaf‐and‐tongue ornaments. This type The four construction elements were assembled
of design is the enriched version of the Carlo after the gesso and gilding were applied. The
Maratta style. The style first appeared in Naples carved ornaments were gilded independently and
in 1660 and came to England with the Grand Tour have been added to the frame to create an impres‐
where it was widely used from 1750 to the end of sive sense of decoration. All bands of the orna‐
the century, surviving in its carved version until ments are mitred at the corners and were origi‐
the 1820s and beyond that in a plaster version. In nally attached to the frame by means of solid nails.
no other country than Italy was the Carlo Maratta
so popular as in Britain, where it became a particu‐
larly British style for picture framing [1]. In Italy,
1 An inscription on the frame’s plaque indicates that the pain‐
this type of frame is usually known as a Salvator ting was executed in 1867. This date suggests the time when the
Rosa after the Italian artist to whom the design is frame was created.
DAMIAN LIZUN
Figure 1. Carlo Maratta style frame dating from approximately 1867. The frame is original to the painting of Joseph Poulter
Mackesy by Catterson Smith. The image shows the frame with painting before the intervention.
The original gesso was based on the traditional in the area of torus decoration and back hollow.
composition of animal protein glue and chalk2. The original wooden plaque was gilded in a water
After gesso application and smoothing, a re‐cut‐ gilding technique on a red bole. The lettering was
ting of greater detail was executed. Then, layers executed with a black oil paint through a stencil.
of bole were applied on top of the gesso before
gold was put on. The microscopic examination of The gilding finish represents a very high standard
cross sections3 of the gilded layers revealed that of workmanship. The gilder applied the gold leaf
the gilder used three colours of bole. The surfaces with confidence, in a very skilled way. The obser‐
intended to be oil matte gilded such as back hollow vation of the frame mouldings after dismantling
and ornaments were prepared with a thin coat of of the ornaments revealed that the gilder applied
a yellow bole. The front hollow, sight edge, slip, the bole and then gold leaf only on the areas
narrow astragal and cross‐bands on the torus visible by the viewer. Wide areas of gesso covered
ornament that were intended to be burnished were by the ornaments were left untreated.
thickly brushed with a red bole. The astragal and
ribbons were given an extra coat of a blue bole
over the red. The pigment identified in the blue Condition Assessment Before Treatment
bole was Prussian blue4 [4]. The colour of the
bole is very important as it lies directly beneath The frame was in very poor preservation state.
the gold leaf and its colour influences the final There was a significant accumulation of dust and
appearance of the gold. Red bole adds a warm grime on the surface. The gilded finish was addi‐
glow to the gilded surface. Yellow bole blends tionally disfigured by darkened animal protein
with the gold in deeply carved areas where it is glue glaze. The glazing was a renovation treat‐
difficult to gild, making ungilded areas or imper‐ ment focused on the refreshment of the frame6.
fections less noticeable [5]. Blue bole provides a Preliminary examination by eye and magnifying
colder tone than red. Once the bole has dried and lens revealed that the glaze was applied unevenly,
been smoothed, the gilding was executed in both omitting some difficult to reach surfaces. All
water and oil finishes. Real gold5 [6] was detected bands of the ornament were originally attached to
2 The natural formation of the chalk was confirmed by the acid, in a volumetric ratio of 1:3 respectively on glass slide. The
presence of microfossils like elliptical and circular structures of foil was dissolved completely. Then, a dry residue was dissolved
coccoliths. Observation was done by means of light microscopy. in one drop of the 2M HCl (hydrochloric acid). The product of the
reaction was AuCl3 [gold (III) chloride], traditionally called
3 Gilded decoration cross‐sections were embedded in self‐curing auric chloride. Next, RbCl (rubidium chloride) was added to
acrylic dentist resin “Estetic S” supplied by Wident, Poland. this chemical compound. After a few moments characteristic
yellow crystals turned up. Gold identification was carried out
4 Prussian blue pigment was discovered about 1704 and become using a scheme of micro‐chemical tests developed by P.
well known all over Europe by 1750. The pigment was identified Rudniewski [6].
by means of polarised light microscopy using a methodology
developed by P. and A. Mactaggart [4]. 6 The examination and restoration of three other period frames
from the Waterford Museum of Treasures collection revealed that

5 A small sample of foil was dissolved in aqua regia with heat they were treated in the same way. Same poor quality glazing
added during the reaction. The mixture is formed by freshly was found on two XVIII century Louis XV and one XIX century
mixing concentrated nitric acid and concentrated hydrochloric Carlo Maratta frames.
DAMIAN LIZUN
Figure 2. Detail of the top section of the frame before the intervention.
Figure 3. Close‐up of the top‐left corner of the frame before the intervention.
Figure 4. Detail of the bottom‐left corner of the frame. The Figure 5 (above). Bottom section of the frame after disman‐
image shows the original, purpose made screw added across tling of the plaque. The image shows the spectrum of all techno‐
the mitre to secure the corner joint. logical layers (wood‐gesso‐bole‐gold leaf).
Figure 6 (below). Close‐up of the bottom section of the frame
after dismantling of the plaque. The image shows the colour
order of the bole layers.
the frame by means of nails. The nails corroded extensively worn and was characterized by
and became weak resulting in partial or total advanced gesso flaking. The black lettering was
detachment of the ornaments from the frame. so worn that the gold background and red bole
There were several areas of substantial loss in the were visible. The back of the frame was very dirty.
ornamental decoration including front hollow The structural condition of wood and joints was
acanthus leaf‐and‐shell and back edge leaf‐and‐ good. No evidence of woodworm was observed.
tongue. The top section of the acanthus leaf‐and‐ Two original, iron hanging devices were very dirty
shell ornament was completely detached. A leaf‐ and corroded.
and‐tongue decorative pattern which runs along
the back edge was in a very poor state of preser‐
vation. Much of the ornament was missing. Only a Treatment Decisions
150 cm long section remained. A number of losses
to the gilding and white gesso were found on the The goal of the treatment was to produce a con‐
surface of the frame. Abrasions were visible along sistent appearance that would allow the remain‐
all sides of the frame and edges of the decoration. ing original gilding to represent itself well. The
The original frame plaque also showed a poor technical condition of the frame and its decoration
state of preservation. The gilded surface was had to be improved. The core treatment consisted
DAMIAN LIZUN
Figure 7 (above). Close‐up of the left section of the frame Figure 9 (above). The ornaments after filling the losses of the
during surface dirt and renovation glaze removal. gesso layer.
Figure 8 (below). The same area after dismantling the decora‐ Figure 10 (below). Close‐up of the top section of the frame
tion. The gilder applied the bole and then gold leafs selectively after the restoration.
only on the visible areas.
of surface cleaning of the front and back and unlimited and easy access to all sides of the
removal of the last renovation protein glue glaze. frame. Secondly, it helped to understand the
The next important decision was to replace the construction of the frame. Next, the carved
missing ornaments. Finally the gilded finish had decoration patterns and the plaque were gently
to be restored. This task had to be carried out with detached from the frame profiles. All nails were
respect for the original material and according to extracted from the profiles and decoration. After
the original technique. dismantling, a gentle, initial cleaning of the
frame was carried out. Loose surface dust was
removed by dry cleaning with a soft brush under
Conservation Treatment low powered vacuum. The areas of flaking gesso
were successfully secured with 4% solution of hot
The treatment procedure began by carefully rabbit skin glue, applied with a small brush
dismantling and photo‐documenting the frame’s without contacting the gilded surface. Further
four sections. The procedure was straightforward cleaning of the wooden surface of the back of the
as the original screws were well preserved. frame was achieved using 15% Vulpex Liquid
Dismantling of the frame was necessary for two Soap in white spirit. Two original iron hanging
reasons. Firstly, due to its extreme weight, it devices attached to the top section from the back
was safer for the object and conservator to have required cleaning and surface rust removal. This
Figure 11 (above). Detail of the top‐left corner of the frame Figure 13. Frame with painting after the restoration.
after the restoration.
Figure 12 (below). The original plaque with the information
on the painting after the restoration.
was done using Biox Conservation Liquid and carved decoration were joined together using
then polished with a grade four steel wool. Araldite AW 106 with Hardener HV 953U. Missing
Finally, the metal surface was brushed twice with details of the ornaments were replicated by wood‐
10% Paraloid B44 in acetone. carving and making moulds from the existing
elements with Steramould Moulding Compound,
The removal of the non‐original protein based non‐viscous and quick setting, silicone moulding
glaze from the water gilded surfaces was achieved product. Araldite 1253 epoxy paste was cast into
using a solution of dichloromethane with ethyl the moulds to produce replacement parts. The
formate and formic acid in ratio 1:1:0.5. In some new carved elements and Araldite fills were given
difficult areas mechanical removal was the only five coats of traditional gesso and were smoothed
option. Removal of glaze by scraping with a scalpel in preparation for gilding.
blade was laborious. The surface dirt from the oil
gilded areas was removed with 5% triammonium Losses of the original gesso layer were degreased
citrate in distilled water. with acetone and then brushed with 4% hot
rabbit glue to improve adhesion to the new fills.
The wood repairs were made with the two‐part Next, they were refilled with an appropriate
epoxy resin system Araldite AV 1253 with hard‐ traditional type gesso made of chalk and rabbit
ener HV 1253. Broken and loose fragments of the glue in a 10% ratio.
DAMIAN LIZUN
The areas for oil matte gilding were brushed with

one coat of yellow acrylic paint and then insulated
by application of 10% bleached shellac to limit
the absorbency. Then, a mixtion was brushed on
and new gold leafs applied. Finally all new matte
oil gilding surfaces were toned in order to match
the original gold.
The conservation of the plaque was technically

similar to the treatments on the frame. After sur‐
face dirt removal, the flaking gesso was stabilised
with 4% solution of hot rabbit skin glue. Losses
of the original gesso surface were refilled with a
new gesso made of chalk and rabbit glue in a 10%
ratio, and then all fills were prepared by appli‐
cation of a new red bole in 7% rabbit glue. Next,
the prepared surfaces were gilded in water gilding
technique. Finally, the gilded surfaces were
polished with an agate stone and toned. The
Figure 14 (above). Cross‐section of gilded decoration from the lettering was reconstructed with ivory black oil
frame finish photographed in reflected light (magnification paint.
100x). This sample was taken from the torus decoration.
1‐gesso; 2‐yellow bole; 3‐gold particles; 4‐dirt layer.
The ornamental decoration and plaque were
Figure 15 (below). Cross‐section of gilded decoration from the reinstalled after the treatments on the frame
frame finish photographed in reflected light (magnification
sections using brass oval head screws. The frame
100x). This sample was taken from the astragal. 1‐gesso; 2‐red
bole; 3‐blue bole; 4‐gold particles; 5‐dirt. sections with decoration were reassembled in the
museum’s gallery where the original painting
was finally framed.
In the next stage the original water gilded sur‐

faces were re‐polished with an agate stone. A Conclusions
new bole, similar to the original, mixed with 7%
rabbit glue, was applied on all fills and areas of The work on the frame was very challenging due
badly worn original gold with bole. Next, gold to the large scale and conservation issues. The
leafs were applied using the water gilding fact that the frame was intended to be displayed
technique. Finally the surfaces were burnished in the most representative space put an extra
with the agate stone to a glistering lustre and pressure on the conservator. The frame repre‐
then toned in order to match the original gold on sented many of the restoration problems typical
the most representative areas of the decorative of gilded objects. The technical macro and micro
finish. Very fine linen cloth, bristle brushes and examination of the frame gave an insight into the
fibre glass sticks of varying thickness were used technique of the framer and helped to design the
to achieve the desired effect. proper treatments. The successful cleaning, the
reconstruction of the ornaments and further

comprehensive gilding processes have re‐esta‐
blished the missing coherence of the frame.
References
[1] J. Simon, The Art of the Picture Frame: Artists,

Patrons and the Framing of Portraits in Britain,
National Portrait Gallery, 1996, p. 65
[2] T. J. Newbery, Frames and Framings in the

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2002, p. 48
[3] P. Mitchell, L. Roberts, A History of European

Picture Frames, Paul Mitchell Ltd., in Association
with Merrell Holberton, London, 1996, p.65
[4] P. Mactaggart, A. Mactaggart, A Pigment

Microscopist’s Notebook, 7th rev., published by
the authors, Somerset, 1998
[5] P. Mactaggart, A. Mactaggart, Practical gilding,

Archetype, London, 2005, p. 41
[6] P. Rudniewski, Pigmenty i ich identyfikacja,

Akademia Sztuk Pięknych, Warszawa, 1999
DAMIAN LIZUN
Damian Lizun received MA in Conservation and

Restoration of Paintings and Polychrome Sculp‐
ture from Nicholas Copernicus University, Torun,
Poland in 2001. Over ten years he has worked on
the conservation of easel paintings, frames and
polychrome sculpture both from private and
public collections in Poland and Ireland.
STUDY AND CONSERVATION
OF THE PAINTING
"PAUL III AND RANZIO FARNESE"
BY PARMIGIANINO
By
Fatma Helmi
Osama El‐Feky
Yasmeen Alam Eldin
CONSERVATION OF A PARMIGIANINO PAINTING
The oil painting "Paul III and Ranzio Farnese" by Parmigianino belongs to the collection of the Al‐Gezira
Museum, Egypt. The panel painting presented several deterioration aspects such as insect infestation,
warping, darkening, cracks and ground layer losses which justified its conservation. Prior to the
intervention, light and electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy were used to
characterize the painting. These techniques allowed the identification of the materials used: the wooden
panel is poplar wood, the ground layer contains gypsum and animal glue and the medium is linseed oil.
Concerning the pigments, cuprorivaite, massicot, hydrocerussite, cerussite, litharge, carbon and cupric
oxide were identified. After the material characterization, both the painting and its frame were subjected
to conservation.
Introduction large amounts of dirt and dust are deposited on

the painting surface which can cause the
The undated painting "Paul III and Ranzio Farnese" painting to deteriorate further.
is in storage at the Al‐Gezira Museum, located in
the Cairo Opera House grounds in Cairo, Egypt. It Some parts of the paint layer were detached from
was painted by the famous Italian Mannerist the ground layer (Figure 4) and other small pieces
painter and printmaker Girolamo Francesco Maz‐ of paint layer and ground layer were missing. In
zola (1503‐1540), more known as Parmigianino some parts of the painting, the paint layer also
or Parmigiano. The name Parmigianino is derived presented wrinkling. The wood support presents
from his birthplace, Parma. The oil painting (regis‐ signs of insect infestation as well as deformation
tration number 259) is a portrait of Pope Paul III of the panels: the wood was bent, presented
(1468–1549) where he appears sitting and at his warping of its boards as well as cracks. The support
right side, standing, is Ranzio Farnese (Figure 1). backside was darkened, scratched and presented
The painting is 191 × 133 x 2.8 cm and it was material losses (Figure 5).
painted on wooden panels.
The aim of the present work is, first, to characte‐
The painting consists of five wooden boards rize the painting materials and, thus, to contri‐
joined with animal glue, supported by keys and bute to the study of the artist technique and,
three wooden girders (Figure 2). The oil painting second, to carry out conservation intervention
is fixed on a wood frame which is gilded although to assure the best preservation possible of the
it has some parts coloured with yellow ochre. painting.
The oil painting had already been restored before

but the restoration did not withstand the test of Materials and Methods
time. The painting presents several deteriorations
which include darkening of the varnish layer and Micro‐fragments of the oil painting (smaller than
streamlines in several parts of the varnish caused 1 mm2) were collected from the white ground
by excess varnish. Moreover, a fine network of and main pigmented areas. The samples were
cracks (craquelure) is present through the varnish, studied by light microscopy, scanning electron
paint and ground layers (Figure 3). In addition, microscopy (SEM) with Energy‐Dispersive X‐Ray
FATMA HELMI et al.
Figure 1. "Paul III and Ranzio Farnese" by Parmigianino Figure 2. Backside of the painting before intervention.
before intervention.
Figure 3 (below). Craquelure of the paint system.

Figure 4 (bottom). Example of missing parts of the paint layer. Figure 5. Cracks present in the wood support.
Figure 7. SEM micrographs show the previous consolidation

material of the wooden support.
(EDX), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier trans‐

form infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to characte‐
rize the materials used and the deterioration
of the painting surface. SEM‐EDX was made
using a JEOL 6400 microscope. XRD was perfor‐
med with a Philips PW/1840 with Ni filter, Cu‐K
α radiation at 40 KV. FTIR analysis using KBr
pellets was carried out with a FTIR Nicolet Nexus
670 infrared spectrometer to identify the ground
Figure 6. Microphotograph of the wooden support: vertical layer binder, the paint layer medium, and the
(left) and horizontal (right) sections. varnish.
FATMA HELMI et al.
Table I. XRD results of the ground and paint layers.

Chemical
Sample Compounds Composition Card No.
Ground Gypsum CaSO4.2H2O 33‐0311

layer
Calcium Copper Silicate CaCuSi4O10 12‐0512
Blue
(cuprorivaite)
colour
Calcium Carbonate CaCO3 17‐0763
Lead Oxide (Massicot) PbO 05‐0570
Yellow
Lead Hydroxide Pb(OH)2 11‐0270
colour
Lead Carbonate Hydroxide Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2 13‐0131
(hydrocerussite)
Calcium Copper Silicate CaCuSi4O10 12‐0512
Paint
(cuprorivaite)
Layer Green Calcium Lead Carbonate Pb3(CO3)2(OH)2 13‐0131
colour Hydroxide (hydrocerussite)
Lead Oxide (Litharge) PbO 5‐0561
Lead Oxide (Massicot) PbO 05‐0570
White Lead Carbonate (cerussite) PbCO3 05‐0417
colour Lead Hydroxide Pb(OH)2 11‐0270
Black Carbon (Graphite) C 13‐0148
colour Copper (II) Oxide CuO 5‐0661
Table II. EDX results of the ground and paint layers.
Sample Elements (%)

Ground layer Ca (13.45), S (09.12), O (33.89)
Blue colour Cu (00.57), C (59.31), O (21.31), Si (00.99), Ca (11.29)
Yellow colour Pb (22.92), O (48.31), C(48.31)
Paint Layer Green colour Si (01.45), Ca (02.29), Cu (00.20), Pb (04.27), O (13.0)

White colour Pb (84.39), C (28.38), O (16.21)
Black colour C (80.76), Cu (00.73)
Material Characterisation Analyses performed by XRD and EDX allowed to

identify the ground and paint layers materials.
The microscopic examination of the wood samples XRD results are summarised in Table I, and the
revealed that the wood is poplar (populus spp.) elements of the ground and paint layers analysed
(Figure 6) and that it was consolidated during a by EDX are shown in Table II.
previous restoration process (Figure 7). Also, the
presence of fine cracks was detected in some FTIR confirmed that animal glue was used as binder
parts of the paint and varnish layers (Figure 8). in the ground layer. In the analysis, the sample
Figure 8. Stereomicroscope view at 60x show cracks in the paint and varnish layers.
Figure 9. FTIR spectra of the binder used in the ground layer Figure 10. FTIR spectra of the medium used in the paint layer
of the oil painting: new animal glue (a) and ground layer (b). of the oil painting: new linseed oil (a)and paint layer (b).
Table III. Stretching and bending absorptions of the proteins Table IV. Shows the stretching and bending absorptions of dry
bands of animal glue. linseed oil.
Peaks Absorption Bands Functional groups Peaks Absorption Bands Functional groups
(cm‐1) (cm‐1)
1 3404.7 Amide Group (NH2) 1 3404.7 Free COOH (fatty acid)
2 3406 Amide Group (NH2) 2 2929
3,5 3,4 C‐H Stretching
2928.3/2870.5 CH3, CH3 /CH2 Group 2851/2856
Vibration
4 2922.5 CH3, CH3 /CH2 Group 5 1419.35
6 1809 Carbonyl Group 1115/1042.6 Triglyceride ester
6, 7
Bonding δ N‐H amide
7 1518 linkage
8, 9 666\1098 SO42‐ Group 8 779 (CH2)n Group Vibration
FATMA HELMI et al.
Figure 11 (upper).FTIR spectra of the varnish layer. Figure 13 (upper).Cleaning the surface of the oil painting.
Figure 12 (lower). Disinfestation process of the oil painting. Figure 14 (lower). The painting was left for a week to retake
its natural position.
was compared with a new sample of animal glue Painting Conservation

(Figure 9). The common peaks are shown in Table
III. Moreover, the paint medium was identified as Disinfestation
being linseed oil, also by comparison with a new
sample of linseed oil (Figure 10, Table IV). FTIR Since the painting support showed signs of insect
analysis also confirmed that the varnish is a infestation, the first step was to proceed with the
synthetic resin (Figure 11), probably applied disinfestation of the wood. The disinfestation was
during its last restoration. performed with Phostoxin, which is an insecticide
From up to down:
Figure 15.The units of screw nails were fixed in the middle of
every plate of the wooden support.
Figure 16. Wooden girders were fixed in their place by inserting
the screw nails through the rectangle hole in the wooden girders.
Figure 17. The wooden panel after the intervention.
with aluminum phosphide (AlP) as active ingre‐

dient. This product was tested and was used as
disinfesting agent in several paintings at the
Research Centre of Conservation and Restoration
of Fine Arts, Giza, Egypt. Phostoxin pellets react
with humidity and release phosphine gas, which
is highly toxic to insects; the pellet also contains
ammonium carbamate that releases ammonia and
carbon dioxide. In this process, the oil painting
was carefully covered with polyethylene and then
a tablet of Phostoxin was placed in the backside
of the painting. The polyethylene was then closed
and left for five days in horizontal position [1]
(Figure 12).
FATMA HELMI et al.
Cleaning painting, consists of three wooden girders of the

same shape of the curved wooden support and
Cleaning of both the wood and painting surfaces fixed on the backside in flexible way on horizontal
was carried out mechanically with smooth brushes position using screws 5 cm length and 1 cm dia‐
to remove dirt and dust [2]. Then, chemical meter with steel springs on a 5 x 5 cm square base
cleaning was applied using saliva on cotton covered with Paraloid for anticorrosion protection.
swabs on small areas (Figure 13). Fifteen screws were applied in five parallel rows
and three screws were fixed in the middle of
The Wooden Panel every board of the wooden support. After that,
the wooden girders were fixed in their place by
First, the paint layer was consolidated and pro‐ inserting the screws through the rectangular
tected by applying two layers of Japanese paper holes in the wooden girders. This process allows
over the surface [3]. The paper was adhered over the free movement of the wooden panel, its
the painting’s surface by diluted glue‐paste com‐ expansion and shrinkage through the movement
posed of 150 g of animal glue, 350 g of wheat of the screws inside the rectangular holes in the
flour, 10 g of Molasses, 10 g Venice turpentine, a wooden girders [7, 8] (Figure 16).
few drops of sodium fluoride and warm water as
described by El‐Feky and Radi [4]. The glue used After the support intervention was finished, the
as adhesive agents, wheat flour helps to remove surface protection with Japanese paper was remo‐
the papers layers easily, while Molasses and ved (Figure 17) and the adhesive remains were
Venice turpentine give good flexibility to the carefully cleaned with distilled water.
mixture, in addition to sodium fluoride which
used as a good preservative. Then, it was left to The Painting
dry overnight under pressure (Figure 14), using
a plate of wood with the same dimension of the Varnish removal is one of the most difficult and
painting [5]. controversial procedures since it can damage the
paint layer and change the way the painting is
The wooden girders were removed from the back visualised. However, this was necessary due to
of the panel (Figure 15) because they became the darkened varnish that changed the painting
weak, curved and had an insect infestation. Then, appearance. The dark varnish was removed using
the oil painting was left for a week to retake its Butanone (ethylmethylketone, CH3C(O)CH2CH3)
natural position. on white cotton swabs [9] (Figure 18).
During this stage, balsa wood glued with Para‐ The removal of the last old retouches and over‐
loid B72 at 15% in acetone [6] was used to fill paintings which were distorting the painting
large cracks and the separation between the first appearance was performed with dimethylforma‐
and second wooden panels. mide ((CH3)2NC(O)H) mixed with a little of turpen‐
tine. When required, scalpels were used to help
Due to the degradation and movements of the removing the over paintings. Then, the last
wood panels, it was required to apply a system to remains of the putty in the ground layer, from
reinforce it, allowing a natural expansion and the previous restoration, were removed with a
shrinkage. This system, first applied in this scalpel.
Figure 18.Comparison between before (left) and after (right) Figure 19. The oil painting after the restoration intrevention.
the removal of the varnish layer.
The ground layer was filled in areas where requi‐ on small areas followed by ethyl alcohol. After‐
red with a paste, made of chalk and rabbit glue, wards, the previous altered restoration was
using a brush and the pallet knife [10]. Retou‐ removed with ethylmethylketone and scalpels.
ching was done with Maimeri Restauro ketonic
resin colours using pointillism and tratteggio The weakened parts of the frame were consoli‐
techniques [11]. A thin layer of Paraloid B66 at dated with Paraloid B72 at 15% in toluene. The
10% in toluene was sprayed over the first layer of parts that needed volumetric reintegration were
retouching and all the surface of the oil painting made with a paste prepared with chalk and rabbit
to insulate the original paint and the inpainting. skin glue. Retouching of the lost parts was perfor‐
After the retouching was finished, a thin layer of med with an aqueous acrylic binder in tratteggio.
final varnish (Paraloid B66 at 20% in toluene) Finally, shellac at 15% in ethyl alcohol was used
was sprayed over the painting surface [12]. to protect the frame surface. Afterward, the oil
painting was placed in the frame (Figure 19).
The Frame
After the painting intervention, also the frame was Conclusion

restored. The intervention included the removal
of rusted nails from the frame body, removal of The painting "Paul III and Ranzio Farnese" by
an old intervention and cleaning. The frame was Parmigianino is in storage at the Al‐Gezira Museum,
first cleaned mechanically with brushes, and then Egypt and required conservation intervention.
chemically with saliva applied with cotton swabs Taking the opportunity, the painting was
FATMA HELMI et al.
characterised analytically to identify the painting Bernard, 1895 AD”, The Fifth International Confe‐
materials. rence on Science and Technology in Archaeology
and Conservation, Granada‐Baeza, Spain, 7‐11
The painting support consists of 5 panels of poplar July, 2007
wood. The panels were infested and were warped
leading to cracks and lost parts in the ground [5] C. Keck, “Lining adhesives: their history, uses
layer. The wood movements also contributed to the and abuses”, Journal of the American Institute for
paint layer degradation giving rise to fine cracks, Conservation 17(1), 1977, URL
craquelure, wrinkling, and separation of its parts.
[6] J. Podany, K.M. Garland, W.R. Freeman, and
XRD data revealed that the ground layer consists J. Rogers, “Paraloid B72 as a structural adhesive
mainly of gypsum, which was disintegrating, as and as a barrier within structural adhesive bonds:
well the pigments used by Parmigianino in the Evaluation of strength and reversibility”, Journal
painting. FTIR identified animal glue as the ground of American Institute for Conservation 40, 2001
layer binder, and linseed oil as the paint medium.
[7] G. Bisacca, “Structural Considerations in the
After the material characterization, the wood Treatment of a Nativity by Francesco di Giorgio
support was treated with a new system to control Martini”, in K. Dardes and A. Rothe (eds.), The
the wood movements, followed by removal of the Structural Conservation of Panel Paintings: Pro‐
deteriorated varnish. After that restoration of ceedings of a symposium at the J. Paul Getty
the ground and paint layers was carried out, a Museum, 24‐28 April 1995, Getty Conservation
new varnish layer was by applied. Finally, the Institute, Los Angles, 1998, pp. 341‐358, URL [PDF]
frame was also restored, completing the painting.
The oil painting will be exhibited when the [8] G. Kostecki, Consolidation, Reinforcement &
museum will be open to the public. Stabilisation of Decorated artefacts, Meeting within
the Cost ACTION IE 0661, Institute of Chemical
Technology Prague, Czech Republic, 2009
References [9] H. J. Plenderleith, A. E. Werner, The Conserva‐

tion of Antiquities and Works of Art, Oxford Univer‐
[1] K. Nicolaus, The Restoration of Paintings, sity Press, London, 1971
Könemann, Cologne, 1999
[10] C. D. Clarke, Pictures, Their Preservation and
[2] M. T. Simpson, M. Huntley, SOTHEBY’S Caring Restoration, The Standard Arts Press, USA, 1959
for Antiques, A Guide to Handing Cleaning, Display,
and Restoration, Conran Octopus, London, 1992 [11] R. Mayer, The Artist’s Handbook of Materials
and Techniques, Third Edition, The Viking Press,
[3] M. D. Gottsegen, A Manual of Painting Materials New York, 1978
and Techniques, New York, 1987, p. 379
[12] O. M. El‐Feky, In the thought of restoration
[4] O. M. El‐Feky, A. M. Radi, “New Restoration of oil paintings, The Anglo‐Egyptian Bookshop,
Method for a Doubled Oil Painting of Emile Cairo, 2004
FATMA HELMI
Researcher
Fatma Helmi teaches archaeometry and conser‐

vation at the Conservation Department, Faculty
FREE
of Archaeology of the Cairo University, Egypt.
Previously, she was the head of the Conservation
Department. She received a BSc and a MSc from
Ain Shams University, Egypt, and obtained her
CONSERVATION
PhD from Eötvös Lorand University in Budapest,
Hungary. She also a UNESCO Fellowship for
training on X‐ray analysis at the Utrecht Univer‐ RESOURCES
sity and Eindhoven, Philips laboratories, The
Netherlands.
OSAMA EL‐FEKY
Conservator‐restorer Art Conservation Research
conservationresearch.blogspot.com
Osama El‐Feky is a conservator‐restorer specia‐
lized in oil paintings. He has a BA and MA in
Conser‐vation from the Department of Conserva‐
tion and Restoration from the Faculty of Archaeo‐
logy of Cairo University, Egypt. In 2003 he obtained
his PhD from the same university with a thesis on
comparative evaluation of materials and methods
used for the conservation of oil paintings. He
currently works as Assistant Professor at the
same Department from Cairo University.
YASMEEN ALAM ELDIN

Yasmeen Eldin graduated in 1998 from the Conser‐

vation Department, Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo
University in 1998. In 2010 she obtained a MSc in
Restoration and Conservation of Antiquities.
scienc A COMPARATIVE STUDY
OF THE USE OF AQUAZOL
IN PAINTINGS CONSERVATION
AQUAZOL IN PAINTINGS CONSERVATION
Aquazol (Poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline), PEOX) is a water‐soluble synthetic resin that has been used in
conservation for about a couple of decades for consolidation, adhesion and lamination on materials of
very different type such as glass, wood, paintings, enamel and paper. It has been of the utmost
importance to learn more about this product in a practical context, especially because its non‐toxicity and
versatility promise easy application without health risks. This article is an empirical study with the main
goal of exploring and learning, through testing, observation and documentation, the physical and optical
behaviour of the polymer in a practical context in comparison with two other water‐soluble polymers:
polyvinyl alcohol and acrylic‐acid‐ester‐copolymer. The study had the focus on water solution during and
after application on canvas samples, paper and painted layers on canvas made with traditional and non‐
traditional materials.
Introduction medium in gesso filling as an environmentally

compatible alternative to animal glue and testing
The idea of this project has been developed in on remoistenable mending tissues [4, 5]. Aquazol
recognition of a lack of knowledge on the practical satisfies the expectation of compatibility with
application of the innovative materials from the other conservation materials, and reversibility
chemical industry in conservation, particularly in conservation terms, which in many cases is
in the field of paintings. the most desirable quality in conservation
treatments [6].
The tendency to choose and use products that
are not specifically developed for conservation A considerable number of publications on Aquazol
purposes is quite common in conservation prac‐ can be found in literature, but when compared
tice. The choice can partly be based on recommen‐ with other similar synthetics, Aquazol is still less
dations from conservation professionals, but also known. However, research done to date on Aquazol
on scientific studies, which predominantly and shows interesting and satisfactory overall results
typically focus on the properties of the products with a prevalence of advantages compared to its
and rarely on how they work in conservation disadvantages.
practice. It is hoped that this study will be a
useful contribution to a better knowledge on the Due to its varied properties, Aquazol corresponds
use of Aquazol. in many ways to a desirable solution for consoli‐
dation, adhesion and lamination. It is relatively
Literature about this versatile polymer traces the stable at room temperature and pressure, its pH
use of Aquazol in the field of conservation to the is neutral when in aqueous solution, it is ther‐
early 90’s, mainly in the USA, but scientific studies mally stable and stable under artificial aging
have focused on this synthetic resin since the 80’s conditions, it is compatible with a broad range of
[1‐3]. Its use and application in conservation materials, it is non‐toxic and its solutions are
treatments ranges widely. Initially, it was analysed very easy to prepare [7, 8]. This polymer also has
for conservation purpose as consolidant for glass. the property of being soluble in both water and
Subsequently its use expanded from enamel to in the most common polar solvents used in
lantern slides, as consolidant in paintings or conservation.
ELISABETTA BOSETTI
From left to right, up to down:

Figure 1. Original painting used to produce sample S1.
Figure 3. Original painting used to produce sample S3 and S3a.
Materials and Methods paintings. This way, it has been possible to

perform tests on naturally aged samples allowing
It was sought to undertake the study simulating the study to come as close as possible to the
conditions where consolidation and adhesion conditions of real conservation treatments.
interventions were needed in order to observe
the polymers when in situ after treatment, but The samples were produced using five paintings
also during the application. The reason of choos‐ of no historical value coming from flea markets,
ing this method was to achieve a better and more antiquarian stock and from the author’s property
concrete comprehension of the polymers’ proper‐ (Figures 1‐4). These different types of paintings
ties, and furthermore to have a visual statement were chosen with the intention of having a relati‐
of fact of their behaviour when used in painting vely varied range of materials and stages of aging,
structures. To operate in accordance with this, it spanning from approximately 1 to 71 years old.
was necessary the use of samples from real One of the oldest paintings had already structural
Table I. Samples characteristics.

Sample Type of Canvas Thread Density (cm2)
A Linen 288
B Linen 195
C Linen 121
D Linen 182
E Polyester 255
damages such as cracks, paint layer detachments cally, the samples were took from four different
and losses. The other four paintings had no rele‐ types of linen canvas with different thickness
vant damages. and on a sample from a single synthetic canvas
(polyester), as summarised in table I.
To follow the purpose of the study, it was neces‐
sary to produce damages artificially. These were This study is based on a comparative method
made mechanically on three paintings by using a between four polymers used in conservation. The
pointed tool to achieve tears, detachment and tests were carried out with Aquazol 200, Aquazol
holes. The fourth painting, made with acrylic 500, and two other polymers in water solution/
colours, was still very flexible in its structure. To dispersion: Mowiol, a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) par‐
achieve detachment of the paint layer, it was tially saponified, and Acronal 500D, an acrylic‐
necessary to use heat to make the paint layer acid‐ester‐copolymer. In the preliminary stage
more brittle. A square piece of the painting was of the study, tests on transparency and surface
cut and heated at around 80°C in an electric tension were also performed with these four
oven for about 2 hours. Afterwards, the paint polymers on kraft paper and polyester films
layer detachment was obtained by crumpling (Hostaphan).
the painting piece (Figures 5‐8).
There were many polymers that could have been
In addition to this, samples of canvases were chosen to be compared with Aquazol. Among
also used to perform testing to observe optical many others, Mowiol and Acronal were chosen
and physical behaviour of the polymers. Specifi‐ due to the large experience the author has with
Table II. Physical Properties of Aquazol [10].

Physical State Solid
Appearance White to pale yellow
pH Neutral
Glass Temperature 69‐71°C
Decomposition temperature >300°C
Solubility Soluble in water and most polar solvents
ELISABETTA BOSETTI
Figure 5 (upper left). Backside of original painting. Preparation

of sample S1.
Figure 6 (lower left). Original painting used to produce S1.
Detail of the back of the painting artificially made damages.
Figure 7 (upper right). Preparation of samples S2 and S3.
Figure 8 (lower right). Original painting used to produce
sample S4. Detail of the detachment obtained by heating and
crumpling the sample.
these synthetics, of over 20 years, when a cold been studied and widely tested [8, p. 109; 9].
application is desirable. Animal glues were not Furthermore, they have been identified as most
included in this study because it was limited to satisfying and preferred than the two other
polymers used in conservation although both hide options by conservators who use Aquazol in their
and sturgeon glue were a natural choice due to treatments due to good quality in both applica‐
their similar properties to Aquazol when dissolved tion and preparation. Second, Aquazol 5 and 50
in water. are more difficult to find. The physical properties
of Aquazol are listed in Table II.
Aquazol polymers are commercially available in
four different molecular weights: 5, 50, 200 and In this article, the polymer names will be used in
500 g/mol. For this study, two of the four, Aquazol abbreviated form for easier reference: Aquazol 200
200 and Aquazol 500, were chosen for two reasons. (AQ200), Aquazol 500 (AQ500), polyvinyl alcohol
First, these two molecular weights have already (PVA), and acrylic‐acid‐ester‐copolymer (AC).
Figure 9. Aquazol 200‐500 and PVA in solid state with visible light. Figure 10. Aquazol 200‐500 and PVA in solid state with UV light.
Visual documentation was done with a digital AQ500 and AQ200 revealed an interesting fluo‐
camera Canon Ixus 210 and USB powered micro‐ rescence, with higher intensity in AQ200. PVA had
scope (20x‐400x magnification) Veho VMS‐004 no fluorescence.
Discovery Deluxe, taking snapshots and video
recordings of the drying process. Since ultraviolet Next, it was required to find the optimal polymer/
(UV) lamps are used by conservators to identify water ratio to be used in the tests. The optimal
recent interventions, the samples were observed concentration of the polymers in water solution
under UV radiation at 366 nm in order to assess was determined by trying different percentages,
the fluorescence of the polymers. from 5% to 20%. The optimal concentration of
AQ500, AQ200 and PVA was found to be at 10%.
The criteria for the choice of this percentage for
Results and Discussion all four polymers were based on the desire to
have the same parameter despite the recognition
Preliminary testing that it would be possible to equally reach a similar
fluidity at different concentrations for each poly‐
The procedure was defined preliminarily, start‐ mer. Although the fluidity of AQ200, AQ500 and
ing with simple observation of the polymers in PVA was always quite similar even at different
solid state with natural light and UV to determine concentrations, while AC, being already in liquid
if there were differences in fluorescence between form, at a lower concentration than 10% was
the polymers (Figures 9 and 10). However, this found to be too watery and weaker. In order to
observation could not be done on AC because it achieve a similar fluidity as the other three
is not commercialized in a solid state but already polymers, it would have been necessary to have a
in water solution, although it was performed in very high concentration with the result of moving
later treatments. The observation with natural the study too far from the reality of an actual use
light revealed a yellowish appearance of AQ500 of AC in a conservation treatment. The concen‐
and AQ200, with major intensity for the latter. tration at 10% was therefore also an acceptable
The PVA does not have a colour and can be descri‐ compromise for performing tests. The polymers
bed as white slightly transparent. With UV light, in question are readily soluble in water at normal
ELISABETTA BOSETTI
room temperature, except for PVA that must be

heated to 80°C to achieve a complete solution.
In aqueous solution, the polymers have different

appearances both in consistency and in fluidity.
Concerning their appearance while in solution,
AQ500 and AQ200 maintained the yellowish shade
Water as when in solid state but had a smooth and satis‐
factory fluidity; PVA’s appearance had a greyish
shade but a less satisfactory fluidity compared to
AQ500 and AQ200. AC was completely non‐trans‐
parent and had a watery consistency and fluidity.
To better observe and understand the solutions’

fluidity, transparency and surface tension, tests
AQ200 were made by applying a drop of each polymer on
Hostaphan polyester film and Kraft paper, respec‐
tively (Figures 11‐ 15). The test on polyester film
revealed an equal and satisfactory transparency
of the thin layers that the polymer drops made
after drying. With UV it was possible to observe a
total lack of fluorescence, which could lead to the
assumption that the solely film produced by these
polymers hardly can be traced if used on inert
AQ500 and transparent material. With this test it was
furthermore possible to pay particular attention to
the difference between the drops’ surface (Figu‐
res 16‐19). The thin layer formed by the drops of
AQ500 and AQ200 had a sticky surface for several
days after the application on the polyester film,
which caused dust particles to stick to the surface.
Drying time was not measured, but it was asumed
PVA that it was about 4 or 5 times slower than the two
other polymers.
Up to down:
Figure 11. Drop of water on Kraft paper.
Figure 12. Drop of AQ200 on Kraft paper.
Figure 13. Drop of AQ500 on Kraft paper.
Acronal Figure 14. Drop of PVA on Kraft paper.
Figure 15. Drop of Acronal on Kraft paper.
Aquazol 200 Aquazol 500 PVA ACRONAL
Figures 16‐19 (left to right). Dried drops of AQ200, AQ500, PVA and Acronal on polyester film.
Figures 20‐22 (left to right). Dried drops of AQ200, PVA and Acronal on Kraft paper (20x magnification).
On the Kraft paper, after the water drop, it was material and the intensity of the fluorescence
interesting to note, in addition to the deformations with UV after the application of the polymers in
of the paper surface, where and how the polymeric water solution (Diagram 3).
materials were distributed on the contact surface
between the drops and the paper (Figures 20‐22). It was interesting to observe the behaviour of
the polymers on high hygroscopic materials like
The level of deformations of the Kraft paper caused linen fibres to better understand the optical and
by the polymer and water drops is summarized in physical changes of the tested samples and, fur‐
diagrams 1 and 2, where the degree of deformation thermore, to document the polymers’ migration
was expressed in arbitrary units between 0 and 8. through the canvas weaving (Figures 23‐28). This
was due to the fact that the observation in a
Testing on Canvas Samples painted structure could be misleading because of
the different composition of materials with dif‐
The goal of the testing was to measure chromatic ferent physical behaviour (hydrophilic/ hydro‐
changes, flexibility, migration through the fibres, phobic), not to forget the difficulty of controlling
distribution of the polymers on treated surface/ the capillary factor between layers.
ELISABETTA BOSETTI
Diagram 1. Polymer drops on Kraft paper. Evaluation of the surface tension of drops.
Diagram 2. Deformation of the Kraft paper caused by polymer drops after drying process.
Diagram 3. Summary diagram of the results testing on canvas samples. The two molecular weights of Aquazol have been put
together in this diagram due to their very similar behaviour.
Figure 23 (left). Canvas sample, canvas A ‐ linen not treated

(400x magnification).
Figure 24 (bottom left). Canvas sample, Canvas A – linen after

application (with brush) of AQ500 after drying (400x magni‐
fication).
Figure 25 (bottom right). Canvas sample, Canvas A – linen

after application of AQ500, after drying on the back side of
the sample (400x magnification).
ELISABETTA BOSETTI
Since the linen canvas samples had four different

thread densities, thickness and fineness, it was
possible to have a small range of results on which
to make some considerations from the optical
point of view. For example, chromatic changes of
the canvas samples with lower thread density
and fineness, after application and drying of
the polymers, were greater than those of the
canvas samples with higher thread density and
fineness. The temperature and relative humidity
during the testing were 23°C and 50%, respec‐
tively.
For the tests on the polyester canvas sample, it

was sufficient to choose only one kind of thread
density and fineness. Due to the hydrophobic
properties of these synthetic canvases, it was not
necessary to have a different type of spinning
and weaving because they would behave in the
same way and the results of the tests would not
give any interesting values to be compared with.
The particularity of the tests on synthetic canvas

was the minimal chromatic changes of the area
treated with the polymers observed with visible
light, whereas with UV light the polymers’ fluores‐
cence is higher than in tests done on linen canvas.
This observation imposes a particular attention
to the fact that the intensity of fluorescence of
the polymeric material is obviously closely related
to the type of material on which it is applied.
Therefore, the sole observation of the polymer
fluorescence is not determinant since its inten‐
sity changes considerably depending on the
physical properties of the materials on which the
polymer is applied. Furthermore, the observation
on the flexibility gives a low degree of stiffness
From up to down: of the synthetic canvas.
Figure 26. Testing migration of polymers through fibres.
Application on different kinds of canvas samples. The observation of the video recordings taken
Figures 27 and 28. Testing migration and hygroscopicity of
canvas sample, Canvas D – linen. Front (top) and back (below) with the microscope during the drying process
of the sample. did not reveal any particular differences in the
Figures 29 and 30. Canvas sample, Canvas A – linen with applied AQ500. The image shows a frame from the video recording at
the beginning (left) and end (right) of the drying process (400x magnification).
Figures 31 and 32. Sample from actual painting (S1) tear before (left) the application of AQ200 and after (right) the
application of AQ200 and after drying (20x magnification).
Table III. Samples generated from actual paintings.
Sample Age of Canvas Ground Paint layer Damage and needed treatment
painting
Tear + paint layer detachments
S1 67 years Gesso Oil
Linen (original damages)
colour
Consolidation + impregnation
Paint layer detachments
~40 years
S2 Gesso Oil
Polyester (artificially caused)
colour
Adhesion with heat treatment
S3 Gesso + Cracks in paint layer + detachments
71 years Oil
Linen multiple (artificially caused)
S3a colour
grey oil layer Impregnation + adhesion
Paint layer detachment
S4 8 years No Acrylic
Polyester (artificially caused)
colour
Adhesion with heat treatment
Matte acrylic Tear (artificially caused)
S5 ~1 year Polyester No medium Mending/impregnation with heat
+ dye treatment
ELISABETTA BOSETTI
Figures 33 and 34. Sample from actual painting (S2) tear and detachment of paint layer before the application of AQ200 and the
flattening with heat treatment (left), and after the application of AQ200 and after the flattening with heat treatment (right)
Figures 35 and 36. Sample from actual painting (S3a) cracks in paint layer before (left) and after (right) the application of AQ200
Table IV. Performance evaluation of Aquazol in situ.
Sample Treatment Expected results Performance evaluation
S1 Consolidation Distribution on threads and Great

+ impregnation between particles of paint layer
Flattening of paint layer with
S2 Adhesion with heat heated spatula maintaining Very satisfactory
treatment adhesion properties
S3 Impregnation Distribution between contact surfaces of
+ adhesion paint layer flakes and cracks Very satisfactory
S3a
Adhesion with Flattening of paint layer with

S4 heat treatment heated spatula maintaining Very satisfactory
adhesion properties
Tear‐mending with Impregnation, adhesion and flattening
S5 heat treatment of paint layer with heated spatula Great and very
maintaining adhesion properties satisfactory
Figures 37 and 38. Sample from actual painting (S3) paint flack before (left) and after (right) adhesion with application of AQ200
Figures 39 and 40. Sample from actual painting (S4) paint layer detachment before (left) and after (right) adhesion by application of
AQ200 (20x magnification).
behaviour of the polymers. However, it was pos‐

sible to note how they were distributed between
the fibres after the evaporation of water (Figures
29 and 30).
Tests on Painted Structures
The five different types of painting on canvas

samples were used to perform the tests with
Aquazol. The different painted structures are
summarised in Table III.
The testing on these samples from paintings on

canvas was limited to the observation of AQ200
Figures 41 and 42. Sample from actual painting (S5) tear before
(left) application of AQ200 for mending treatment and after and AQ500 in situ, particularly its ability to be
(right) application of AQ200 and mending treatment. distributed between the layers in function to work
ELISABETTA BOSETTI
in adhesion, impregnation and consolidation in application and demonstrate a minimal inter‐

treatments1. action with the constituent materials of the pain‐
tings. These properties are of great advantage espe‐
The polymer was applied on all samples in the same cially in adhesion or impregnation treatments in
way with a small brush helping it to penetrate which it is highly desirable to control the polymer in
into the underlying layers by pushing the poly‐ the substrates of painted surfaces. However, it is
mer into the cavities with small strokes. important to note the tendency of this polymer to
impose both stiffness and chromatic changes (dark‐
All treatments had a satisfactory outcome. The ening) to the materials if they are hygroscopic.
results are summarised in Table IV. The consolida‐ Therefore, in a treatment that may include the
tion and impregnation treatment on S1 revealed impregnation of a large area of a painted structure,
that the polymer was distributed in a great way it may be necessary to assess the risk of having
on the threads and between the particles of the significant chromatic changes that may have
paint layer. On S2 and S4, where adhesion with subsequent unwanted effects.
heat treatment was needed, the polymer allowed
to perform the treatment and flattening of the
paint layer with heated spatula at 45‐50 °C main‐ Appendix
taining satisfactory adhesion properties. On sample At the author’s current working place, she was
S3 the polymer was perfectly lying between the able to apply Aquazol on a wide range of materials
contact surfaces of the paint layer flakes that had of museum objects and in different treatments
to regain the adhesion and on sample S3a the such as stabilization of lacquered and painted
polymer penetrated smoothly into the paint layer wood and consolidation of highly hygroscopic
crack and filling satisfactory the gap. In the tear materials (hemp and clay). In the case where
mending performance on sample S5, where heat materials were strongly hygroscopic and it was
treatment was needed, the polymer allowed to not desirable to have a reaction with water, Aquazol
perform impregnation, adhesion and flattening was dissolved in Acetone. Aquazol allowed the
of the paint layer with heated spatula at 45‐50° C execution of several treatments showing good
maintaining satisfactory adhesion properties. properties of compatibility with the different
Furthermore, the polymer did not change the materials in all cases.
appearance of the matte paint layer (Figures 31‐42).
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank The Danish Art
Conclusion Workshops in Copenhagen (Statens Værksteder for
Kunst) for having granted the use of its conserva‐
The outcome of this study confirms the high ex‐ tion premises where the study took place, and to
pectations of an alternative non‐toxic product in Mrs. Michela Dell’Anno for proofreading the text.
aqueous solution. Aquazol is the most versatile
References
1 The testing was not intended to be a complete treatment,
i.e. following completion of removal of residual polymer

from the painted surface and the perfect juxtaposition of [1] D. Duerbeck, M. McGinn, R. C. Wolbers, “Poly‐
the flacks of colour. (2‐Ethyl‐2‐Oxazoline): A New Conservation Conso‐
lidant”, in V. Dorge and F. Carey Howlett (ed.), [8] J. Arslanoglu, ”Using Aquazol: a brief sum‐
Painted Wood: History and Conservation, The Getty mary”, AIC Paintings Speciality Group Postprints,
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[2] C. Rönnerstam, ”Aquazol 500 – undermedlet [9] E. Knight, L. Borgioli, “A new Polymer for
från USA”, Realia 2, Nordiska konservatorför‐ Consolidation”, in The Care of Painted Surfaces.
bundet, Svenska sektionen (2003) Materials and methods for consolidation, and
scientific method to evaluate their effectiveness,
[3] R. C. Wolbers, “Short Term Mechanical Properties Proceedings of the Third International Conference:
of Adhesives: Solvent and Plasticizer Effects”, in Colour and Conservation, Materials and Method in
Proceedings of The Care of Painted Surfaces. Mate‐ the Conservation of Polychrome Artworks, Milan,
rials and Methods for Consolidation, and Scientific November 10‐11, 2006, 2008, pp. 180‐181
Methods to Evaluate their Effectiveness: Third
Congress on Color and Conservation, Materials and [10] PCI’s Advanced Water‐Soluble Polymer, Polymer
Methods of Restoration of Movable Polychrome Works, Chemistry Innovations, URL (accessed on 5/06/12)
Milan, 10‐11 November 2006, 2008, pp. 111‐118
[4] R. Calore, L. Frizza, M. Jaxa‐Chamiec, L. Rizzo‐

nelli, N. Stevanato, ”AQUAZOL 500. Una possibile
alternativa ecocompatibile alla colla animale nella
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pinti. Test preliminari per la stabilità, lavorabilità
e comportamenti”, Proceedings of the 5° Congresso
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Mending Tissues”, Proceedings of Symposium 2011, ELISABETTA BOSETTI
Adhesives and Consolidants for Conservation: Conservator‐restorer
Research and Applications, 17‐21 October 2001, Contact: [email protected]
Ottawa, Canadian Conservation Institute, 2011,
URL [PDF] Elisabetta Bosetti was educated as restorer at
Scuola per la Valorizzazione dei Beni Culturali in
[6] R. Lapkin, A. Lindsey, V. Meredith, V. Rastonis, Botticino, Italy in 1990. Since 1991 she has been
S. Russick, G. Simon, ”Waxing Scientific: Exploring working in Denmark at major and minor museum
New Options for Wax Seal Consolidation”, The Book institutions operating on important national monu‐
and Paper Group Annual 21, 2002, pp. 95‐98, URL ments and objects of art from the Danish Cultural
Heritage. She is currently restorer at The Danish
[7] J. Arslanoglu, C. Tallent Carolyn, ”Evaluation National Museum of Military History (Statens Fors‐
of the Use of Aquazol as an Adhesive in Paintings varshistoriske Museum) specifically at the project
Conservation”, WAAC Newsletter 25(2), 2003 for the installation of the new basic exhibition.
case study
A FLEXIBLE CROSSBAR SYSTEM FOR

A 19TH CENTURY PANEL PAINTING
By
Angeliki Bakalarou
Charis Theodorakopoulos
FLEXIBLE CROSSBAR SYSTEM
This letter reports on the construction of a flexible swells by successive absorption and release of
crossbar system for a 19th century panel painting moisture that induces ongoing warping [2, 3]. As
that belongs to a private owner. The flexible a result, the surface of wooden panels change with
crossbar system was constructed according to time loosing its originally supposed flatness [4].
post‐Byzantine treatises (Figure 1) at the Panel The endless activity of the panel results in defor‐
Painting Conservation Laboratory of the Depart‐ mations owing to mechanical stresses towards all
ment of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of directions, which are responsible for a great deal
Art, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, of physical damage caused to the paint, including
Greece, in the framework of the graduate disser‐ cracks, detachments and scaling. Commonly,
tation project of the first author. The system was nailed, dovetailed or sliding crossbars are fitted
built to support the deteriorated wooden panel in the back of the panels both to attenuate these
that was infested by insects and broken in two tensions and to ensure the maximum possible
independently warping halves (Figures 2 and 3). flatness of the painted surface [4].
Wood is considered a durable material and, thus, Traditional and modern wooden panel paintings,
has been employed as paintings support since such as those created throughout the Byzantine
the 5th century B.C. [1]. However, it shrinks and and post‐Byzantine periods and followed to date
Figure 1. Post‐Byzantine, 19th century egg tempera panel Figure 2. Rear side of the panel painting. The original nailed
painting “Assembly of Archangel Michael”. After breakage, crossbars hold the two broken panel parts together. Skin‐deep
the two panel parts are warping independently due to the tunnels along the wood surface and exit holes of wood‐boring
ambient humidity fluctuations. insects are observed both on the panel and the crossbars. The
yellow circles indicate the corroded nails of the crossbars.
ANGELIKI BAKALAROU & CHARIS THEODORAKOPOULOS
Figure 3. The independently warping tensions of the two broken panel parts are obvious on both top (a) and bottom (b) views
of the painting.
by the Greek hagiographic painters, often bear novel simple construction of two independently
two crossbars symmetrically positioned in the adjustable crossbars [8].
back (Figure 2), in order to uniformly distribute,
and thereby reduce, the panel‐induced tensions The painting panel (38 x 52.3 x 2 cm) under con‐
across the interface with the paint. servation (Figures 1‐3) was weak and unstable
due to past insect infestation. In addition, it was
During the conservation of wooden panels, when broken in two parts that remained virtually inde‐
the crossbars are damaged beyond repair, and pendent and loosely connected by the corroded
they no longer perform their original task, they spikes of the original crossbars, which were also
should be replaced with new ones of similar wood degraded and not able to support the panel in
and shape with those of the original artwork [5]. the long run. Evidently, the deterioration of both
In case of severe physical deterioration and the panel and the crossbars did not allow the
breakage of the panel, the construction of custo‐ appropriate preservation of the painting, princi‐
mized flexible crossbar systems is an alternative pally for three reasons: the painted surface was
solution [6, 7]. If sensibly assembled, such systems broken in two parts preventing the correct viewing
provide both sufficient support and adjustment of the painting; there were considerably large
of pressure to the degraded panels. Moreover, fragments of paint flaking off along the fracture;
the stresses between the panel and the flexible and the two virtually independent parts of the
crossbars can be manually compensated so that panel tended to warp autonomously (Figure 3).
the moisture‐induced warping of the panel is Thus, joining the broken panel parts was essential
restricted to a minimum [7]. Such systems are to preserve the painting. Obviously, consolidation
expected to ward off the deformational tensions and adhesion would not suffice to reduce the
of the deteriorated panel. In contrast to various heterogeneous stresses derived from the warping
reported case studies, where tension adjustment of the two separated panel parts to the originally
is obtained by complex crossbar‐and‐frame supposed uniform painted surface. Therefore, it
flexible systems [5‐7], herein we report a was decided to build a flexible crossbar system to
obtain both the optimum consistency of the

painted surface and the ability to adjust the
pressure of the crossbars to the panel. The latter
objective was consistent with the view to gradu‐
ally reduce the warping tensions that are trans‐
mitted to the paint.
The new crossbar system (Figure 4) was con‐

structed after a typical conservation of the panel
that included: a) ‘facing’ of the painted surface
with Sekishu Japanese paper and a thermoplastic
copolymer adhesive (20% w/v BEVA 371 in low Figure 4. Schematic representation of the flexible crossbar
aromatic white spirit), b) unnailing the original system installation on the back of the panel (a). A firmly
degraded crossbars, c) removal of dirt across the fitted composite footing was constructed of a 6 mm stainless
steel screw (b), a beech block (c) and a bronze plate cover (d)
panel surface with distilled water and co‐solvents, that was fitted with 3 mm steel screws (e). A compression
(mainly ethanol), d) consolidation of the panel spring coil (f) was wrapped around the protruded thread and
with acrylic/methacrylic copolymers (10% w/v allowed the adjustment of the pressure applied to the panel by
the new crossbars (g) via tightening or loosening a bolt (h).
Paraloid B72 in acetone), as well as e) joining
using wooden dowels and polyvinyl acetate (PVA)
emulsions [8].
Then, four rectangular cuts (6 x 6 cm wide and firmly fitted composite footings allowed on‐de‐
1.5 cm deep with a 2 cm gap between them) were mand pressure regulation from the new crossbars
notched in the back of the panel along the areas to the panel by adjusting the compression of the
of each original crossbar. These notches were coil springs.
fitted with elaborate footings. Each footing was
constructed of a beech block (6 x 6 x 2 cm) covered The new crossbars were also made of beech and
on one side with a brass plate (6 x 6 x 15 mm) had the same length and width as the original
fastened with four 3 mm steel screws at the crossbars (36.3 x 6.7 cm), but their internal sides
corners. The block/plate systems were drilled in were carved to follow the curvature of the warped
the center with a 7 mm bit that allowed 6 mm panel and, therefore, the thickness of the new
steel screws to be inserted with the head facing crossbars spanned from 1.5 to 3 cm (Figure 6). All
the uncovered surfaces of the blocks. Also, the beech parts of the construction were tanned with
areas of the blocks in contact with the heads of cassia diluted in water to reduce their apparent
the screws were carved so that the screw heads color difference with the aged panel. Brass plates
did not jutted out of the blocks. Finally, the (6 x 6 x 15 mm) were fitted with 3 mm steel screws
thread of each screw protruding out of the brass‐ on the curved side of the crossbars, to face the
covered surface was wrapped with a stainless brass plates of the footings to avoid attrition‐
steel coil spring. The footings were firmly adhered induced damage of the construction in case of
in place with a PVA emulsion that joined the contact between the footings and crossbars. Then,
uncovered block surface with the panel at the 7 mm holes were drilled in the center of the brass
aforementioned notches (Figures 4 and 5). These plates and through the crossbars to allow a
Figure 5. View of the composite footings after being fitted with a PVA emulsion in the back of the panel. The compression spring
coils around the screws are also shown.
Figure 6. The flexible crossbar system as shown from the top (a) and bottom (b) views of the painting.
Figure 7. Final view of the panel with

the new crossbar system attached. All
new wooden parts were tanned to
resemble the color of the panel.
relatively easy insertion of the underlaid 6 mm accordingly. We will observe and report on the
screws of the footings (Figure 4). The new cross‐ progress of the installation, in order to ensure the
bars were placed over each composite footing best possible preservation of this painting and to
system, with each 6 mm screw protruding approxi‐ further optimize the construction of flexible
mately 0.8 mm from each crossbar, and held in crossbar systems for future applications.
place by bolts (Figures 6 and 7).
Acknowledgements
By manually tightening or loosening the bolts,
the compression of the springs and, consequently, This work was performed at the Panel Painting
the pressure of the crossbars to the panel were Conservation Laboratory at the Department of
adjusted in order to keep both the panel and the Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art,
painted surface joined and leveled. In case of Technological Educational Institute of Athens,
further warping of the panel in time, the system Greece, under supervision of the corresponding
allows to readjust the pressure of the crossbars author.
References removal of aged coatings, Diploma Dissertation,

Technological Educational Institute of Athens,
[1] C. Delvoye, L’ art Byzantin, Arthaud, Paris Greece, 2011
1967, pp. 101‐107
[2] R. B. Hoadley, “Chemical and Physical Prop‐ ANGELIKI BAKALAROU

erties of Wood”, in The Structural Conservation of Conservator‐restorer
Panel Paintings: Proceedings of a Symposium at Contact: [email protected]
the J. Paul Getty Museum, April 1995, The Paul
Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 1998, pp. 2‐20 Angeliki Bakalarou graduated from the Conserva‐
tion Department at the Technological Educational
[3] A. Unger, A.P. Schniewind, W. Unger, Conser‐ Institute of Athens (TEI‐A), Greece in 2011. In
vation of Wood Artifacts: A Handbook, Springer‐ TEI‐A's educational program, she gained profes‐
Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2001, pp. 23‐42 sional experience in the Conservation Department
of Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens in 2009,
[4] L. Uzielli, “Historical Overview of Panel‐Mak‐ where she was involved in conservation routines
ing Techniques in Central Italy”, in The Structural on panel paintings and post‐byzantine icons. Her
Conservation of Panel Paintings: Proceedings of a dissertation at TEI‐A, which included cleaning
Symposium at the J. Paul Getty Museum, April 1995, implementations on painted, lacquered and gilded
The Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 1998, pp. 110‐135 surfaces, was awarded the highest qualification.
[5] M. Ciatti, C. Castelli, and A. Santacesaria,

Dipinti su tavola, la tecnica e la conservazione dei CHARIS THEODORAKOPOULOS
supporti, Edifir Firenze, 1999, pp. 188‐192 Conservation scientist
Contact: [email protected], [email protected]
[6] C. Castelli, “The Restoration of Panel Painting
Supports: Some Case Histories”, in The Structural Charis Theodorakopoulos received a PhD in 2004 at
Conservation of Panel Paintings: Proceedings of a the Royal College of Art, London in collaboration
Symposium at the J. Paul Getty Museum, April 1995, with the Molecular Painting Research Group in FOM
The Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 1998, pp. 316‐340 ‐ Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics
(AMOLF), Amsterdam and the Foundation of
[7] B. Marcon, D. Dureisseix, P. Dionisi‐Vici, J. Research and Technology‐Hellas (IESL/FORTH),
Gril, and L. Uzielli, “Experimental and numerical Heraklion, Greece. After a post‐doctoral research
mechanical study of a framing technique for fellowship in the Conservation Science Group, Birk‐
cupping control of painted panels combining beck College (University of London), he joined the
crossbars and springs”, in J. Gril (Ed.), Wood Sci‐ Conservation Department at Technological Educa‐
ence for Conservation of Cultural Heritage, Pro‐ tional Institute of Athens, Greece, where he lectures
ceedings of the International Conference, COST and supervises lab sessions on conservation for
Action IE0601, (Braga, 5‐7 November 2008), 2010 painted works of art since 2008. In 2011, he joined
the IESL/FORTH Bio‐Organic Materials Chemistry
[8] A. Bakalarou, Methodology for the conservation Laboratory (BOMCLab), where he investigates gel‐
of two Post Byzantine Panel Paintings: gel‐induced based cleaning applications for conservation.
STUDY AND CONSERVATION OF THE CITY
CENTER OF SHAHR‐E RAY, IRAN
By Vahid Heidari
VAHID HEIDARI
The city center of Shahr‐e‐Ray (or Shahre‐Rei, city of Rey) is a historic center that was constructed around
the holy shrine of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim, and is nowadays one of the 22 municipal districts of Tehran, Iran.
Its origins can be traced back to the fifth millennium B.C. being one of the most important ancient sites of
Iran. The site nucleus is located near the spring of Cheshmeh‐Ali (Ali spring) and it developed towards the
southern side during the medieval era which was its golden age. Due to the Mongols invasion in 1221 A.D.,
the evolution of this magnificent civilization was delayed but Shahr‐e‐Ray was later revitalized, especially
since the holy shrine of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim became the second urban core in the Qajar era (1785‐1925
A.D). The Jame mosque, madrasah (religious school), caravansarys, bathrooms and the bazaar are
among the numerous public spaces that were built in the second core. Despite the numerous cultural
relics, the city center is at risk due to urban expansion. Some services such as accommodation and
transportation for pilgrims have destroyed much of the historic buildings. This paper focus its study on
both cores of the city, the ancient core of Shahr‐e‐Ray and the city center of Shahr‐e‐Rai (the area around
the holy shrine of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim), through detailed survey. Finally, the contemporary conditions of
the historic fabric are classified and analyzed.
Introduction Islamic era. Thus, the so called “Abd‐al‐Azim

historic city” includes a center and four districts.
In general, architecture and urban heritage The original center has an area of 40 hectares
conservation programs have at least three main and adding its suburban areas it goes up to 120
objectives: to show the contribution of the various hectares.
civilizations in the city progress, to learn from
past experience, and to develop the local economy This research was made in three parts: the base
and the residents’ sense of belonging to the study, the analysis and the intervention. The
historic space. study includes a site survey and bibliographic
research. In the analytic stage, we categorized
The historic center surrounding the holy shrine the assembled documentation according to a
of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim should be conserved as a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
valuable area of Shahr‐e‐Ray. Increasingly more threats) analysis. During the intervention stage,
people recognize Shahr‐e‐Ray as a neighborhood two plans were proposed: urban planning and
of Tehran and not as a valued historic area. Also, urban designing.
previous studies only occasionally focused on the
ancient core of Shahr‐e‐Ray. The lack of a complete
exploration and research about the second historic Historical Background
core of Shahr‐e‐Ray as well as the different conser‐
vation problems of the historic center are two City expansion in the first core (ancient Ray)
lacunas that this paper wishes to address.
The first core of Shahr‐e‐Ray was located next to
This paper focuses on the second historic core a spring named Cheshmeh‐Ali or "Nahre Soren".
of Shahr‐e‐Ray, around the holly shrine of German archaeologist Eric Schmitt discovered
Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim, which has all the special this ancient site in 1935 and dated items found
characteristics of Iranian historic cities from the there back to 4000‐6000 B.C. [1]. There is no
STUDY OF SHAHR‐E RAY, IRAN
Figure 1.Extension of the city of Ray in the Qajar period that is adapted on up‐to‐date condition. The study zone is highlighted
in blue color.
injunction about Shahre‐Ray between 4000 and A.D.), the region next to the shrine of Hazrat‐i‐
1000 B.C. but later (900 B.C ‐ 700 A.D), Shahr‐e‐ Abdul Azim was expanded and new bazaar and
Ray was divided into two regions: Ray Barin quarters were constructed (Figure 1). During the
(upper Ray) located at the south of Cheshmeh‐Ali Pahlavi period (1926‐1979 A.D.), Shahr‐e‐Ray was
and Ray Zirin (lower Ray) located in the eastern influenced by Tehran's development and some
part of Cheshmeh‐Ali and on the south of the structures such as cement, glycerin, and chintz
Bibi‐Shahr‐Banoo mountains [1]. factories, governmental offices and other service
centers were built. Consequently, new streets and
The best era for Shahr‐e‐Ray was 700‐1200 A.D., roundabouts were constructed changing the city
before the Mongol invasion. During this time, view [2].
the city was divided in three districts: Sharestan
(middle city), Kohandege (outside city), and Rabaz City expansion in the second core (shrine of
(bazaar) [1]. In 1219 A.D., the Mongols occupied Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim)
Iran and Shahr‐e‐Ray was destroyed. But there
are some monuments dating from the Safavian Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim was a holy man from the
period (1502‐1736 A.D) proving that the city was family of Imam Ali, forth caliph and the first Imam
revitalized. Under Qajarian dominion (1785‐1925 of the Shieh sect, who migrated from the city of
VAHID HEIDARI
Shahr‐e‐Ray people moved to other regions like

Tehran, Varamin and Abdul Azim villages.
In the Safavid era (1501–1736 AD), the Shieh sect

was accepted as a formal belief in Iran and the
kings themselves took some related measures
such as expanding the shrine of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul
Azim and the Abbasi caravansary, which was built
between the tomb and portcullis of Shahr‐e‐Ray.
In fact, the village was expanded due to the
increase number of pilgrims.
The village of Abdul Azim changed to city during

the Qajar era, when the bazaar, the most impor‐
tant space of the city, was built. In that era, other
important buildings already built were caravan‐
saries, the jame mosque, the Borhan madrasah
(religious school) and the Qajarian bathroom.
The Maidan‐e Tekyeh square and Mozaffary Street,
along the bazaar, are part of the old city skeleton.
Maidan‐e Tekyeh is a sort of plaza with economic
functions at the bazaar entrance, despite being
the scene of performing mourning ceremonies in
Figure 2. Schematic design of the Abd‐al‐Azim historic city in
some days of year. The Mozaffary Street was the
the Qajar period: 1‐the Holy Shrine; 2‐ the Abd‐al‐Azim Citadel;
3‐ The Abasi Caravansary; 4‐the Bazaar; 5‐The Big Plaza; old way between Abdul Azim village and ancient
6‐ The Caravanserai; 7‐ The Jame Mosque; 8‐The Religious Ray, but it was changed into a street during
Madras; 9‐ The Bath; 10‐The Little Plaza; 11‐The Qajarian
Mozafarden‐Shah’s reign (1916‐1926 A.D). Today,
Caravanserai; 12‐ The Garden.
it is the main access to the holy shrine.
Samera (now in Iraq) to Shahr‐e‐Ray. After he died Abdul Azim historic city on Qajar era
in 852 A.D, he was buried in a garden out of the
Shahr‐e‐Ray enceinte and a tomb was constructed More historic buildings of the Abdul Azim historic
there. Afterwards, a village was built and called city, such as the bazaar and caravansaries, were
“Abdul Azim village”, which progressed gradually located in the north of the shrine and are the
over time [3]. prove that the first development occurred on that
area. In fact, the urban growth direction was from
In fact, the second core of Shahr‐e‐Ray goes back the Qajarian fabric (second core, south district)
to a rural era, outside the city. Other reasons of to the ancient city (first core, north district).
the progress of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim village were
its vicinity to the Shahr‐e‐Ray and the Silk Road. The Abd‐al‐Azim historic city is organized in four
During the Mongol invasion (1219 A.D.), many of zones: Nafar‐Abad, Hashem‐Abad, Tootestan and
Figure 3. A view of holy shrine of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim.
Sar‐takht. Nafar‐Abad, in the southern part, is Qajarian caravansary as a latest Qajarian building,
the biggest district and its center is an open space is located on the opposite side of the scripted wall.
for gathering people and some monumental Finally, Sar‐takht is the most famous quarter due
structures, such as Tekyeh and Sagha‐khaneh (a to its physical conditions. The district center of
room with a water source for thirsty people). The Sar‐takht is located in the middle of the fabric.
Nafar‐Abad district connects with the other points Nowadays, the major structures, such as the
of the historic city by the bazaar, holy shrine, and Abanbar, bath and local mosque were destroyed
the Maidan‐e koochak, which is another plaza and replaced by renewal projects. However, some
on the other side of the bazaar. Hashem‐Abad, valuable houses, such as Kelid‐dary house, Saghafi
located at west of Nafar‐Abad and southeast part house and Sadr house have been preserved over
of the old city, is a district surrounded by farm‐ time (Figures 2 and 3).
land. Unfortunately, most of its constructions
have been destroyed. Tootestan is other district Abdul Azim historic city in contemporary era
of the old city, which is located at the east of
Mozaffary street and in the north of Nafar‐Abad In the first Pahlavi era (1925–1941), Iranian
district. Two stone inscriptions on the wall are urbanism supported by government policy tended
located in Pachenar alley in Tootestan. Also a to modern constructions. As an example, Abdul
VAHID HEIDARI
Figure 4. Entrance of a historic house in Sartakht zones, from first Pahlavi period .
Azim historic square was changed to a new example, Reza‐Shah’s tomb was built in 1949‐
roundabout, some streets were built around it 1952. To access the new tomb, which is huge, a
and Mozaffary Street was widened. This caused new road was build causing the destruction of
the destruction of the Abbasi caravansary and the urban fabric. In addition, the quarters were
Maidan Takye. Some service buildings were built extended next to the farmlands and old gardens
in a new classic style such as an infirmary, a modern were destroyed. The quarters of Sar‐takht and
bath and a police station. The houses were deve‐ Tootestan had the highest traffic because of their
loped in quality and quantity and some modifica‐ vicinity to Mozaffary Street and instead of tradi‐
tions took place such as modern houses were not tional houses, apartments with poor design and
made in courtyard plan and were modified in planning were built.
facade, entrance and materials (Figures 4).
The Iranian revolution took place on February
Reza‐Shah, the first Pahlavi king, died on exile 1979 and it also had an impact on the Abdul Azim
in 1944 and was buried in the south corner of the historic city, in two stages. In the first decade
holly shrine of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim. In the second (1979‐1989), the process of change was slow due
Pahlavi era (1941‐1979), Iran architecture modi‐ to rising effects and imposed war (Iraq attacked
fied its style, from new classic to modern. For Iran in September 1981, 18 months after the 1979

Figure 5. Destroying a valuable house in extension project of holy shrine.
revolution). The destruction of the Reza shah tomb Finally, the managers decided to extend the
in 1979 was the most important event in those estate from approximately 10,000 m2 to 30,000 m2
years (a madrasah was later built in its location). and made two new passages in the middle of the
During the second decade, the renovation and historic city in spite of the existent Mozaffari
expansion plans of the holy shrine of Hazrat‐i‐ Street and Modarres Boulevard, without attention
Abdul Azim changed the traditional fabric. Most to the conservation of urban and architecture
of the plans were based on preparing more heritage. Sadly, the traditional fabric of the
services for pilgrims. In fact, in 1989‐1994 the historic city was interrupted and many of monu‐
historic fabric was demolished and cleared under ments were destroyed between 1990 and 2001 [4].
a “rehabilitation” without any comprehensive
plan. The development plan of the holy shrine of
Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim began in 1994 with the Present Abd‐al‐Azim historic city conditions
following goals: improving the transportation
system; construction of a cultural center for Nowadays, Abdul Azim historic city is disruptive
pilgrims and residents, including a library and a because of civil programs and traffic problems.
museum; increasing the services for visitors such Furthermore, local managers and designers did
as parking, motels and infirmary; rehabilitation not pay attention to the conservation of the
of the settlement fabric; reconstruction of the historic context and destroyed historic fabric for
holy shrine as a spiritual center; construction of new building constructions such as a medical
a theological faculty and a new shopping mall [3]. center, college and offices.

VAHID HEIDARI
Figure 6. A view of the Safavian caravansary and its buffer zones in now condition.
Figure 7. A view of the historical bazzar entrance in the Maidan‐e Tekyeh after restoration.

(the city center of Shahr‐e Rai), the author pre‐

pared a management plan divided in four stages,
proposed as an academic exercise, as follows [4].
Documentation of the historic hity

in today's conditions
For the documentation the Abdul Azim historic

city, two types of information on nine zones were
registered: five are core zones and four are buffer
zones, including the function maps, the antiquity
maps, the structural maps, the traffic map and the
Figure 8. General zone in the proposed function.
urban facility maps as physical parameters, and
the population maps, the density maps, and other
social characteristics as human parameters [4].
Other problems are access and facades. The construc‐
tion of new streets led to the fragmentation of the Restoration of Abdul Azim historic city
historic city. Also, since the planners failed to
predict enough parking for visitors, the managers For restoration of the historic fabric, two levels
tried to persuade local owners to sell their proper‐ of intervention in urban planning and urban
ties around it. Such policies caused the destruc‐ designing were proposed. First, a comprehensive
tion of many historic monuments (Figure 5). In plan was prepared for the conservation and revi‐
addition, new constructions do not have any talization of the local fabric (Figure 8). Second,
integrity nor take into consideration the facades, a detailed plan and some architectural patterns
color, shape, materials and height (Figure 6). were presented.
In spite of these weaknesses, the cultural heritage To categorize and analyze the documentation,
offices of Tehran have made some conservation SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
measures in recent years (1997‐2002) such as the Threats) method was used. First, the decay in
reinforcement of brick structures in the historic comprehensive plan was assessed and some
bazaar and rebuilding the bazaar entrance in suggestions were proposed such as the land use
Maidan‐e Tekyeh. Some restoration was also per‐ plan, and traffic solutions. As second step, some
formed on the ornamental elements such as at detailed programs for historic zones were pro‐
the brick, tile and stone level in the holy shrine posed such as rules to design public buildings,
[4] (Figure 7). homes and urban design and plans for urban
management [4].
Conservation and Rehabilitation Planning Rehabilitation and revitalization planning of

of Abdul Azim Historic City the historic city skeleton
After the analysis of the history, geography, anthro‐ One of the most important parts of every historic
pology, urbanism and architecture of Abdul Azim center is the city skeleton. Historic zones can

VAHID HEIDARI
Figure 9. Maidan‐e Tekyeh in proposed design (left) and a plan of Maidan‐e Tekyeh in present condition (right).
improve deterioration and stagnancy if their Conclusion

skeleton still lives. In this stage, some new
functions for old structures being restored were The city center of Shahr‐e Rai around the holly
suggested such as rebuilding the Maiden‐e Tekyeh shrine of Hazrat‐i‐Abdul Azim dates back to the
in front of the bazaar for a mall, a traditional ninth century A.D as rural nucleus. The district
restaurant and a small inn. On the other hand, was changed to city during the Qajarian era, when
Qajarian caravanserai is probably a good case for an urban skeleton was created. Modern progres‐
municipal offices of historic context. The Safavian sion of the city began in the first Pahlavi era and
caravanserai, due to its large and varied space, after some gradual extension, governmental
could be changed, for example, to a multipurpose structures were built and measures such as the
cultural center for artistic workshops and cultu‐ widening of Mozaffari Street and the destruction
ral exhibitions [4]. of monuments took place. Also, during the second
Pahlavi era, several historic areas were destroyed
Proposal of some patterns to when the Mausoleum of Reza Shah was constructed.
build new structures
During the first decade after Islamic Revolution
Some patterns were proposed in new structures (1979‐1990), the region was stagnant but after
integrated by old context in style, scale, height those years, the holy shrine was expanded for
and materials, for example, the use of historical reasons such as physical decay and the visitors’
images in the modeling of the Maiden‐e Tekyeh welfare. Nevertheless, in the new design, cultural
reconstructions. Also some necessary functions heritage and conservation values were not consi‐
were suggested for new spaces such as commercial dered by the managers and designers. As a first
services, a motel and a theater [4] (Figures 9 and 10). step towards the conservation of the city center,

Figure 10. Proposed design of a section of Maidan‐e Tekyeh.
the expansion program should be stopped. In [4] V. Heidary, Conservation and Restoration ‐
addition, a new core and buffer zones based on Renovation and Rehabilitation of Shahr‐e‐Rei City
the historical documentation and cultural land‐ Center, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Design
scape should be proposed. Another suggestion is in Iran University of Science and Technology
the organization of visitors' requirements, espe‐ (IUST), June 2008
cially in temporary residential, traffic problems
and welfare services. It is necessary to restore and
rehabilitate the site historic buildings, and also
to propose a plan to develop interest‐free loans
for residents. The proposals would be better done
if in collaboration between the historic city muni‐
cipality, cultural heritage experts, holly shrine
estate managers and inhabitants.
Notes
This paper is based on the master thesis “Conser‐
vation and Restoration ‐ Renovation and Rehabi‐
litation of Shahr‐e‐Rei City Center”, Faculty of
Architecture and Urban Design in Iran University
of Science and Technology (IUST), supervised by VAHID HEIDARI
Dr Asghar Mohammad Moradi and advised by Dr Architectural Conservator
Esmaeil Shieh, June 2008. E‐mail: [email protected]
References Vahid Heidary has a BA in Architectural Conser‐

vation from the Faculty of Iran Cultural Heritage
[1] H. Kariman, Ancient Rei, 2 volumes, Shahid Organization (2005) and a MA in Urban and Archi‐
Beheshti University Press, Tehran, 1993 tectural Conservation from the Iran University of
Science and Technology (2008). He has published
[2] A. A. Fatholahi Fard, Management of the fabric several articles in architecture history and conser‐
around Abdollazim Tomb, Master thesis, Fine vation. He is now working as project manager in
Arts Faculty of Tehran University, Tehran, 1994 the Department of Cultural Heritage of a consul‐
tancy firm in Tehran and teaches conservation
[3] A. Ghaedan, Abdollazim Holly Shrine Estate in courses at the Art and Architecture Faculty of
the past and present, Dar‐Alhadis Press, Qom, 2005 Semnan University in Semnan, Iran.

documentatio
3D DOCUMENTATION USING
TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING
OF THE REMAINS OF THE JESUIT
MISSION IN THE REGION OF
LAKE TANA, ETHIOPIA
By
Christian Dietz
Gianluca Catanzariti
Pablo de la Presa
Víctor M. Fernández
Alfredo Jimeno Martínez
3D IN LAKE TANA, ETHIOPIA
Between 1603 and 1633, the religious order of the Jesuits managed to establish Catholicism as official
religion in Ethiopia, period in which land grants were conceded, associated to a considerable “foreign”
building activity. Nowadays, most of the remains are badly preserved and situated in remote sites,
causing problems concerning documentation, conservation and research on that particular cultural
heritage. In the present work, terrestrial middle range laser scanning was applied to produce three
dimensional digital models of Jesuit remains in the northwestern region of Lake Tana. An overview
about the sites history, the instrumentation used and the workflow in data evaluation is given, followed
by five practical examples covering all the Jesuit remains in the mentioned region. A special focus is
dedicated to the possibility to obtain reflectographic data and to the importance of integrating into
such models information achieved by other techniques, such as ground penetrating radar.
Introduction the king´s favors were an important number of

land grants to the Jesuits, the most significant
Historical background one in Gorgora Nova, located on a peninsula on
the northern shore of Lake Tana, the country’s
During his second attempt to enter Ethiopia in largest lake and a preferred site to establish
1603, the Madrilenian Jesuit Pedro Páez Jaramillo summer residences of the Ethiopian kings. At
finally managed to reach the mission base estab‐ this site, first a royal residence and later, in
lished in Fremona, situated in the northern region 1626, after Páez´s death, a Jesuit church with
of Tigray. From there he headed south, entering various annexing buildings were constructed.
the Amhara region where soon he got into contact King Susenyos had his residence there between
with the Abyssinian king Za Dengel, who invited 1611 and 1618 (whose ruins have disappeared,
him to join his court in Dänqäz. Driven by intrigues possibly because the buildings were made with
of other Ethiopian aristocrats against him and dry stone without mortar) and converted to
also impressed by both language skills and know‐ Latin faith in an official ceremony in 1621, most
ledge of local customs of the missionary, Za Dengel probably to reinforce his political power and his
converted from Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido independence from the influential Orthodox
Church to Catholicism. This decision resulted not clergy. In that period, another palace and a Royal
too fortunate and soon afterwards, after intending bath (water pool) were built in Azäzö, where also,
to change some religious rules, a civil war broke during 1621‐1628, the Jesuits further constructed
out in which course the sovereign was killed in a wall fortified church and residence buildings
1604, while Páez retired to Fremona. aside.
When Susenyos defeated Za Dengel´s successor When Pedro Páez died in 1622, he was replaced
Yaqob in the battle of Gol in 1606 and assumed the by Afonso Mendez, who is thought to be respon‐
throne a year later, Páez reestablished contact sible for the decline of the relations between the
with the king, who not only kept Catholicism as governing party and the Catholic Church, causing
official religion and tolerated the Jesuit Missions, such social unrest that Susenyos had to resign in
but became a personal friend of the Jesuit, again favor of his son Fasilidas. The latter expelled the
inviting him to Dänqäz. In between the results of Jesuits in 1633 and restored the Orthodox Church,

CHRISTIAN DIETZ et al.
with which the 30 years time span of Jesuit influ‐ millennium, these instruments are increasingly
ence in the country came to an end. Close to the used in architecture [5, 6], civil engineering and
complex of Azäzö, Fasilidas founded in 1635 the cultural heritage [7‐9]. They also provide 3D
administrative and imperial capital of Ethiopia models of underground structures such as caves
for the next century and half in Gondar. [10, 11]. The instruments are based upon a direct,
time‐based system of measurement. The most
Since that period, the sites with Jesuit remains commonly used mechanisms of data capture is
were progressively abandoned, suffered earth‐ the “time‐of‐flight” approach, were an emitted
quakes, fire, disintegration and invasions from laser pulse is reflected from the target surface
neighboring Muslim Sudan and are nowadays in a back to a detector, which is measuring the time
very deteriorated state, also partly because they interval between emission and reception. From
are located in remote areas of rather difficult the time delay and the speed of light in air, the
access. In 2006, 400 years after the entry of Pedro distance to the target is calculated. With this
Páez, and following an application of the Complu‐ procedure, ranges of about 100 m and a resolution
tense University of Madrid, the Ethiopian govern‐ between 3 and 10 mm are typically achieved at a
ment officially launched archaeological investi‐ velocity of 2.000 to 50.000 points per second.
gations on the Jesuit Mission in the region of Lake The latter can be further enhanced to about
Tana, basically centered on identification, designa‐ 250.000 points per second, using “phase shift”
tion and consolidation of sites of interest, photo‐ technology. Here, incoherent light modulated in
graphic and topographic documentation and test amplitude is emitted. The backscattered reflec‐
and open‐area excavations. During various cam‐ tions are compared by a circuit determining the
paigns [1‐3] carried out between 2006 and 2012, phase difference between sent and received
it became evident that the fade‐out of the above waveforms, which is also a time delay.
ground remains is rapidly ongoing, for example
most of the east wall the church in Gorgora Nova During the measuring of an object, the equipment
still wearing the commencement of its original realizes an automatic scan over its surface, pre‐
arched structure, collapsed in 1995, leaving intact cisely determining the distances following a previ‐
only a small portion at the eastern end of the ously established standard. The polar coordinates
structure. with respect to the center of the coordinate
system are achieved by codifiers which are deter‐
3D Laser Scanning mining the horizontal and vertical angles of the
pulse projection. With these elements and the
In this context, a high resolution three dimensional measured distance, the spatial coordinates of
digital model of such sites provides an extraordi‐ each point can be defined. The aperture angle of
nary tool for documentation of the degree of con‐ the emitted light beam limits the resolution of
versation of the buildings at a given time [4]. It the exploration. The resulting non‐structured
may further aid planning their consolidation and point clouds are subject to subsequent computing
partly reconstruction and supports a future devel‐ allowing to obtain the geometric characteristics
opment and promotion of the region for tourism. which define the three dimensional model.
Though, due to the versatility of the technique
Since portable middle range laser scanning and multiple possible products, nowadays the
devices became available at the beginning of the majority of the applications of this non‐invasive

infrared laser operating at 20 mW (class 3R) with

a circular beam diameter at exit of 3.3 mm. Its
range is from 0.6 to 76 m, achieving a resolution
of 0.6 mm and a measurement speed of 120.000
points per second. The horizontal view is 360º
while the vertical view is restricted to 320º, the
system is equipped with an inclination sensor
and has a built‐in Pentium III PC, allowing its
remote control via WLAN and external laptop.
Further accessories were the Faro LS power base
for field operation and carbon fiber tripod.
Figure 1 shows an image of the equipment
employed.
The color option consists in mounting a digital

camera equipped with fisheye lenses onto the
scanner using a non‐parallax support, after the
regular scan the camera is manually placed in the
optical path of the laser beam taking a series of
images. The scanner software then associates a
RGB value to each point of the point cloud; by
this a colored 3D model can be achieved. None‐
theless, in the present case the preferred strategy
consisted in taking images apart in order to save
battery lifetime of the scanner and to apply these
Figure 1. Readily mounted Faro Photon 80 (above) working in
later onto the meshed surface of the models
Debsan and the device equipped with color option (below). during data treatment.
survey technique are centered in the fields of Methodologies

engineering or architecture, its use in archaeology
and cultural heritage has experienced an impor‐ Strategy for data capture
tant growth over the last years [12].
Prior to data capture, each site had to be cleaned
from vegetation and weed blocking the sight on
Instrumentation the structure to be scanned, though bigger trees
and adult climbing plants often could not be
The instrument used in the current work was a removed. Steep slopes and unevenness of the
Faro Photon 80, a compact, accurate and fast terrain frequently further hampered the selection
middle range scanner making use of phase shift of appropriate scan positions. One has to keep in
technology. The system is equipped with a 785 nm mind that with incrementing distance of the

scanner to the object, precision of the measure‐ horizontal and vertical angles. The achieved point
ment will decrease, other limitations are due to the clouds were then downloaded to an external PC
minimum distance to the object, field of vision, for post processing.
material properties of the object and incidence
angle of the laser to its surface. Then, reference Data processing
targets have to be distributed in a way that a
minimum of three are visible with sufficient For further optimization of the data, first a series
resolution in two subsequent scans, otherwise it of filters were applied to each scan. A filter is a
will be impossible to register them into a unified mathematical algorithm allowing to correct or
model. Two different references were employed, to remove scan points according to a previously
150 mm diameter spherical targets covered by an selected threshold. Table I summarizes the
IR‐ reflecting paint layer (Faro Reference Sphere applied filters and corresponding filter settings.
Set), these were placed on tripods and homemade
checker board targets (27×27 mm), which were Figure 2 shows an example of a single scan before
stuck to the walls. As compromise conditions and after filtering, in this particular case data
between measurement time, data volume and volume could be reduced from 120 to 40 MB.
required resolution, a value of 20 mm was consi‐
dered to be acceptable; this can be achieved by a Once done, local references have to be identified
fraction of a quarter of the instruments maximum in each scan and to be aligned into a global coor‐
resolution which then works with a pulse repetition dinate system, a process known as registering.
frequency of 3 Hz and a pulse duration of 0,00190 The search for unequivocal sets of references
seconds. Prior to each scan, a low resolution becomes increasingly difficult with rising number
(1/32) 360º scan was taken, from this data the of scans to be registered in a single model. Addi‐
exact area of interest for higher resolution could tional references visible in the scans such as
be defined in terms of the corresponding planes, corner points, slabs or similar may be
Table I. Filters and settings applied to the raw data.
Filter Function Set Values
Removes scan points resulting from hitting two Grid size: 3 pixel
Stray objects with the laser spot or by hitting no object Distance threshold: 0.02 m
at all. Allocation threshold: 50 %
Removes scan points outside a selected distance Minimum distance: 0m
Distance range from the scanner. Maximum distance: 50 m
Removes points with too much noise based upon Reflectance threshold: 100
Dark points the reflective value.
Minimizes noise on surfaces, replacing the

measured value of a scan point with the mean Grid size: 3 pixels
Smooth Distance threshold: 0.02 m
value from its surrounding area.
Cut off Tool to manually cut selected areas No default value

Figure 2: Original scan data (above) and filtered scan of the entrance tower in Azäzö (below). In the latter, the identified local
references are also shown and the grayscale was inverted for better visibility.

Figure 3. Map of the region of Gondar with the situation of the archaeological sites marked with pins. UMT coordinates are given for
remote sites. Danqaz: 354018 E, 1382071 N (1), Gorgora Nova: 30535 E, 134880 N (2), Debsan: 0353117 E, 1356142 N (3) and
Azäzö (4). Modified from Google Maps.
also used, nonetheless, from a certain number In the following, a brief description of each
(about 15) aligned scans onwards registration does prospected site will be given, followed by a
not properly work. In these cases, scans are grouped description of information related with the data
into clusters which are later blockwise registered. capture and a selection of the elaborated products
pinpointing the most relevant aspects documented
For data capture, Faro Record software was used. at each place.
Coarse filtering and registration was carried out
with Faro Scene v4.7, which also provides 2D and Dänqäz
3D views of the registered models. Point clouds
can further be meshed with this program and be In this small village (pin 1 in Figure 3), situated at
exported in various formats. For further filtering an altitude of 2720 m and not connected to the
and modeling, JRC Reconstructor, AutoCad 2011, road network, two of the most important monu‐
Geomagic Studio 10, Adobe Photoshop CS4, Fast ments of the of king Susenyos reign, the Royal
Stone Image Viewer and Autodesk 3Ds Max 2010 Palace and a cathedral are located [13]. As a
software packages were employed. passing remark we would like to mention that
earlier information concerning the rather hostile
habitants of this remote village could be confir‐
Results and Discussion med. The palace complex was formerly surrounded
by a now ruined wall with gate. Its northeast face
In Figure 3, a large scale map containing the was built close to a scarped canyon, which at
surveyed sites in presented. some 800 m difference in altitude connects with

Figure 4. 3D view of the whole complex, including cistern. The presentation is in clear view mode, introducing transparency into the front
panels of the structures. The scan positions are indicated.
the valley of Ghedam Giyorgis. The northeastern was covered by a total of 16 scans from different
part of the building is the best preserved, conser‐ angles and positions. Data was separated into
ving plaster wearing wall panels up to the height two clusters, which were registered making use
of the disappeared roof. The rest of the structure of circular and checkerboard targets. The two
has been collapsing, leaving only a few meters clusters (Figure 4) had to be aligned manually,
height of the walls. The debris of the collapse has using the correspondence view function of Faro
possibly covered the carved elephants, horses and Scene, because the pixel size of common referen‐
cavalrymen as well as inscriptions that were found ces was not high enough to be used for that
during a visit in the 1830´s [14]. Left of the en‐ purpose.
trance gate, a cistern supported by 12 arches is
built into the ground; access is granted by an in‐ Figure 5 presents a cross section through a room
ternal staircase. With dimensions of approximately in the best preserved part of the palace. The holes
14 × 5.5 × 8.3 m, it is possibly one of the largest where the baulks carrying the three floors of
antique structures of this type in East Africa. the building, the shape of the different windows
as well as the remains of a chimney in the base‐
For documentation of the cistern, three 360º scans ment can be clearly distinguished.
from inside the structure were taken. The palace

Figure 5. High resolution 3D view of a room at the north‐east end of the palace (left). The right image shows an outside view picture of
this part of the palace with the equipment working.
From the precise geometrical documentation, the In a previous investigation, it could be proven
maximum volume the cistern once was able to that scan data provided by reflection of infrared
store could be calculated. Taking into account that laser light is not only useful to record geometric
the cistern was equipped with a spillover situated details of the target, but also to exploit the fact
at the downer end of the arched structure (maxi‐ that IR light will penetrate more than visible light
mum filling height) and the displacement of the into a given surface. Analogue to reflectographic
staircase, this volume is about 462 m3, assuring techniques, though restricted to a single wave‐
the necessary water supply in an uphill area with length, this may help to detect features that are
no direct access to rivers or creeks nearby. not visible to the human eye, in particular under‐
drawings in paintings [15]. At a wall situated at
As can be seen in Figure 6, the scanning resolution the left side of the main exit from the complex,
was high enough to capture even small graffiti some unique paintings showing two dogs in per‐
paintings and carvings now present in the plaster spective view are documented [13], though up to
covering the staircase which gives access to the date these have been nearly entirely vanished. At
cistern. Figure 7 shows a cross section of the first sight, the eye and some lines of the upper
whole structure. dog's head are the only clearly visible features.
In order to check whether the scanner is able to

Figure 6. Details of the staircase giving access to the cistern. The left image shows the digital of a contrast enhanced black/white photo‐
graph of the lower part of the cistern´s staircase, while the right image is the corresponding section of a 2D view of the scanned model.
Figure 7. Cross section through the 3 D model of the cistern. The contribution of one single scan to the overall model is shadowed in yellow.

Figure 8. High resolution scan of the part of the entrance wall wearing drawings. Overlaid in gray, an interpretation of the drawing based
upon analysis of digital photographs. In blue, corrected geometry and position of some known traces, in red, lines which could not be
identified in pictures. B is a digital photograph of the present appearance of the corresponding zone.
detect traces of pigments still enclosed in the Nonetheless, the 2D view of the scanned area
plaster, the corresponding area was scanned in provides valuable additional information. First, a
very high resolution (half of the maximum pro‐ geometrically correct model of exact dimensions
vided by the instrument). can be elaborated; in former attempts, evident
distortions were introduced when using non‐recti‐
Unfortunately, the pigments employed in the fied digital photographs (blue lines in Figure 8).
artwork seemed not be particularly sensible to And second, some traces of the drawings (red
infrared radiation, hence the achieved contrast of lines in Figure 8), which were not visible using
the high resolution scan shows not substantially digital imagery, could be identified using their
more contrast than the corresponding digital reflective values in the infrared region of the
image. In the former, the gray scale reflects the spectrum.
measured intensity value for the backscattered
785 nm laser radiation; the latter records color The remains of the cruciform Catholic church of
information in the visible region of the electro‐ Dänqäz, which received the distinction of cathedral
magnetic spectrum (380‐759 nm). In grey scale, in Ethiopia, are situated about 300 m south of the
the human eye is able to discriminate about forty Royal Palace, although it is not clear whether the
different tones only; meanwhile about 200 colors construction was ever finished. It is of pure Portu‐
can be distinguished. Changing the intensity, guese style, cruciform with a nave of about 27 m
about 500 additional brightness values for each length and two smaller naves attached perpendi‐
color tone can be achieved and, finally, if the cularly. The principal arches as well as a conside‐
white balance is varied, there are another 20 rable part of the wall structures are still conserved.
colors per tone, summing up about 20 million
colors. This evidently helps when trying to opti‐ Figure 9 shows an orthogonal view onto the
mize the contrast of desired features in order to model of the cathedral, accurately outlining its
make them better visible. ground plan. With the “tomograph” function
provided by the Faro Scene software, a model

Figure 9. Orthophoto taken from the registered and filtered model of the Cathedral in Dänqäz.
Figure 10. View into the last room of the central nave, still preserving Rosetta stones. One of the two conserved main arches can also been
distinguished.

Figure 11. Low resolution clear view visualization of the combined 3D model for Gorgora Nova.
Gorgora Nova
The complex of Gorgora Nova, also known as

Mariam Ghimb, is possibly the most known legacy
of the Jesuit Missions in Ethiopia. Situated about
65 km south of Gondar, close to the north shore
of Lake Tana, it comprises a church and an impres‐
sive quadrangular building of 35×35 m, termina‐
ted with four towers at the edges, two of which
are still conserved. In its inner courtyard, the
remains of an Orthodox church of later construc‐
Figure 12. The conserved part of the abside of the Jesuit church tion can be found. The original Jesuit church was
in Gorgora Nova in inverted color scale. situated at the north end of the complex. It has
been entirely collapsed, only some outer wall
fragments and a small part of the apse, wearing
can be cut into slices of desired orientation and an impressive decoration of rosette carved
position; these can be exported in different stones, are conserved.
formats, allowing their integration into computer
aided design applications such as AutoCad. Due to the dimensions of the area, its documen‐
tation had to be carried out in three subsequent
Figure 10 gives an example of a 3D look into the working sessions. The first started at the Eastern
preserved smaller nave and the room closing the tower, following the interior wall until reaching
cruciform structure. the rests of the Jesuit church with a total of 16
scan positions. The second session started at the

apse of the Jesuit church, following the outer Infraz, then heading south for another 2,5 km.
part of the Eastern walls until reaching the tower The site itself is inaccessible by car. Perfectly
scanned the day before, with a total of 23 scan defended by the hill and a stone wall surround‐
positions. The last day, the remaining part of the ing the building, the site is equipped with a 11 x
area was covered, including the western wall 4 m and 3 m deep water basin, has sight to Lake
structures, the interior of the patio and the zone Tana to the east and to another hill about 3,5 km
of the collapsed church, with a total of 10 scan south, where the castle of Guzara was later
positions. The interior of five of the eight rooms constructed.
of the building were also scanned during this
session. The corresponding data was grouped The building was scanned from a total of 16 scan
into three clusters that were then aligned using positions from inside and outside the structure
external references. which were then registered into a single model.
The open water basin could not be scanned
Figure 11 gives an east‐west view of Gorgora because it was completely overgrown by vegeta‐
Nova. At the right side of the image, the eight tion. The model was then meshed into 27 aligned
conserved rooms and the two towers closing the fractions, on the surface of these a total of 66
building can be seen. In the center of the patio, digital photographs were projected. The photos
the remains of the Orthodox church can be distin‐ were previously treated in Photoshop in order to
guished. At the left side, the collapsed Jesuit achieve uniform color and illumination conditions.
church with the single arched structure is seen In this photogrammetry approach, a minimum of
still standing. The black circles are areas of lower 10 coinciding points in three dimensions had to
data density due to the blind angle beneath each be defined between the meshed scan and each
scan position. picture.
A detail of the latter is shown in Figure 12, the Figure 13 shows the eastern storefront of the
metallic and wooden supports constructed in 2008 building. The arched main entrance, two doors
to maintain the integrity of the structure can also corresponding to the first room, other two corres‐
be distinguished. The geometric patterns which ponding to the second and to the last room,
can be seen at the wall in the background are due respectively and a window of the last room can
to shadows caused by the supports from this scan be seen.
position.
Cut offs at the top right end of the entrance and
Debsan are zones of dense vegetation of climbing plants
that had invaded the wall structure (Figure 1).
Rather than a church, this building of dimensions Their moving leaves inhibited successful corres‐
of 24 x 8 x 6 m was most probably dedicated to pondence search between pictures and scan data.
residence and study of a part of the Jesuit commu‐ For the fraction of non‐colored ground floor under
nity in the region. Its remains are situated on a hill the entrance, no pictures covering this particular
elevated some 80 m above the surrounding ground area were available.
and at an altitude above sea level of 2100 m. The
site can be reached from Gondar following the In figure 14, three arched door structures built in
Road to Bahir Dar for 35 km until the village of brick stone are visible. From all the investigated

Figure 13 (upper). Colored East view of the storefront of the Jesuit building in Dänqäz and its arched main entrance. Box symbols
correspond to scan positions. Red networks indicate planes used for registration; the yellow symbols represent checkerboard targets.
Figure 14 (lower). Colored and meshed 3D view of the last room in the Debsan residence building. Points on checkerboards and other
features are defining coincidences between applied pictures and scan data.
Jesuit constructions, this single room was the Ethiopia, just in front of the city’s airport. In 1624,
only place were fired clay ceramic was employed king Susenyos constructed a palace there, which
in the construction. Due to the scarceness of this has been already described in literature [16] but
building material in Jesuit remains, samples whose exact localization nowadays has been lost.
were taken for their ongoing investigation using The building was associated to a garden and royal
archeomagnetic techniques. bath facilities. During the same period, Jesuits
constructed the wall fortified church and residence
Azäzo buildings at the site.
The site of Azäzo‐Gännatä ‘Iyäsus (Jesus’ Paradise, Above ground, remains are nowadays scarce in
or Garden) is situated about 5 km south of Gondar, this vast area and the correct archaeological

Figure 15. Extract from a topographical map of the Azäzö hill area, elaborated by V. del Arco Sanz and E. Martín Agúndez, 2009.
Figure 16. Digital Terrain model of the fortified wall structure including view of the recently unearthed circular tower (downright corner).
Scan positions are marked. Overlay with previously achieved GPR data.

interpretation of the different construction detected by the radar. The GPR data shown in
phases is still not complete [17]. To support this Figure 16 represents the projection onto a hori‐
investigation, a geophysical prospection using zontal plane of data the sampled in a depth
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was carried out between 0.3 and 0.6 m. Red or yellow color
in 2009, during which a total number of 13 areas correspond to high amplitude signals related to
of potential archaeological interest could be the presence of reflectors, while green to white
identified in five different areas, mostly situated tones are related to weak signals and hence to
in the vicinity of the Jesuit church. The best the absence of reflectors. The previously exca‐
preserved structures, to which the documenta‐ vated remains of the church, situated in the white
tion campaign was limited, are a circular tower square in the middle of the figure, were not pros‐
with a piece of adjacent wall at the north entrance pected, due to the presence of coarse stones,
to the area and the fortified wall structure enclos‐ elevated some decimeters above ground.
ing the area of the Jesuit church (Figure 15).
This integrated data contains the most complete
The entrance tower, already represented in Figure information which nowadays can be achieved by
2, was scanned at very high resolution (half of the application of non‐invasive, remote sensing
the maximum) from seven different positions. techniques to a given archaeological context.
The fortified wall and the enclosed area were The latter, combined with a very intuitive graph‐
documented from a total of 31 scan positions, ical representation, represents a novel and extre‐
distributed over three daily sessions. During mely useful tool for investigation, planning of
registration of the latter, the south, west and interventions and divulgation in archaeology
east parts of the wall could be mounted into a and related disciplines.
single model, but the data did not contain suffi‐
cient common references to join the north part
as well. Hence this was done manually in the Conclusions
correspondence view screen of the Faro Scene
software. Four different localizations related to the 17th
century Jesuit Missions in the region of Lake Tana,
From an orthophoto of this data, a detailed Ethiopia were documented using terrestrial
outline of the area could be obtained, including infrared laser scanning with phase shift techno‐
more recently excavated features like another logy. In only 24 working days, a total of 7 struc‐
circular tower at the south‐east corner of the tures or areas of considerable extension were
fortified wall, which can be distinguished in scanned with high precision, covering all the
Figure 15. known Jesuit remains in that area. A workflow for
data capture and elaboration is proposed. Possible
A very interesting approach is the integration of products that can be derived from obtained point
3D scan and GPR data. In this way, above ground cloud data comprise, but are not restricted to,
structures can be documented with high resolu‐ fully measurable 2D and 3D models of the scanned
tion, the surface may be defined by a digital structures, orthophotos, single or multiple slices
terrain model derived from the point clouds and to produce multiview orthographic projections,
underground features can be represented as three meshed models that may be used to apply pic‐
dimensional time/depth slices of the anomalies tures on their surface, colored point clouds,

digital elevation models and, up to certain extend, References

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heritage interactive 3D models on the web: An
The archaeological team in charge of the excava‐ approach using open source and free software”,
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mentation is gratefully acknowledged (V. Fernán‐ pp. 350‐353
dez, M.L. García, J. de Torres, the latter providing
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authorities accompanying including some trouble‐ J. Taylor, “Real world modelling through high
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Affairs and Cooperation and to the Spanish Remote Sensing 55, 2000, pp. 230–250
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driver, Workene Mekonnen, who even managed tion of the architectural and heritage represen‐
to get us out of a pretty crowded celebration of tation”, Landscape and Urban Planning 91, 2009,
TimKat (epiphany) in the middle of nowhere. pp. 105–112
Last but not least we are indebted to the Spanish
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sidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain, 2008 d’une excursion dans l’Arabie heureuse, et accom‐
pagné d'une carte de ces diverses contrées (1835–
[8] N. Yastikli, “Documentation of cultural heri‐ 1837), Vol. 2, Louis Deséssart, Paris, 1838, pp. 29
tage using digital photogrammetry and laser
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pp. 423‐427 “IR reflectography using 3D laser scanning”, e‐
conservation magazine 18, 2011, pp. 32‐42, URL
[9] P. Martín Lerones, J. Llamas Fernández, A.
Melero Gil, J. Gómez‐García‐Bermejo, E. Zalama [16] C. Beccari (ed.), Rerum Aethiopicarum Scrip‐
Casanova, “A practical approach to making accu‐ tores Occidentales Inediti a Saeculo XVI ad XIX, 15
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Heritage 11, 2010, pp. 1–9 [17] I. Campbell, “Portuguese and Indian Influ‐
ences on the Architecture of the Lake Tana Region:
[10] H. Rüther, M. Chazan, R. Schroeder, R. Neeser, An Inquiry into the Role of Gänätä Iyäsus”, chapter
C. Held, S.J. Walker, A. Matmon, L. Kolska Horwitz, 4, in M.J. Ramos, I. Boavida (eds.), The Indigeno‐
“Laser scanning for conservation and research of us and the Foreign in Christian Ethiopian Art: On
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Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa”, Journal of Centuries: Papers from the Fifth International Confe‐
Archaeological Science 36, 2009, pp. 1847‐1856 rence on the History of Ethiopian Art, Arrábida,
26‐30 November 1999, Ashgate Publishing Ltd.,
[11] J.L. Lerma, S. Navarro, M. Cabrelles, V. Villa‐ Hants, England, 2004, pp. 37‐47
verde, “Terrestrial laser scanning and close range
photogrammetry for 3D archaeological documen‐
tation: the Upper Palaeolithic Cave of Parpalló as
a case study”, Journal of Archaeological Science 37,
2010, pp. 499–507
[12] D. Barber, J. Mills, D. Andrews, 3D laser CHRISTIAN DIETZ

scanning for heritage. Advice and guidance to Contact: [email protected]
users on laser scanning in archaeology and archi‐
tecture, 2nd ed., English Heritage, Swindon, UK, Christian Dietz received his MSc from Technische
2011, URL Hochschule Darmstadt in 1995. He then moved
to Complutense University of Madrid, where he
[13] F. Anfray, “Les monuments gondariens des obtained his PhD in Chemistry in 2001. The fol‐
XVIIème et XVIIIème siècles. Une vue d'ensemble”, lowing 7 years of investigation, at the Department
Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference of Analytical Chemistry, were mainly devoted to
of Ethiopian Studies, Volume 1, University of Addis instrumental and method development in metal
Ababa, 1984, T. Beyene (ed.), Institute of Ethio‐ speciation analysis, with a special focus on sample
pian Studies, Addis Ababa, 1989, pp. 9‐45 treatment, but as well bio‐environmental studies

in general and waste water management in parti‐ has developed tasks relating to GIS, land survey
cular. In 2008 he was involved in the establishment and remote sensing. In line with this occupation,
of the Centre for Archaeometry and Archaeological he has participated in field courses dedicated to
Analysis (C.A.I. AAA) at the Complutense Univer‐ Mapping in Archaeology and Heritage, organized
sity of Madrid, where he currently works dedicated in collaboration with several European Universi‐
to instrumental analysis and dating of a wide range ties, where he specialized in laser scanning tech‐
of archaeological artefacts. He also covers non‐ niques. Currently he works in an engineering
invasive survey techniques in archaeology such company that carries out 3D documentation,
as geophysical prospections and laser scanning. mainly on railways and tunnels.
GIANLUCA CATANZARITI VÍCTOR M. FERNÁNDEZ

Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected]
Gianluca Catanzariti received his MsC in Geolo‐ Víctor Fernández is professor of Prehistoric
gical Science from the Universitá degli Studi di Archaeology at the University Complutense of
Torino (Italy) in 1999. Currently he is working on Madrid. He has participated in several archaeo‐
his PhD thesis centred on archaeomagnetic measu‐ logical research projects in several countries,
rements at the Faculty of Physics, Dpt. of Earth among which Spain (Roman, 1978‐1981, Iron Age,
Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid. 1984‐1991), Sudan (Meroitic, Kerma, Mesolithic‐
At the same time he is employed as technician at Neolithic, 1978‐2000) and Ethiopia (Prehistoric‐
the universities Centre for Archaeometry and Ethnoarchaeology 2001‐2005; Jesuit Missions of
Archaeological Analysis, where is is mainly devo‐ the 17th century, 2006‐2012).
ted to geophysical prospection methods such as
ground penetrating radar, a field where he also
holds years of experience at an Italy based private
company. Further he is a specialist in archaeo‐ ALFREDO JIMENO MARTÍNEZ
magnetic dating techniques and was actively Contact: [email protected]
involved in the establishment of the paleosecular
calibration curve for the Spanish Peninsula. Alfredo Jimeno graduated in History and Archae‐
ology at the University of Zaragoza, where he
obtained his PhD in 1981. He presently teaches at
the Complutense University in 1986. Apart from
PABLO DE LA PRESA his common academic activities, he has been ap‐
Contact: [email protected] pointed Director of the C.A.I. AAA 2007. His exten‐
sive research activities focus on the early history
Pablo de la Presa received his Bachelor from the of the Spanish Central Plateau, covering the Bronze
Polytechnic University of Madrid in 2010. He is Age, Iron Age and the Romanization. Currently, he
member of the investigation group “Landscape is a member of the Scientific Committee of "Duques
Archaeology” at the Department of Prehistory in de Soria" foundation and of the Editorial Board
the Complutense University of Madrid, where he of the U.C.M. "Complutum" magazine.

BETWEEN TRADITION AND INNOVATION:
3D DOCUMENTATION OF
ENNA’S MONUMENTS
By
Antonella Versaci
Alessio Cardaci
66
3D DOCUMENTATION OF ENNA’S MONUMENTS
The most important value of pictures, though often neglected, is that they are an inexhaustible source
of knowledge for both architectural historians and restoration architects. Nowadays, tools for sharing
photo albums like Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, etc., fulfil an essential function of "reality” documentation.
The new generation of laser scanners can deliver accurate measurements of architectural structures and
their environment, and also makes it possible to publish scanned data on the Internet. Differently from
images, however, the model obtained from a point cloud is an enormous catalogue, a sort of "solid"
photograph which allows the material state of an architectural object to be “penetrated”. This paper
aims to address the issue of the new frontier represented by laser scanning methodology and its
usefulness in the field of documenting cultural assets, starting from the objectives (and showing the
first results) of a wide‐ranging project of Web‐documentation of Central Sicily’s cultural heritage.
Introduction photos taken anywhere in the world, fulfill an

essential function of "reality” documentation.
Paintings, etchings and lithographs are a way of This "random” material is a public catalogue,
documenting and journeying into the past. Today, easily accessible and continuously updated, even
these works of art offer a visual record of monu‐ if still limited to the status of mere “image”.
ments, landscapes and urban sites; they contain
a lot of important data and this information can Nowadays, the new generation of laser scanners,
be an extremely useful aid to understanding cul‐ ever smaller, lighter and equipped with integrated
tural heritage in urban and historic sites. The coaxial cameras, can deliver accurate measure‐
lithographic prints made by Grand Tour travellers ments of architectural structures and their envi‐
(even allowing for the possible subjectivity of the ronment in a very short time. These instruments
artist’s interpretation), the guides, the albums can provide point clouds that are in reality 3D
and the collections of images especially created photographs, from which a wide range of infor‐
to increase the aesthetic and cultural values of mation can be extracted and they can create 3D
private libraries, provide an iconographic descrip‐ models to be published on the Web for cataloguing
tion (and at the same time a catalogue) of an and archival purposes. In particular, the FARO
architectural heritage and landscape that are not SCENE 4.8, the latest version of the scan proces‐
always recognizable today. Photography later sing software for the FARO Laser Scanner, incor‐
supplemented and developed this documentary porates the specific one‐click WebShare function.
role of paintings, although it did not completely This application makes it possible to publish
overcome the constraints arising from the per‐ scanned data on the Internet, thus enabling
sonal vision of the photographer. everyone to share images, including metric,
technical and material property information.
With the advent of social networks, the role of Unlike photographs, which deliver only the image
photography, once restricted by the local diffu‐ of the monument, the 3D model can be sliced in
sion environment and limited by the heaviness of order to obtain cross‐sections and plans; it can
paper, crossed many of its borders. Tools for shar‐ be examined and processed to give orthophotos;
ing photo albums like Flickr, Facebook, Picasa, finally it can yield data which is useful for under‐
etc., allowing people almost instantly to share standing the chemical and physical properties of

ANTONELLA VERSACI & ALESSIO CARDACI
the artefact. Unlike images, the model obtained Surveying for restoration projects: visual per‐
from a point cloud is an incredible database, a ception and analysis, tradition and innovation
kind of "solid" photograph which allows the
material state of an architectural object to be In the past, representations of the built environ‐
“penetrated”. ment were mainly in the form of paintings and
engravings, works of art that now constitute in‐
valuable archives, for both architectural histori‐
An Electronic Eye Over the Historical Towns of ans and restoration architects. The lithographic
Central Sicily prints made by those who undertook the Grand
Tour, the guides and albums of images designed
The Italian island of Sicily originated from the to enhance the aesthetic and cultural values of
tension that separated it from continental Europe: private libraries, offer a visual record (and cata‐
a violent wrench that tore it from the rest of the logue) of monuments, landscapes and urban
world to make Sicily an "island" in the heart of sites that are often no longer recognizable.
the Mediterranean Sea. The creation of the Straits
of Messina, described as a fretum terribile by “First‐hand” drawing was once the means of
Seneca, isolated Sicily and gave it both indepen‐ recreating and recounting the spatial feeling of
dence and the opportunity to have a “centre”. Its the observed city; the sketch was (and still is) a
heart beats exactly where this centre is located, plausible depiction of reality aimed at capturing
in the town of Enna, where the Normans built an the essence of the space seen by the traveller
octagonal tower to indicate the midpoint of the (although it was always mediated by his own
island, naming the town: Ombelicus Siciliae. The personal interpretation). Historically, the survey
immediate surroundings are as rich in history as has always been the phase immediately subsequent
they are little known: small towns and villages for in the approach to places: the eidotype added
which Frederick II’s Tower is their principal point metric details to spatial sensation as well as the
of reference (Figure 1). material properties and formal aspects of the
sites observed. A preliminary drawing, aimed at
The main purpose of this paper is to narrate a providing detailed scientific knowledge of the
journey through the historical towns of Central studied sites, the eidotype was, essentially, a
Sicily [1]. Like the old view painters, who searched basic document, a kind of canvas on which to set
out the most beautiful scenes to represent their up and develop ideas [2]. The traditional tech‐
“ideal city”, we technicians of the digital age nique then involved the elaboration of a mass of
also cast about for the most secret and attrac‐ drawings designed to document plans, elevations
tive corners, for architectural perspectives that and architectural details of buildings, focusing
could communicate the true essence of the old on their geometrical, linguistic and technical
island centres. The traditional pencil was com‐ aspects (Figure 2).
bined with the electronic “eye” of the camera
and the more advanced (lighter and faster) 3D The advent of photography partially modified
laser scanning instrument, able to permeate this approach to the city, enriching it with new
the material and grasp the true nature of the contents and faces. Images obtained by cameras,
architectural artefacts and of their urban seen as "fast sketchbooks” [3], support the tra‐
contexts. ditional drawing techniques, putting important

Figure 1. The Castle of Lombardy and the tower of Federico II (image montage).
new documentary tools at our disposal. The pho‐ tionized the practice of surveying for restoration
tograph, in fact, enables the “fervour” of the city purposes. It offers the possibility of digitally
to be depicted. Its ability to freeze the “moment” capturing three‐dimensional objects, even very
and block an action can reveal moments so brief complex ones, and reproducing them as point
that they are normally imperceptible to the human clouds, quickly and extremely accurately. Unlike
eye. The camera offers an opportunity to create a a drawing, these are not planar projections of
linear and temporal chronicle through pictures, real objects, as they represent a virtual version
something of great value for those who work in of reality that can be investigated.
the field of protection and raising awareness and
appreciation of the cultural heritage. And finally, A drawing can be observed only from the centre
laser scanning technology has completely revolu‐ of projection from which the designer has chosen

Figure 2. Ex Convent of Carmine (Ortophoto and 3D Scanner Model).
to represent the scene, but a point cloud can be reduced execution time because it unifies the
explored from several projection centres. Indeed initial phase of data acquisition and that of sub‐
a point can be made to yield more than one repre‐ sequent analysis.
sentation by changing the point from which the
architectural work and the city as a whole is ob‐ The digital sketch already provides a metric sur‐
served. No less important is also the chance to in‐ vey and characterization of the building mate‐
vestigate the morphological and/or composi‐ rials of the city, observed and measured at the
tional components of the 3D model obtained by same time, both in its forms and in its structural
laser scanning technology. From a procedural components. Using this technique, the prepara‐
point of view, as already mentioned, the use of tion of the eido‐type of the object is less impor‐
3D laser scanning technology has dramatically tant than the planning of the survey, and may

Figure 3. The Church of St. Tommaso (3D Scanner Model, 3D Cad Model and traditional draw).
even not be necessary. It is in fact possible to produced by Faro Technologies, which is much
make a full record of the geometry of an archi‐ faster and more accurate than the traditional
tectural object and to postpone the extraction time‐of‐flight instruments. The speed of data
of the characterizing elements of the buildings acquisition and measurement offered by this
and their representation through CAD [4] to the instrument is so high (up to 976,000 measure‐
data processing phase (in the office). ment points per second) as to make it more
affordable (in terms of reduction of working time)
In the framework of our work, the digital acqui‐ to collect all information and then clean the
sition of the monuments was carried out through point clouds of unnecessary data, rather than to
the Focus3D laser scanner, an innovative instru‐ adjust the scanning angle and the resolution in
ment based on the phase shift technology each individual scan.

Figure 4. The Duomo of Enna (sketches and 3D Scanner Model).
One of the key parameters of the laser scanner light (5 kg), but also includes an integrated colour
is the scanning step: in other words, the step camera featuring an automatic 70 megapixels
between two points measured by the instrument. parallax‐free colour overlay. This has enabled
The first scanning systems only allowed very point clouds to be coloured automatically, with
high mesh steps (in the order of centimetres) or a considerable reduction in post‐processing
required higher resolution‐levels, with a conse‐ time. Measurements were then followed by the
quent increase in scanning time. With Focus3D, processing of data measured in situ by the com‐
however, coloured, high‐resolution point clouds bined and integrated utilization of different
(10 dpi to 10 meters), can be obtained with very software: the FARO Scene 4.8.1 and the GEXCEL
short acquisition times. It should be noted that JRC 3D‐Reconstructor. With the first software,
the laser scanner used is not only extraordinarily the clouds were first filtered and then coloured in

Figure 5. The Church of St. Giovanni (WebShare’s documentation, ortophoto and traditional draw).
a very short time (Figure 3) ‐ applying colour to From graphic representation for restoration
a Focus3D laser scan, through the latest version projects to web‐shared cataloguing
of this scan processing software for the FARO
Laser Scanner which used to require about 20 At the end of the phase of data acquisition, draw‐
minutes for a medium resolution scan, now takes ings, scans and photographs (that obtained auto‐
only less than 1 minute. Scans were finally matically by the internal camera of laser scanner
aligned and geo‐referenced by the second soft‐ and others taken by a Canon EOS) collected during
ware in order to obtain virtual models of the the tour, were used to represent and communi‐
monuments and of significant fragments of the cate the information obtained (Figure 4). Pictures,
towns and villages. sketches and colours were used to flesh out the
metric data of the scans, not only chromatically.

The restitution phase allowed the point clouds Conclusions

to be mapped with images processed and filtered
in order to highlight the state of decay of mate‐ Integration of all these techniques has yielded a
rials and the more interesting architectural ele‐ rich register that will be made universally accessible
ments. “Tailor‐made clothes” were superimposed through Web platforms; its value is inestimable,
on the point clouds: additional photographs of not only as a basis for ensuring proper restoration,
the architectural monuments, taken at different appreciation and use of the monuments now, but
times of the day (including night images). This also in the future, to understand their evolution in
is because the colorimetric information obtained the frame of an ever‐changing urban environment.
by the laser scanner is no longer a simple repre‐ With the aim of creating a web‐shared catalogue
sentation of reality but may become very valu‐ of the monuments of Central Sicily, the data
able both in the diagnostic and monitoring acquired have been converted into 3D models
phases. which are gradually being published on the net.
The usual practice is to use “false” colours to The scan processing software used for this research
represent the reflectance values resulting from incorporates a specific one‐click WebShare func‐
the scans (famous is the change from green to red tion. This application makes it possible to publish
typical of Leica scanners, depending on tempera‐ scanned data on the Internet, thus enabling
ture and reflectance variations); it is rather less everyone to share scanned images, including
usual to process images using software that can metric, technical and material property informa‐
alter the RGB channels, the hue, the saturation tion. Unlike photographs, which deliver only the
and brightness [5]. image of the monument, the 3D model created
from a point cloud is an incredible database, a
The mapping of several images (even in this case, kind of "solid" image which allows us to “per‐
provided by the laser scanner and taken by the meate” the architectural object till its material
external camera) properly treated with the filters essence. It can be sliced in order to obtain cross‐
available in the most common image editing sections and plans; it can be processed to create
applications, allows the depiction of situations orthophotos; and finally it can provide useful
that are barely visible or completely hidden from data about the chemical and physical properties
visual examination. A filter providing edge con‐ of the artifacts, as well as of their states of health.
trast can be used to highlight masonry wall tex‐ Scans data are progressively going to be conver‐
tures, the noise/grain reduction filter can hide ted in order to be re‐used inside the free software
the dark areas due to the unevenness of the Google SketchUp (via the related Pointools Plug‐
plaster, allowing easier reading of the geometry, in™) and then exported in Google Earth. Thus,
and the render lighting effect filter enables only the new frontier of laser scanning methodology
the areas of interest to be detected by lighting offers significant new opportunities for catalo‐
them. Finally, in attempting to implement new guing and storing cultural goods ensuring, over
forms of representation of the decay and deteri‐ time, the transmission of valuable information
oration of material surfaces, our scans have also about their state of conservation and the resto‐
been “clothed” by drawings mapping the decay ration work carried out, in order to safeguard
of buildings (Figure 5). their authenticity.

Acknowledgments ANTONELLA VERSACI

Civil Engineer
The authors thank Dr. S. Zuccarello for the images
related to the Ex Convent of Carmine, Dr. A. Canale, Antonella Versaci is Assistant Professor at the
M. Candido, G. Felice and S. Privitera for the 3D Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of
CAD models of the Church of St. Tommaso, G. Di University of Enna “KORE”. She has a degree in
Bartolo, V. Dipasquale and I. Modica for the Civil Engineering (University of Messina, Italy), a
sketches of the Duomo of Enna, V. Castiglione and D.E.A. “Urban and Architectural project” (School
R. Iudica for the drawings of the Church of St. of Architecture Paris‐Belleville, France), as well
Giovanni and all the students of the Architectural as a Ph.D. in Architecture (University Paris VIII,
Restoration Workshop (2009‐2010) of the Faculty France) on the subject of the French legislation
of Engineering, Architecture and Motor Sciences for the safeguarding of historical centres. Until
of the “KORE” University of Enna, Italy for helpful September 2008, she worked at UNESCO where
comments. she was in charge of cultural operational projects
in South‐East Europe. Since 2010, she holds the
chair of Architectural Restoration at the Univer‐
sity of Enna KORE, Faculty of Engineering and
References Architecture. She is also director of the “Survey
and diagnostic applied to cultural heritage”
[1] W. Leopold, Sizilianische Bauten des Mittelalters laboratory of the same Faculty.
in Castrogiovanni, Piazza Armerina, Nicosia und
Randazzo, Wasmuth, Berlin, 1917
[2] G. Vassena, M. Sgrenzaroli, Tecniche di rileva‐ ALESSIO CARDACI

mento tridimensionale tramite laser scanner, Engineer
Brescia, Starrylink, 2007
Alessio Cardaci is a professor and researcher at
[3] M. Docci, Manuale di rilevamento architettonico the Faculty of Engineering of the University of
e urbano, Bari‐Roma, Laterza, 2009 Bergamo. He obtained a Master Degree cum laude
in Building Engineering (University of Messina,
[4] G. Carbonara, Trattato di restauro architetto‐ Italy) and a PhD in Building Engineering: Resto‐
nico, Secondo Aggiornamento, Grandi temi di ration Design (Department of Drawing and Design,
restauro, Torino, UTET, 2008 Faculty of Engineering, University of Messina,
Italy). Since 2008, he holds the chair of Drawing
[5] D. Fiorani, Restauro e tecnologie in architettura, at the University of Bergamo, Faculty of Engi‐
Roma, Carocci, 2009 neering, Department of Design and Technologies.
His main research interests are based on the
assessment of the capabilities of laser scanning
technologies with special regard to cultural
heritage survey, structural testing and diagnostic,
3D visualization and virtual reality .

theory
BRUSHES FOR RETOUCHING:
HOW TO CHOOSE THEM
By
Ana Bailão
Sandra Šustić
80
BRUSHES FOR RETOUCHING
Many painting conservators are often convinced that they are unable to obtain adequate retouching
results due to their technique, when in reality their failure is the consequence of a poor choice of
brushes. It has been observed that choosing the right brush is very important in order to fulfil all quality
aspects that should be taken into consideration when planning a retouching project. This paper
endeavours to provide comprehensive information about the history, examination and evaluation of
brushes. It is aimed at all conservators who purchase brushes for retouching practice, with the objective
to determine which are the best ones currently on the market. This study demonstrates that the shape
and size of the brush must fully correspond to the technique and method of retouching, in order to
obtain optimal results. The article is written by two investigators from different countries, Portugal and
Croatia, who share their own personal retouching practices.
Introduction chapter will provide examination and evaluation

of various brushes in order to understand their
When we go to a supplier searching for a good complex features when planning a retouching
retouching brush, what are our basic criteria? Will project. Finally, the last part of the paper deals
our selection be limited by the technique that we with this issue in a practical way, where the authors
plan to employ or the method of retouching, or will, through didactic proposals for correct brush
perhaps both? In order to answer this question handling, try to define the most suitable brushes
correctly, it is important for a restorer to under‐ for specific retouching methods and techniques.
stand the details of this complex subject.
Apart from the pigments, mediums and solvents, From Creative to Suggestive – Overview of the
the most fundamental element in retouching Brush Handling
execution is the brush itself. While it is more
common to elaborate the process of the applied Due to their delicate purpose, the production of
method and/or technique, published reports of brushes has always been carried out with great
conservators rarely show any evidence, or discus‐ care. One of the oldest types of brushes that was
sion of the tools used for paint application. It made of available natural materials, originated
seems that the brush selection is mostly product from Egyptian’s hieroglyphic writings. The stem
of the current accessibility and bare intuition, of the marsh plant was obliquely cut on the edge
rather than careful consideration of the advantages and treated until the fibres where separated to
and drawbacks of the chosen tool provides. form a gentile plume [1]. However, Asian calligra‐
phy was perhaps one of the primary sources for
Therefore, it is necessary to indicate the sequence the production of more the complex and sophisti‐
of the historical development of the brush and to cated art tools named ink brushes. They where
uncover its importance in the practice of invented in China around 300 BC. The brush had
retouching. The first part of this paper is based a sharp tip composed of various animal hairs like
on historical considerations of important global that of rabbit, goat, pig, mice, wolf, and buffalo,
settings that defined the design and the applica‐ among others. It was used as an imitation of a
tion of the brush as an artistic tool. The second stylus with which the first writing was done,

ANA BAILÃO & SANDRA ŠUSTIĆ
whereby the brush was held rigidly upright with information regarding the brush‐making in the
the tip carefully maintained within the centre of beginning of the 18th century. The brushes
the stroke [2]. mentioned by Bluteau are made of goat, hog and
badger [6].
In general, ink historically predominated the
choice of the used media, generating rich and Probably the greatest advance that has taken
complex traditions in the East. On the other hand, place is the widespread adoption of metal ferrules
over 1000 years of medieval western art was during the 19th century. This invention meant
produced in numerous media that also used brush that the manufacturing of brushes, which used
as a prime creative tool. Although the precise to be an empirical procedure, became a trade [5,
construction of the brush at that time is enigmatic, pp.123‐129]. Until that time, artist’s brushes
paintings of St. Luke the Evangelist frequently were round, pointed, or oval shaped while the
show contemporary brushes among other artistic square, flat brushes were only introduced when
equipment, making it possible to observe certain impressionism became popular. Meanwhile, the
changes of the brush form [3]. Valuable didactic spatula or pallet knife was introduced by artists as
instructions on how to make brushes where first a new 'painting' tool. The spatula had the function
written by Cennino d’Andrea Cennini in the 15th of mixing paint on a palette or of scraping the
century. In his practical inscriptions he has pre‐ priming over a canvas in order to achieve an even
sented two kinds of brushes: the minever brush surface. It was a revolutionary step when a number
and the hog’s bristle brush. He highlights the of painters used this tool over a brush for the transfer
importance of collaboration with furriers, from of paint to the canvas and, through further mani‐
whom he gets tips on how to prepare certain pulation, continued 'painting' with it. Also, the
materials and how to preserve them from moth. change from brush to spatula may have involved
Namely, minever tail had to be cooked and then the question of temperament, for the method
bound according to the required size in order to resulted in a new visual statement [7].
obtain high quality. For the preparation of the
bristle brush, he recommended the use of hairs In the 1980s, mechanized brush making systems
from domestic white hogs, rather than black [4]. that could produce very acceptable medium‐grade
brushes were finally perfected [8, p.10]. England,
In the painting treatises and manuscripts from the France and Germany have a very long tradition of
16th to 17th century, Italian and English writers, high‐quality brushmaking and they are leading
such as Giovanni Battista Armenini, Theodore today’s industry in Europe. The raw materials,
Turquet de Mayerne, Richard Symonds and Henry components and manufacturing techniques are
Gyles, frequently reveal descriptions of brush‐ very similar, although there are very distinct
making and its handling. Two main categories of differences in styling. Artist’s brushes are also
brushes still remain at that time: bristle ones produced in Italy, Spain and Eastern Europe.
made from hogs hair, and those made from finer American manufacturers employ the same basic
hair such as minever and badger brushes. The methods, materials and machines that are used in
fibres generally fitted into a quill in which a handle Western Europe. Their industry has been signifi‐
of bone or wood has been inserted [5]. The ency‐ cantly influenced by European brushmakers, many
clopedia of Rafael Bluteau (1638‐1734) entitled of whom immigrated to North America in the early
Vocabulario Portuguez e Latino, also contains 20th century [8, p.9].

It is obvious that the brush in its long history has

achieved a large register of different sizes, shapes
Point
and fibres ‐ suiting the artist's objective and Tuft
temperament. Since every work of art steps into Belly
the process of degradation, the brush has also
found its purpose in the restoration practice.
There are registered notes of painters, like Sir
Joshua Reynolds, who where retouching their
own paintings in order to maintain their visual Ferrule
appearance [9]. However the most specific era of
the brush exploitation in the field of restoration
begins in the 19th century, in the time when conser‐ Crimping
vation practice was established with first attempts
of rehabilitation of the cultural heritage in United
Kingdom and Germany. Back then the restorers Handle
behind their brushes where too audacious as a
consequence of contemporary aesthetics [10].
But by the middle of 20th century retouching Figure 1. Anatomy of a brush.
intervention was finally restrained and the border
that divided retouching from recreating was
strictly defined. Thus the brush has suspended its of the brush. Finally, the handle is made of
genuine creative purpose and became limited to hardwood selected for straightness.
minimum intervention, more suggestive than
descriptive in the nature [11]. The examination and evaluation of brushes for
retouching purposes is entirely dependent on the
tuft, or more precisely, on the fibres. Their origin,
Contemporary Brushes – Examination and texture, size and shape will define the brush
Evaluation properties in a certain retouching medium.
Besides the industrial manufacture, relatively According to the origin of the fibres, brushes can
little has changed in the tradition of brushes and be divided into two basic categories, natural and
brushmaking. The anatomy of a contemporary synthetic. Natural fibres are composed primarily
brush is divided in three parts: tuft, ferrule and of proteins that are bonded to form a polypeptide
handle (Figure 1). The tuft is the bundle of fibres chain. These bonds are responsible for the fibre
that holds and releases liquid paint. The visible strength and for its elasticity [12]. If natural
portion of the tuft is the outer length, which fibres are exposed to solvent based mediums for
consists of the belly and the tapering point in a a longer period, the molecular bonds tend to
round brush or the edge in a flat brush. The ferrule weaken and the fibres will show signs of deterio‐
is the metal collar that connects the tuft to the ration, especially if not properly cleaned after
handle and supports the tuft during the painting use. Water, on the other hand, will not endanger
activity. It protects the end of the wood handle the natural fibres structure and, thus, brushes
from moisture and determines the size and shape will last longer if used in water‐based mediums.

Table I. Types of brushes.
Brush Shape Description and Usage Fibre
Round
Round ferrule, round or pointed tip. Useful for both
washes and details, fills, and lines of various All hair
thickness. A pointed round is used for fine detail. A
Miniature
detailer is a pointed round with very short hair like
miniature brushes. Synthetic
Sable
Flat Flat ferrule, square shaped, with medium to long
Mongoose
hairs. Provides high colour capacity. Useful for Bristle
making large, sweeping strokes or even fine lines. Badger
Appropriate for heavier paint. Synthetic
One Stroke Flat ferrule, square‐ended medium to long length Sable

hairs. Short handles. Large colour carrying capacity. Squirrel
Useful for painting rectangular losses in a single Ox
stroke. Synthetic
Bright Sable
Flat ferrule, short‐length hairs, usually set in a long
Mongoose
handle. Width and length of brush head is nearly
Bristle
equal. Useful for painting rounded losses with short,
Badger
controlled strokes, with thick or heavy colour.
Synthetic
Filbert Thick, flat ferrule and oval‐shaped medium to long Sable

hairs. Long and short handles. Natural hair is more Mongoose
suitable for blending because the hairs hold Bristle
together when wet. With its soft rounded edges, the Badger
filbert is suitable for blending and figurative work. Synthetic
Flat ferrule, spread hairs. Natural hair is more

Badger
Fan suitable for soft blending, while synthetic works well
Bristle
for textural effects. Useful for smoothing and
Synthetic
blending, special effects and textures.
Angular Flat ferrule, short‐length hairs, set with longer

Bristle
hairs at one end. Useful for precise strokes, and for
Synthetic
lines and curves, with thick or heavy colour.
Script/Liner Round ferrule, pointed, with very long hair and Sable
short handles. Large colour carrying capacity. Useful Ox
for long continuous strokes. Synthetic
Rigger Also known as an outliner. These appear with a

square‐ended brush or angled, have a flat or square Sable
tip, extra‐long hairs, short handle and large colour Squirrel
carrying capacity. They are useful for long Synthetic
continuous strokes.

Mop A mop is a round wash brush made of soft natural

hair. It is useful for applying paint or water at large,
Squirrel
for wetting the surface, and for absorbing excess
media.
Oval Wash Wash brushes come in varied shapes. The oval wash
has rounded hairs, flat ferrules, and produces a soft Bristle
edge, with no point. This floppy brush is used for Squirrel
pre‐wetting the paper or filling in large areas of Ox
colour. Synthetic
Hake Bristle
A hake brush is an oriental‐style wash brush with a
Squirrel
long flat handle. It is useful for applying paint or
Goat
water in large areas, for wetting the surface and for
Ox
absorbing excess media.
Synthetic
Wash brushes come in varied shapes. The square
Square Wash
wash can produce a variety of shapes and widths. It Bristle
often has a short handle that is flat on the end, useful Squirrel
for scraping, burnishing. A wash brush is useful for Ox
applying paint or water in large areas, for wetting Synthetic
the surface and for absorbing excess media.
Retouch and spotting brush has a short very sharp
Spotting and retouching
point that is great for detail and precision work. The
brushes lower belly and shorter hairs of a retouch brush All hair
produce a strong resilient point appropriate for work Synthetic
that requires maximum control. Sizes use for this
propose are: 0000, 000, 00, 0, 1, 2, and 3.
Synthetic fibres, on the other hand, are made boars raised in Switzerland, China, India, France,
from synthesized polymers. The substances that Russia and the Balkan Mountains of Eastern Europe
are used to make these fibres come from raw [14]. The length of the bristle may vary from 2.5
materials such as petroleum‐based chemicals. to 25 cm and can be black, brown, grey or white.
Although there are several different synthetic The stability of bristle fibres in retouching medi‐
fibres, they all share one similarity: resistance to ums will depend on their origin. For example,
most chemicals [13]. This feature makes them an nylon bristle is resistant to chemical effects of
adequate choice for solvent‐based retouching polar and non‐polar solvents. If the brush is prop‐
mediums. However, for certain retouching techni‐ erly cared, the performance of the bristle does not
ques and methods economical aspect should not change regardless of the solvent exposure period.
interfere in the selection of the brush. Unfortunately, this is not the case with natural
bristle brushes which change their mechanical
According to the texture of the fibre, brushes can properties considerably with repeated exposures
be divided in bristle and soft. The bristle category to polar solvent. Due to the high ability of proteins
includes the original hog but also the synthetic to absorb polar solvents, bristles become too soft
stiff brushes. The fine bristles come from hogs and and chubby making them harder to control.

Shortly, their synthetic substitutes are more that a particular shape provides (Table 1). This
suitable for solvent‐based retouching mediums. aspect is essential for superior performance of the
The soft texture of the fibre implies brushes made selected retouching method. The tuft of the round
of sable, ox, goat, squirrel, pony, camel and syn‐ hair brushes should be closed at the tip without
thetic hair. These fibres can produce very soft any hairs standing out. It should be conical in
strokes and also a very delicate and tonal fusion shape rather than spread out at the end. For
of colours [8, p. 161]. Because of their superior bristle brushes, it is important to examine if the
ability to absorb and hold liquid, soft fibres are bristles are of even thickness, and whether or
adequate for glazing and applying fine details. not the brush has been ruined with too deep
The most delicate soft brushes are made of sable. clinching of the ferrule in the middle. Also, the
Their conical shape and scaled surface provides bristles are frequently glued by the manufacturer
unrivalled points and colour carrying capacity and, thus, these brushes must be moistened to
which makes them suitable for retouching in make sure that the bristles do not stand apart.
watercolours technique. The finest watercolour
brushes are made of 100% pure male Russian
Kolinsky which is very rare in modern times. How to Choose a Good Brush for Retouching –
Consequently, these brushes are extremely Criteria and Recommendations
valuable and very expensive.
Retouching is one of the most visible parts of the
The less expensive versions are mixtures of squirrel conservator’s work because this is a stage when
and pony hair. Medium and low‐price wash brushes all the modifications that have been done on the
contain pure pony hair, mixtures of pony and goat painting become most apparent. In Portugal,
hair, or goat hair, all of which are often called Spain and Italy, distinctive methods such as
camel hair [8]. In addition, soft nylon and poly‐ tratteggio and selezione cromatica are probably
ester fibres are a very common alternative due to the most common retouching methods. One of
technological improvements in their ability to the motives for their use is the possibility of
carry a heavy load of paint. These fibres, however, reconstruction without creation, since creation
still can not compete with the capacity of natural is seen as a completed action. There are other
fibres [14]. distinctive methods such as astrazione cromatica,
pointillism, and there is imitative retouch. This
Another aspect that conservators have to compre‐ method of reintegration is one of the regular
hend is the size of the brush. This is commonly methods used in Croatian and British contempo‐
done by a numeric system. However, each number rary conservation practice. Referring to Brandi’s
does not necessarily correlate to the same size theoretical postulates, the concept of mimetic
brush in different ranges. This is particularly noti‐ retouching aims for total elimination of the percep‐
ceable between English, French and Japanese tion barrier caused by the paint loss while driving
sizes. Therefore, it is important to compare the the spectator’s eye towards the whole of the pain‐
actual brushes rather than relying on the numbers ting rather than the intervention result [16].
of the brushes in the personal collection [15].
It seems that the best brushes to perform high‐
Finally, it is very important to consider the shape quality distinctive and imitative retouching are
of the tuft and to be aware of all the properties often the most expensive ones since only the best

consistently from the brush tip and the tuft belly

should be capable to lay down flowing lines of
colour. Thus, a good brush for distinctive
retouching should have a perfect tip, excellent
capacity to return into shape, an even flow
control [17] and great filament retention.
Among others, there are four brushes currently

on the market that can be used for distinctive
retouching in easel painting and that in the
authors’ opinion comply to these requirements:
Winsor & Newton, Series 7 Miniature Kolinsky
Sable Brush; Raphael, 8608 Kevrin; Raphael,
8400 Martre Kolinsky; and Maimeri Pictor Kolinsky
sable brushes. Among listed, first two will fulfil
all desirable requirements. It should be noted that
Figure 2. The desirable behaviour of the brush tip during selezione
cromatica.
these brushes have short handles, which are suit‐
able to be close to the surface of the painting.
will maintain their performance for a longer period. During the construction of mimetic retouching,
However, in some cases the price and the brand the correct selection of a brush type plays an
are not as important as using a brush that will fulfil essential role in successful simulation of the
all conservators needs. So, the question is what original paint layer, especially when retouching
are the criteria that a good brush has to satisfy? larger areas (Table 2).
A conservator can judge the quality of a brush The sequence of the brushes, in terms of shape
based on four main factors: paint pickup, steadi‐ and size, should correspond in most cases to
ness of paint release, brush marks and filament those supposedly used by the painter himself. For
retention. example, if the artist used wet‐on‐wet system
while applying the paint, the brush used by the
An excellent brush for selezione cromatica must restorer needs to imitate the same surface charac‐
hold the tip during use (Figure 2), allowing the teristics as the painter’s brush. The most conve‐
conservator to create fine lines, and for pointillism, nient fibres for this purpose should show firm‐
fine points. In the course of the paint application, ness and flexibility in manipulation of the paint.
the brush should return into its genuine shape Spring synthetic hair brush like Winsor & Newton’s
because this will allow the conservator to have Monarch has the desirable features in copying
control of the relation between the brush and this system of paint application. It provides a
the surface. If the tip does not return into its stiffer alternative to sable hair but is softer than
original shape, the brush may produce small hog bristle.
angular shapes rather than fine points and thus
the flow control will be difficult to establish. The Although reconstruction of the impasto technique
disposal of the colour should flow evenly and starts immediately in the ground layer, it can be

Table II. Brushes for imitative retouching.
Imitative Retouching
Type of work
Applying paint in large areas
Details Colour Blending Figure work

capacity/heavy Glazing
colour
Round Flat Oval brush
Angular One stroke Round
Hake Filbert
Script/liner Bright Filbert
Square wash
Spotting brush Angular
followed in paint application if, for instance, we The size of the brush should vary according to
are retouching with Fast ‐ Hard 25 Si Paraloid B‐72 the size of the area that needs to be glazed.
gel. Visual exploration of the original brushstroke Accordingly, if the specific area is small the
sometimes makes it possible to anticipate the size restorer will have to use very small brushes, which
and the shape of the painter’s brush within the will probably last very briefly due to the solvent
impasto. If the surface of the drift is rough and effect on the fibres. Hence, the brush will have
humpy, the most effective way to vividly reproduce to be frequently replaced. If, on the other hand,
it would be using the bristle hair brush of conve‐ the retouching area is large, the restorer should
nient size such as Winsor & Newton’s Azanta Black. use a bigger brush to spread the glaze evenly and
This affordable series offers good quality hog obtain homogeneity of the surface. Due to the
hair, with short handle for close up detailed work. high capacity to absorb liquid, these brushes must
be handled very carefully to prevent leaking of the
As previously mentioned, natural fibres are more glaze on the original paint layer. It is advisable
permanent when used in water based mediums, to clean these brushes during the process of
yet for certain tasks of mimetic retouching, the retouching in order to maintain their performance
durability factor should not interfere with our as long as possible.
selection of brushes. Layering of glazes in a solvent‐
based medium should only include natural soft Besides imitating general painting techniques,
fibres, or at least a mixture of natural and synthetic there are also several special features that mimetic
fibres. For instance, when glazing with synthetic retouching involves with the objective to obtain
filaments it is necessary to press the fibres onto maximum similarity between the original and the
the surface in order to deposit sufficient amount reconstructed area. Right selection of brushes in
of glaze. However, this pressure can endanger the these cases is of utmost importance. For example,
glaze layer that was previously deposit. The most simulation of the deteriorated surface can be
suitable tool for this purpose would be an extra achieved using the flexible synthetic short hair
smooth oval wash brush like Da Vinci Series 803 brush for splashing tiny drops of paint. Likewise,
or square shaped Winsor & Newton's Sceptre Gold pattering with almost dry bristle brush or fun
Wash. These brushes show absolute adherence on brush can produce blur effects of the surface
the surface and glide competence. where needed, while spotting brush can be very

Figure 3. Using fun brush to produce blur effects of the surface Figure 4. Using spotting brush to imitate fine texture of the
where needed. original brush stroke.
useful for the precise imitation of craquelure mediums. Thus, in order to maintain the control
patterns, brushstrokes or other fine details over the brush and its performance, it is advisable
(Figures 3 and 4). to use synthetic bristles when retouching with
water‐based mediums.
Conclusions Kolinsky sable brushes, made of 100% pure male

Russian kolinsky, are indeed the best ones if we
The use of the brush in the conservation practice are looking for brushes that retain water without
has transformed its original creative purpose to alteration of the brush tip. Working with the
more objective tasks of retouching. The evaluation right shape and size, these brushes have soft and
of brushes for retouching should take into account firm hairs that leave no trace on the retouched
four objective factors: origin, texture, size and surface, which makes them an adequate tool for
shape of the fibres. These factors will define the distinctive retouching such as selezione chroma‐
properties of the brush such as filament reten‐ tica or tratteggio.
tion, shape maintenance, perfect tip, flow control,
paint pickup and steadiness of paint release. For imitative retouching it is more difficult to
narrow the brush selection because in some cases
The durability of the brush depends on the origin it will depend on the original painter’s technique
of the fibre and the selected retouching techni‐ and his method of paint application. Nonetheless,
que. For instance, natural fibres will show more it is advisable that the application of glazes in a
sensibility in solvent‐based mediums while solvent‐based medium includes only natural
synthetic fibres will endure most chemicals. soft fibres, or at least the mixture of natural and
However, observations of natural bristles in polar synthetic fibres. Less expensive alternatives such
and non‐polar solvents are very specific due to as synthetic filaments will last longer but their
their behaviour. These fibres will considerably capacity to absorb and deposit paint can not
change the tuft shape when used in water‐based compete with natural brushes.

The damages that retouching techniques cause to [5] R.D. Harle, “Artists brushes: historical
the natural and synthetic fibres are inevitable evidence from the sixteenth to the nineteenth
and irreversible and it is advisable to replace century”, Conservation of paintings and the
the brush when noticing a decrease of its perfor‐ graphic arts: Contributions to the 1972 IIC
mance. Adequate care and proper disposal can Congress, Lisbon, 1972, pp. 123‐129
greatly enhance the durability of retouching
brushes. [6] António João Cruz, “Os materiais usados em
pintura em Portugal no início do século XVIII,
segundo Rafael Bluteau”, Artis – Revista do
Acknowledgments Instituto de História da Arte da Faculdade de
Letras de Lisboa 7‐8, 2009, pp. 398
To Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and the
Croatian Conservation Institute. This work has [7] X. Schawinsky, “About the Physical in
been supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Painting”, Leonardo 2(2), 1969, pp. 127‐134,
Tecnologia (FCT) and QREN ‐ POPH, co‐funded by URL (accessed 17 January 2012)
the Portuguese Government and European Union
by MCTES. This research was also partially sup‐ [8] J. Turner, Brushes: A Handbook for Artists and
ported by FCT scholarship SFRH/BD/69783/ 2010. Artisans, Design Books, New York, 1992
[9] B.A. Buckley, “Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Ladies

References Amabel and Mary Jemima Yorke”, The Bulletin of
the Cleveland Museum of Art 73(9), 1986, pp. 350‐
[1] F. L. Griffith, “The System of Writing in 371, URL (accessed 25 January 2012)
Ancient Egypt”, The Journal of the Anthropolo‐
gical Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 30, [10] P. Ackroyd, L. Keith, D. Gordon, “The resto‐
1900, pp. 153‐159, URL (accessed 17 January ration of Lorenzo Monaco’s “Coronation of the
2012) Virgin”: Retouching and Display”, National
Gallery Technical Bulletin 21, 2000, pp. 43‐57,
[2] R. Barnhart, “Calligraphy: The Inner World URL [PDF]
of the Brush”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bulletin, New Series 30(5), 1972, pp. 230‐241, [11] Icomos, Venice charter, URL (accessed 31
URL (accessed 17 January 2012) January 2012)
[3] C. King, “National Gallery 3902 and the Theme [12] C. Branden and J. Tooze, Introduction to
of Luke the Evangelist as Artist and Physician”, Protein Structure, 2nd edition, Routledge, New
Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 48(2), 1985, pp. York, 1999
249‐255, URL (accessed 20 January 2012)
[13] J. E. McIntyre (ed.), Synthetic fibres: Nylon,
[4] Cennino D' Andrea Cennini, The Craftsman's polyester, acrylic, polyolefin, Volume 36, Woodhead
Handbook "Il Libro dell' Arte", Dover Publications, Publishing and The Textile Institute, UK, 2004
New York, 1933, pp. 40‐42

[14] M. D. Gottsegen, The Painter Handbook: Her doctoral research is about the criteria and
Revised and expanded, Watson‐Guptill Publica‐ methodologies which might help to enhance the
tions, New York, 2006 quality of painting retouching. Since 2004 she
practices conservation and restoration in her
[15] Winsor & Newton, Resource Centre, ColArt own studio in Lisbon.
Fine Art & Graphics Ltd, England, 2003–2008,
URL (accessed 13 December 2011)
[16] C. Brandi, “Il fondamento teorico del

restauro”, Bollettino dell’Istituto Centrale del
Restauro 1, Bulzoni, Roma, 1950, pp. 5‐12
[17] Winsor & Newton, Water Colour & Gouache

Brushes, ColArt Fine Art & Graphics, England,
2003–2008, URL (accessed 27 December 2011)
SANDRA ŠUSTIĆ
Contact: ssustic@h‐r‐z.hr
www.replic‐art.com
Sandra Šustić has a diploma in conservation‐

restoration of easel paintings and polychrome
ANA BAILÃO wood. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Art
Conservator‐restorer History at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb,
Contact: [email protected] Croatia. Her doctoral research deals with the
history of conservation‐restoration practice in
Ana Bailão has a diploma in Conservation and Croatia. She works as a conservator‐restorer at
Restoration by the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar the Croatian Conservation Institute on the
(2005) and has a master´s degree in Painting Department of easel paintings and polychrome
Conservation by the Portuguese Catholic Univer‐ wooden objects. Her main interests are conser‐
sity (2010). The master research was about vation and restoration of paintings, history of
methodologies and techniques of retouching. conservation practice, theoretical and practical
Now, she is currently a PhD student in Conserva‐ doctrines of retouching paintings and histori‐
tion of Paintings at the same university, in colla‐ cally accurate reconstructions of old master
boration with the Centro de Investigação em paintings. Her projects are presented through
Ciência e Tecnologia das Artes (CITAR) and the publications, lectures, exhibitions and presenta‐
Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (IPCE). tions in Croatia and abroad.

THE USE AND INFLUENCE OF
VARNISH ON PAINTINGS
By
Marc Maire
USE AND INFLUENCE OF VARNISH
Introduction Historical Milestones
The deliberate presence or absence of a varnish1 According to written sources, varnish has existed
on a painting’s surface must be in line with the since man started painting on detachable sup‐
painter’s artistic intention. It influences the ports, with glue, distemper, tempera (all water
visual perception of the painting. When a painter based) or oil. However, it is difficult to situate the
works on his painting according to traditional beginning of modern varnishing, a practice that
procedures, he manipulates a more or less viscous produces a thin homogeneous coating on the
material composed of pigments dispersed in a painting. The word is said to derive from the
medium that can be fluidized by a diluent to medieval Latin veronice (sandarac), which has
deposit it progressively on a support. He super‐ its roots in the Late Greek Beroniké pronounced
imposes and juxtaposes shades that were at their veroniké, probably after Bereniké (actual Bere‐
brightest as long as they were wet. But as the nice), city of the Cyrenaica region in Libya, where
paint “dries” and hardens (oxidises and polyme‐ this resin came from.
rises) − with the evaporation of its volatile consti‐
tuents and a partial absorption of the binder by In reference to the painters Nicious and Apelle,
the lower layer(s), along with a contraction of Pliny the Elder reported the use of an atramento
the painted matter − this vivacity lessens. The to “bring out the natural beauty in these pieces
coloured particles are no longer evenly and [paintings and sculptures] and to protect them
entirely coated with the binder, and the diluent from dust or prevent the excess brightness of these
has evaporated, so the surface of the painting colours not to injure the eyesight, as if the spectator
is no longer smooth and even. Thus, the hues had looked through a window and this same coating
lighten, opacify and some tend to become matte, had subtly darkened the coloured effects that were
as a large part of the incident light is now reflected too strong” [1].
by the surface in a more diffused way, creating a
“veil” for our vision. Little of the incident light Charles Dalbon mentions a manuscript anterior
penetrates more deeply into the paint layer, the to the 10th century [2]: in Lucide ad Lucidum,
coloured contrast decreases in intensity and thus there is a description of the mixture of several
the representation of space appears to flatten. gums or resins with linseed oil to make a varnish
that insulates a distemper layer both from the
Varnishing paintings remedies these phenomena next layer to be superimposed and also from the
but has also other effects. Some of these are damaging effects of humidity.
explained by observers in historical literature.
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, recipes
finally began to become available in a more
significant manner. In the 12th century, Theophile
1 Varnish: non pigmented product made of a binder, solvents and
the Monk [3] mentioned the first known recipe
eventually diluents and additives enabling the application of a
thin coating (on properly prepared substrates) creating a hard for preparing a varnish: mixing one part of
and adherent film that is generally smooth and translucent and sandarac with two parts of oil and applying this
more or less glossy, and also having protective properties and warm on the painting. During the same period,
technical particularities (Dictionnaire technique des peintures et des
travaux de peinturage, norme française N.F. T 30‐001, Association the Mappae Clavicula [4] specifies the role of
française de normalisation, AFNOR, 1978). varnish (cicinum, castor oil) for distemper

MARC MAIRE
paintings as a protective layer against water The protective role of varnish was most empha‐
damage. sized before the advent of oil paint, as distemper
binders are quite sensitive to water in both gas
In 1437, Cennino Cennini [5] refers to a varnish and liquid states. The Van Eyck brothers were
to be spread the longest time possible after the already using oil to varnish their paintings, with
painting has been made, which may also be the inconvenience of a tiresome hand application
sandarac based. and a very long drying time. The particular condi‐
tioning methods they developed by experimen‐
Turquet de Mayerne [6], in a first attempt of tation and by using additives to obtain a faster
methodical description, compiled in 1620 the drying varnish – and not one which just consists
varnish recipes used at his time. The most often of oil itself – were definitely the true fruits of
used material was mastic resin, alternatively, their work. Their drying varnish was applied to
colophony, Venice turpentine and amber (or oil paint, Jan Van Eyck’s admirable pictorial
Charabé, Karabé, succin) from Venice or Marseille. technique. This breakthrough was triggered by
It should be noted that Mayerne showed concern concurring events − as can easily be imagined.
about the reversibility of varnish in his lecture In fact, the artist’s father was a master glass‐
Discourse on varnishes [6]: “To be good, varnishes maker at a time when stained glass windows were
must be strongly siccative, light and transparent, flooding cathedrals' interiors with iridescent
and the least coloured possible… or if in time they colours, offering translucent images and thus
darken, can be restored with the same simple oils competing with the duller, more opaque distemper
that they are made of”. and tempera works.
A critical summary of all the transcriptions of It is the aesthetic function of varnish that prevails
18th century recipes appeared in 1803 written by in the case of oil painting, as it is less sensitive to
Tingry [7], professor of chemistry and minera‐ humidity. It unifies the picture by levelling out
logical natural history, who also predicted what the micro surface giving it an intangible character.
19th century chemical research would be. In It insinuates a separation place between the
England, the first varnish factories appeared in pigment colour and the eye, which prompts the
1790 and in 1820 in France. viewer’s gaze to leave reality and to penetrate
the world of metaphor, naturalism, exoticism,
It was after the First World War that usable syn‐ poetry, memories, dreams, fantasy, imagination…
thetic resins began to spread. In 1955, vinyl, in short.
ketone and acrylic based resins started to replace
cellulosic products in both industry and art. Only some of the light that hits the varnish is
reflected. The rest of it is refracted. In doing so,
it penetrates through the varnish layer and
Functions and Effects of Varnish reaches the paint surface which may be somewhat
irregular. Upon contact, the refracted light passes
Whatever the period might be, observations on the into this second layer and causes a phenomenon
use of varnish show evidence of a dual necessity: called diffuse reflection. The light rays diffused
to protect the painting and to improve its look. by reflection are directed back towards the varnish
surface, where they reflect and are directed once

again towards the inside of the varnish layer, or painted material, once again and durably, as all
refracted out into the air. This “chain” phenome‐ the volatile substances have evaporated. Light
non goes, completely transforming the initial flux. can then penetrate the coloured strata and re‐es‐
tablish the initial saturation and depth created
A varnish’s first effect is darkening the painting’s under the artist’s brush. Varnishing sessions first
pictorial layer as it lowers the percentage of appeared at the beginning of the 19th century in
transmitted light. In addition, as the percentage France and England, when the Academies reques‐
of reflected light is higher, the colour also looks ted that paintings shown at Salons be varnished.
richer and deeper. In Paris, the day before the opening, participants
were allowed to varnish the paintings they had
Varnishing also brings about an increase in left about six weeks earlier, when they were too
colour contrast resulting from a phenomenon of “wet” to be varnished. They were also allowed to
reflection inside a translucent film. When a light have the job done by a specialist [8]. On the day
ray first makes contact with the paint layer, the before the Salon’s public opening, State officials,
paint absorbs a part of the light spectrum and escorted by “salon goers” and the privileged,
reflects the coloured part back, producing a inaugurated the Triennial Salon where the oldest
sensation of colour. This coloured part is made up works were shown. This day was called the “ver‐
of a wide wavelength, and if it hits the coloured nissage” (French for “opening night”, literally
layer again and again after repeated reflections “varnishing”) [9]. Soon, few painters bothered
at the varnish‐air interface, the wavelength coming by to supervise the varnishing and
selection gets narrower and narrower. This hanging of their works. This nonchalant attitude
produces a colour sensation that intensifies as led to quick and dirty varnishing jobs done by
more light reflects inside the varnish. non specialists [10].
Today, the custom of “vernissage” still represents

Varnishing as a Regular Practice a social ritual of artistic revelation reserved to
selected guests. However, since opening night
It is also important to consider the fact that no longer involves varnishing, it is no longer the
varnishing was an important stage in old painting same aesthetic experience that it used to be when
techniques. It was the moment of public revela‐ onlookers actually watched varnishing happening
tion of a work elaborated many months earlier and saw the painting “spring up through its own
by the artist. With its new coat of varnish, the material”.
painting suddenly appeared as colourful as it had
been while the artist was painting it. It is gene‐
rally accepted that a painting should be varnished Refutation of Varnishing
a year after its completion2. The application of a
liquid varnish has the effect of re‐wetting the The invention of photography and new priorities
of modern painters upset radically the practice of
varnishing. The impressionists no longer simply
painted a naturalist vision as the old masters had
2 Great masters rarely varnish their pictures after they are
finished; they protect their tints by a coating of white of egg done. Their objective was to fix on canvas sensi‐
and do not varnish them until a year after [2]. tive impressions of the moment − to seize their

MARC MAIRE
fleetingness. There was no longer time for super‐ technique and at times the presence of egg white
imposed layers, as the light changed too quickly. varnishes and other varnish materials, which had
The resultant liberation of colour and will to become insoluble.
experience it immediately motivated the painters
to deliberately abandon varnish. They revealed
the paint in its “nudity.” Pictorial techniques then Conclusion
became freer and more spontaneous. Some even
banished mixtures from the palette. Painters The presence or absence of varnish on the
juxtaposed small pure‐coloured brushstrokes to painting’s surface is highly significant. It condi‐
increase colour luminosity and intensity, according tions our perception of the painting considerably.
to the additive synthesis process established by “Pictures” also are often poorly presented at
Chevreul [11]. The matte aspect of the dry oil exhibitions because of standardized conditions:
colour could be purposely sought after for pastel‐ hanging systems, lighting and transparent secu‐
like effects, in order to create lighter and more rity panels. This often diminishes their individual
luminous images. Starting in the 1880’s, and essence, and it can eventually lead the visitor to
maybe also as a sign of protest to academic only wish to recognize the aspect of their shiny
painters [12], many impressionists left their works paper reproductions.
unvarnished3 following the example of precursors
such as Goya – who is to be considered a modern Conservator‐restorers must be able to evaluate
artist far ahead of his time – and Constable [13], the pertinence of varnish with expert critical
well‐known for his large landscapes. analysis, and it is their duty to explain the reasons
for their professional opinion. Whether the varnish
Past and present gallery owners, frame makers, is absent or inadequate, whether it has yellowed
antique dealers and conservators did not and still or opacified, and even if it does not disturb the
too often do not act accordingly. They prefer to image visibility, the conservator‐restorer is sup‐
"pretty‐up" works in a conventional but abusive posed to be the specialist with the most responsi‐
manner to increase their value in their amateur bility concerning any such modifications. He acts
customers’ eyes. Recently, the Van Gogh Museum on behalf the artist by intervening directly on the
in Amsterdam is on the way to remove the var‐ painting’s material reality in order to perpetuate
nishes on the Van Goghs, not without some the artist’s intention.
difficulty due to the pastosity of his painting
References
[1] Pliny, the Elder, Historia Naturalis, Vol. 1.

3 On the reverse side of a Paysage à Chapronval (Louvre
XXXV, p. 97
Museum collection), there is an inscription in Pissaro's hand‐
writing : "Veuillez ne pas vernir" (Please, do not varnish).
Also, in a letter to Octave Maus in January 1887, Seurat [2] L.A. Muratori, Antiquitates Italicae medii
wrote: "It is appropriate that I tell you my horror of varnish.
aevi, vol. II, 1741, p. 386
Often some paint shop proprietor will apply varnish without
being told to, thinking he’s doing the right thing and sending
in his little bill". [3] Theophile Presbyter, Diversarum artium

schedula, I° book, translated and printed by [13] P. Waldeis, “Impressionnistes 6 chefs‐

Count Ch. de L'Escalopier, Paris, 1843 d’oeuvre français du Städel Francfort”, Exhibition
catalogue of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris
[4] "Mappae Clavicula", in Archaeologia, or 16.02–30.05.1999, 1999, p. 103
Miscellanous tracts relating to antiquity, Society
of Antiquaries of London, London, Vol. XLII,
1770–1857
[5] C. Cennini, Il libro dell arte, Bibl. Laurent.

ms. medicean 23, commented and annotated for
the first time by Knight Tambroni, translated by
Victor Mottez, Paris‐Lille, 1858
[6] T. De Mayerne, Pictoria Sculptoria & quae

subalternarum artium 1620, British Museum
Sloane n° 2052, présented by M. Faidutti and
MARC MAIRE
C. Versini, Audin, Lion, n.d.
[7] P. F. Tingry, Traité théorique et pratique de

faire et d'appliquer les vernis, G. J. Manget,
Genève, 1803
Marc Maire is a conservator‐restorer of paintings
and painted objects. He graduated in 1986 from
[8] "Un jour d’accrochage et de vernissage,
the École Supérieure d'Art d'Avignon (Higher
Minutes de l’Académie des Beaux Arts de 1803",
School of Art in Avignon) in France. After
Procès verbaux de l’Académie des beaux Arts, 2 Vol.,
graduation, he participated in international
Marcel Bonnaire, Paris, 1940
projects such as the French Mission for the
Protection of Islamic Cairo, Egypt in 1992 and
[9] J. Adeline, Lexique des termes d’Art, Maison
1993. Afterwards, he started a career in the
Quantin, Paris, 1884, p. 411
private sector establishing in Avignon the
company Amoroso & Waldeis with a partner in
[10] J. G. Goulinat, La Technique des peintres,
1994. Since 1995, he has also been a permanent
Payot, Paris, 1926, p. 54
lecturer in the course of conservation‐restora‐
tion at the same school where he is primarily
[11] M. E. Chevreul, Leçons de chimie appliquée
interested in personal and collective research
à la teinture, Pichon et Didier, Paris, 1830
(theoretical, methodological, interdisciplinary),
as well as coordinating the research projects
[12] M. Swicklik, “French Painting and the Use
conducted by graduate students, while ensuring
of Varnish, 1750–1900”, Conservation Research –
fundamental teachings of the discipline in the
Studies in the history of art 41, Trustees of the
first cycle. Since 2007, he has been Visiting
National Gallery of Washington, 1995, p. 166
lecturer at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
in China.

preventive conservatio
PREVENTIVE CONSERVATION
OF THE BARK CLOTH
COLLECTION OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND
ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM
By
Kate Stanway
PREVENTIVE CONSERVATION OF BARK CLOTH
Bark cloth is a cloth made from the beaten bark of a selection of tree species found in the Pacific and other
areas of the world. The collection of bark cloths held by The University of Queensland Anthropology
Museum is largely Pacific in origin. This collection has been stored by a variety of methods which had
resulted in the formation of creases and folds. The condition and storage methods of these bark cloths
made them difficult to handle. This was highlighted when the entire Anthropology Museum collection was
temporarily relocated during building refurbishment. The humidification and re‐housing of the bark cloth
collection presented some important challenges. It involved redesigning the storage system used by the
Museum, humidification of the bark cloth collection and the introduction of suspended rolled storage. This
project also demonstrated that large bark cloths can be treated in a relatively small space in a short period
of time by selective crease reduction using localised humidity tents.
Introduction and South East Asia. In these areas, the cloth

performs a number of important functions both
The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum utilitarian and ceremonial including as items of
(UQAM), based at St Lucia, holds the largest col‐ clothing, blankets, room dividers or as donations
lection of ethnographic material and visual culture at weddings and funerals [1, pp. 28]. The general
of any Australian university museum. This collec‐ manufacturing process involves the bark of certain
tion includes approximately 19,000 artefacts and trees being removed and the inner fibres separated
5000 photographs and is continually expanding, from the outer fibres. The inner fibres are then
with new acquisitions and donations received regu‐ placed on a beating board and pounded with a
larly. UQAM was established in 1948 with the dona‐ beater or mallet. Starting with heavy beaters and
tion of the personal collection of prominent anthro‐ progressing to lighter ones, the fibres are gradu‐
pologist Dr Lindsay Winterbotham (1887‐1960). ally felted. Residual sap released from the fibres
during the beating process is used as a natural
Today, UQAM holds an extensive collection of 102 adhesive [1, pp. 28‐31; 4, pp. 13‐16; 5]. Regional
Pacific bark cloths which have been displayed in variations in this basic methodology result in the
high profile exhibitions in Queensland. Ranging in distinctive bark cloth of each region. Common
size from 30 x 15 cm to 194 x 384 cm, the cloths sources of bark fibres in the Pacific are Paper
are made from a range of bark types and decorated mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), Breadfruit
with an array of dyes and pigments. The age and (Artocarpus) and Fig (Ficus) [1, pp. 28‐31; 2; 4,
style of cloths varies significantly. All cloths are pp. 9; 5, pp. 1].
stored in the UQAM storeroom on level 1 of the
Michie building at The University of Queensland Bark cloths remain integral to many important
St Lucia campus. events throughout the Pacific. While some of the
materials used in the production of bark cloths
have changed over time, the basic techniques
Bark Cloth: an overview have remained largely unchanged. The commonly
used Tahitian name 'Tapa' refers to painted bark
This type of cloth is manufactured under different cloths. Each cultural group in the Pacific has a
names in the Pacific, parts of Africa, Latin America name for their local variety [7].

KATE STANWAY
Figure 1. Bark cloth 2273 before treatment showing the folding caused by previous storage methods. Reproduced by courtesy of
the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
Rationale of the entire UQAM collection for short‐term

off‐site storage while building refurbishment
The Michie Building, which houses the bark cloth was undertaken. This highlighted the need to
collection, was scheduled to be refurbished in improve ease of handling, reduce storage space,
2011. The usual storage area of the building could and assess individual stability. The second reason
not simultaneously hold the collection and was that previous storage methods were an inef‐
undergo refurbishment. The size and fragility of ficient use of space which had resulted in signi‐
the collection dictated it be relocated from the ficant creasing and distortion of the bark cloths
first floor to a temporary storage space on the (Figures 1 and 2). Accessing individual bark cloths
second floor. This would allow construction access was difficult and often resulted in abrasion of
to reconfigure the first floor, creating new office, surrounding cloths.
storage and gallery spaces.
A collection‐wide process of boxing and stillaging Previous Storage

was implemented in late 2010 in preparation for
the collection move. One activity undertaken as Prior to this project, the large bark cloths held by
part of the collection move was the treatment UQAM were stored either attached to metal or
and re‐housing of the entire bark cloth collection. plastic garment hangers by wooden cloths pegs;
This intervention required a conservation assess‐ or folded and suspended over unbuffered lengths
ment of the bark cloth collection, the first to be of dowel or plastic conduit (Figure 3).
made.
Due to the size and shape of the bark cloths, these
There were two main reasons for undertaking the storage methods were an inefficient use of space
project. The most pressing was the preparation and made accessing and handling difficult. Both

Figure 2. Bark cloth 8452 before treatment with an example of planar distortion. Reproduced by courtesy of the University of
Queensland Anthropology Museum.
methods had resulted in the formation of creases. condition was assessed. This also determined
Stretching had also occurred along folds where the amount of humidification that was required
the objects were insufficiently supported (all for each bark cloth. Those with heavy creasing,
weight being supported by a single area). edge scrunching or other planar distortions
were treated by ultrasonic humidification in a
Conservation humidity tent. This allowed the bark cloths to
return to their near original shape. Creases
Objective acquired through use were left unaltered where
possible. Photographs were taken of the bark
To address storage issues, the bark cloth collection cloth before treatment to record condition and
was removed from the above conditions and re‐ as a reference for crease reduction measurement.
housed using standard conservation methods to After treatment each bark cloth was professio‐
improve long‐term stability. The new storage nally photographed. Stable bark cloths were
system includes two types of storage: rolled then rolled for long term storage, while others
storage for stable bark cloths, which are then were boxed.
suspended on a custom rolled storage frame; and
flat boxed storage for those with limited flexi‐ Limitations
bility and those with friable or cracking surface
pigment. Added benefits of these new systems The size of the 69 bark cloths selected for humi‐
are the increased space efficiency and improved dification and limitations of the physical working
ease of accessing individual bark cloths. space necessitated a compromise. After discussion
with the Director and Collection Administrator,
To determine the final space requirements and it was decided to treat only those areas that
the type of storage required, each bark cloth's would affect the long term stability and rolling

KATE STANWAY
Figure 3. Part of the bark cloth collection folded on dowels prior to treatment. Reproduced by courtesy of the University of
Figure 4. An example of the basic humidity tent used in this

project. Reproduced by courtesy of the University of Queens‐
land Anthropology Museum.
of the bark cloth. This had a number of beneficial

outcomes:
‐ The ability to provide localised treatment –
allowing several discrete creases to be treated
while avoiding creases of historical significance;
‐ This did not require the entire object to be
treated at once which allowed the use of smaller
tables and less space;
‐ Reduced the volume of collection material
exposed to moisture thus reducing the risk of
mould and the risk of pigment disturbance;
‐ Allowed one individual to treat the majority of
the bark cloths unassisted.

Treatment Outline was applied to the treated area and left in posi‐
tion until the bark cloth had dried. Small sheets
The treatment of all bark cloths included the of perspex of varying thickness were used to
following steps: weight creases. Small weights isolated in Mylar
1) Initial condition assessment to identify the were also used while blotter separated the bark
conservation requirements (for example, requi‐ cloth from the weights.
rement for rolled or flat storage);
2) Initial documentation, including a photograph In a standard humidification project the objects are
of the bark cloths and their condition prior to kept in a humidification tent at a stable RH of 65‐
treatment; 70 % for 24‐48 hours. Reasons for not following
3) Localised humidification treatment if required; standard conservation procedures included:
4) Professional studio photograph of the treated ‐ Limited space and time which prevented the
bark cloths (with images used to make new use of a sealed chamber to reach and maintain
storage labels); the desired humidity level. The treatment was
5) Rolling or boxing for permanent storage. undertaken in a work alcove within the collection
store.
Humidification ‐ The vulnerability of the rest of the collection to
mould required sparing use of moisture.
Ultrasonic humidification was used to relax the ‐ Some dyes in the bark cloths exhibited strong
bark fibres, allowing the reduction of creasing. moisture sensitivity.
This was achieved using a localised humidity tent ‐ The desired outcome was not to create flat
and gentle pressure. Each treatment proceeded display pieces. Many of the bark cloths had large
as follows. In‐situ solubility test of all dyes and undulations and or stretching and would not
pigments were undertaken. Then a small Mylar easily have become 'flat' (some creases were
tent was set up over the affected area. The Mylar acquired through use and therefore part of the
was placed over an internal support to the appro‐ bark cloth's history). The aim was to reduce
priate height. Ultrasonic humidification was then heavy creases to allow safe, stable storage.
introduced into the tent to increase the local
humidity level. Ultrasonic humidification was The set up of the humidification tent used in this
provided by a PEL Ultrasonic Humidifier Model project was similar to that outlined by Murray
805‐7005. To prevent condensation from dripping and Johnson [3] for treating what they referred
back onto the bark cloth the horizontal surfaces to as stubborn creases which did not respond to
were placed on an angle to allow run‐off to be standard humidification treatments. In their
collected away from the object (Figure 4). The case, they held the end of a humidifier hose
tent's inner surfaces were wiped with blotter directly over the difficult creases [3, p. 114].
when the bark cloth was manipulated. During the treatment outlined in this paper, the
end of the ultrasonic humidifier hose was posi‐
Once the fibres became flexible, the creases were tioned in the tent close to the crease/fold being
gently unfolded. Heavy creases or those with treated. The hose was held in place for several
multiple folds were treated in stages ‐ each crease minutes until the bark cloth softened and could
relaxed and unfolded before the next was mani‐ be gradually manipulated into shape before
pulated. After unfolding a crease a light weight weights were applied.

KATE STANWAY
Figure 5. Bark cloth 25426 folded over a garment hanger before treatment. Reproduced by courtesy of the University of
This method was only used to remove creases that edges by iron nails. The display rods had been
would hinder rolling for long term storage or attached by a particular collector who had dis‐
that would prevent effective flat storage. Fibre played the objects using the rods. Several items
stretching and separation were not addressed in from this group with stable iron nails were kept
this project. Using this method, 69 bark cloths with the display rods attached as an integral
were treated part‐time over a 3 month period component of the object's history and signifi‐
(Figures 5‐8). An additional 17 were not humidi‐ cance. Full humidification of these bark cloths
fied due to wood display rails, highly soluble could not be undertaken due to the risk of initi‐
pigments/dyes or surface beading consisting of ating active corrosion of the iron nails. Corroded
plant seed and coloured trade cloths. Several nails were removed from the wood rails where
additional bark cloths that returned from loan required. Minor corrosion staining was present
after that period were condition assessed and on the bark cloth.
stored as appropriate. These bark cloths did
not require humidification. A sub‐collection of Storage
smaller framed bark cloths were not humidified
at this time. Rolling flat flexible objects such as bark cloth
and textiles is a well documented preventive
Treatment Considerations conservation method. It is also one of the best
ways of storage since correct rolling prevents
Registration details showed that certain creases the formation of folds and creases. As bark cloth
or folds formed part of the traditional use and or fibres age they lose moisture and flexibility and
storage of particular bark cloths. In these cases, if folded, the fibres support a greater point load
total humidification was inappropriate as it posed than when they are flat or rolled. If left folded,
the risk of removing these important references with time the fibres at the point of the fold
to the objects origins and history [6]. Others had break creating tears and hindering safe
wooden display rods attached to upper and lower handling of the object.

Figure 6. Studio photograph of bark cloth 25426 after

treatment. Reproduced by courtesy of the University of
Figure 7. Bark cloth 40274 folded over a garment hanger

before treatment. Reproduced by courtesy of the University of
Figure 8. Studio photograph of bark cloth 40274 after

treatment. Reproduced by courtesy of the University of

KATE STANWAY
To roll the bark cloths, the cloth was first placed

face down on a clean flat surface. A layer of Tyvek
was then placed over the bark cloth. The Tyvek
dimensions were 20 cm wider than the object and
at least 50 cm longer than the object in order to
allow the roller to be wrapped in a layer of Tyvek
before the bark cloth was rolled. This also allowed
for a layer of Tyvek to encase the rolled bark cloth
acting as a dust cover. The additional length also
allowed the Tyvek to conform to any distortions in
the roll caused by planar distortions in the bark
cloth. Then, cotton tape straps were tied around
the roll to secure the bark cloth in place. A label
with registration number and photograph were
attached to each roll to allow the bark cloth to be
identified without the need to unroll. Each roll
was then suspended in a purpose built rolled
storage rack with a supporting dowel inserted
through the centre of the roller (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Rolled bark cloths installed in the new custom storage.

Reproduced by courtesy of the University of Queensland
Bark cloths with limited flexibility and those with
Anthropology Museum. friable or cracking surface pigment were placed in
flat storage. These items were boxed in archival
storage boxes. A combination of polyethylene
During this project, 15 inch hollow polyethylene textile boxes and custom blue board boxes where
foam tubes were used to support the bark cloth used to store the flat bark cloths depending on
and to provide a core for the roll. A Tyvek inter‐ their size. Boxes were lined with acid free tissue.
leaving layer was used in the roll and for protec‐
tion as a dust cover on the outside of the roll. Conclusion
The completed roll was secured with cotton tape
ties. These rolls are now suspended in custom The preventive conservation project discussed in
shelving units. The benefits of this method over this paper has improved the accessibility of indi‐
the original storage system lie in its tendency to: vidual bark cloths and their condition. Now that
reduce stress on the fibres by providing greater a full condition survey of all bark cloths has been
weight distribution; protect the object from dust; undertaken, any future deterioration can be
to provide limited protection from water ingress; easily identified. This provides opportunities to
reduce potential for stretching and creases; to identify environmental sources of deterioration
remove the need to fold larger objects, improving and arrest further deterioration. Future loans
long term stability; to increase the space efficiency have been streamlined as the entire bark cloth
of storage for large objects, as opposed to flat collection is now in displayable and transportable
storage; and to increase ease of handling and condition. The Museum expects to display these
transportation over flat or folded storage. bark cloths in its new gallery in the future.

Acknowledgements [7] J. G. Winter (ed.), Talking Tapa: Pasifica Bark

Cloth in Queensland, Curated by Joan G. Winter,
Special thanks to Dr Diana Young (UQAM Director) Exhibition Catalogue, Keeaira Press, 2009
for facilitating the project and Jane Willcock
(UQAM Museum Collection Administrator) for
logistical support and materials organisation.
Thanks also to the volunteers for providing extra
hands when required during the rolling stage
and to Erin Chapman for completing the last few
bark cloths when the author was unavailable. All
images reproduced by courtesy of the University
of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
References
[1] G. Barton and S. Weik, "The Conservation of KATE STANWAY

Tapa", The Conservator 18, 1994, pp. 28‐40 Conservator
E‐mail: [email protected]
[2] S. Kooijman, Tapa in Polynesia, Bishop
Museum Press, Honolulu, 1972
Kate Stanway is an object conservator and the
[3] C. Murray and E. Johnson, 'The conservation principal of Kate Stanway Conservation Pty Ltd.
and storage of barkcloths at the Manchester Kate has been engaged extensively by the
Museum', in M.M. Wright (ed.), Barkcloth: Aspects University of Queensland Anthropology Museum.
of Preparation, Use, Deterioration, Conservation Kate holds an Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology
and Display, Archetype Publications, London, from the University of Queensland and a Master of
2001, pp. 112‐117 Arts in Cultural Materials Conservation from the
University of Melbourne. Kate was formerly
[4] R. Neich and M. Pendergrast, Pacific Tapa, engaged as an objects conservator at the Centre
David Bateman Ltd, Auckland, 1997 for Cultural Materials Conservation at the
University of Melbourne.
[5] K. Nix and W. Sedlmaier, What is Tapa? A book
prepared for the Exhibition "What is Tapa?" held
at the ACT Craft Centre, June 16‐25, 1981, Crafts
Council of the ACT Inc., 1981
[6] R. E. Norton, "Reshaping", in M.E. Florian,

D.P. Kronkright and R.E. Norton, The Conservation
of Artifacts Made from Plant Materials, Getty
Conservation Institute, 1990 (4th printing 2002),
pp. 229‐233

A Key Method
to Ensure Cultural Heritage
Authenticity and Integrity in the
Preservation Process
By
Heidi Wirilander
This article studies the role of preventive conservation in cultural heritage preservation. It shows through
cultural heritage theory and conservation professions development process how important part preventive
conservation has had and still has in cultural heritage preservation and damage prevention. Preventive
conservation is a multidisciplinary orientation that uses indirect measures and actions to avoid or to
minimize future deterioration or loss of cultural heritage. Conservation professionals should recognize its
importance as the most effective method in promoting the long‐term preservation of cultural heritage.
Therefore, preventive conservation should be the basic theoretical perspective in all cultural heritage
preservation. It can and ought to be used in the entire field of cultural heritage and maintenance work
because it considers all the circumstances that may cause deterioration of cultural heritage. Additionally,
it is the key method of ensuring that cultural heritage is preserved as authentically as possible through
cultural heritage management and care.
Introduction The concept of cultural heritage is always a result

of definition and evaluation based processes [6].
Cultural heritage represents society’s collective International cultural heritage conventions and
memory and its self‐image [1]. Society’s heritage legislation (Table I) play a significant role in
also possesses a universal perspective. This is a establishing the frameworks through which social
matter that concerns all mankind because all the cultural elements and features are evaluated at
nations’ cultural heritage can be seen as part of national level. This criterion is used by organized
the world's cultural heritage [2]. Preservation of societies cultural heritage professionals and
cultural heritage has been seen as a moral respon‐ institutions in determining the valued elements
sibility in societies because it maintains and in the nation culture and past [7]. International
strengthens a nation’s identity and understand‐ conventions and legislation have a significant
ing of its past. In general, preservation and con‐ part in the cultural heritage process [8]. Table I
servation of cultural heritage aims to safeguard presents international conventions that have
the existence of cultural heritage of all mankind influenced the norms through which the concept
[3]. The preserved cultural heritage from different of cultural heritage is evaluated.
centuries indicates that societies have valued
aspects of both their past and contemporary There are two main criteria in the evaluation
cultures: all the cultural phenomena are first con‐ process, authenticity and integrity of cultural
temporary culture and if they are valued and preser‐ heritage, which arise from UNESCO’s World Heri‐
ved they may become past culture representatives. tage Convention (WHC) that started the List of
World Heritage Sites [1]. Integrity comes from the
Societies have also actively ensured the transmis‐ operational guidelines of WHC from 1977. Inte‐
sion of its valued cultural features to the future grity is used in measuring the wholeness and in‐
generations: institutions such as museums, libra‐ tactness of natural or cultural heritage sites [9]
ries and archives were established to preserve and it has been defined as the object’s continuing
their heritage [4]. Cultural heritage is used in significance over time [10]. The concept of authen‐
societies to construct and reconstruct identities ticity is a creation of cultural identity that con‐
and multiple cultural and social values [5]. sists of comprehensive cultures and communities

HEIDI WIRILANDER
Table I. Cultural heritage conventions that have influenced the norms trough which cultural heritage is evaluated.
Convention Institution Year

European Cultural Convention European Council 1954
Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property UNESCO 1954
in the Event of Armed Conflict
Charter of Venice ICOMOS 1964
World Heritage Convention UNESCO 1972

Nara Document on Authenticity UNESCO 1994
in Relation to the World Heritage Convention
Second Protocol for the Hague Convention for the UNESCO 1999
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict
Convention on the Protection and Promotion UNESCO 2005
of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Framework Convention on the Value European Council 2005
of Cultural Heritage for Society
in societies [1]. Authenticity is often defined as to the interchange of values or ideas and that the
being genuinely and exactly what is claimed to be interchange of values has originally taken place
[11]. The World Heritage Convention gives para‐ in the cultural heritage site in question [12].
meters through which the authenticity of cultural According to the Nara Document, authenticity is
heritage can be evaluated using the "test of defined as an essential element in defining,
authenticity”. This test is used in WHC to justify assessing and monitoring cultural heritage. The
nominations to the World Heritage List. There was document asserts that an object’s authenticity ori‐
a need to study the meaning and applicability of ginates from a specific cultural context that should
authenticity dimensions in WHC context and, be evaluated to confirm its existence [13].
therefore, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee’s
eighteenth session published The Nara Document The Nara Document on Authenticity also declares
on Authenticity in Relation to the World Heritage that the diversity of cultures and heritage are
Convention in 1994, which was drafted at the irreplaceable sources of intellectual richness of
conference with the same name in Japan in humankind and, therefore, should be protected.
November 1993. The purpose of the Nara docu‐ The document states that diversity in cultural
ment was to clarify the dimensions of authenti‐ heritage exists in modern societies and its
city in different cultures in WHC relation [12]. survival demands respect for other cultures and
all aspects of their belief systems. Authenticity
The test of authenticity creates a picture of is linked to a large variety of information sources
genuine cultural heritage in the World Heritage on cultural heritage. Relevant information on
Convention. In this test, the first criterion is that authenticity enables evaluation of the form,
the work of human creativity is genuine and it design, materials, use, function, traditions,
stands on its own merits. The second criterion is techniques, location, setting, spirit, feeling, as
that the authentic work refers to testimony or is well as internal and external factors of cultural
a representative sample of true cultural tradition. heritage. These factors define the originality
The third criterion is that the authenticity refers level of cultural heritage [13].

Even though international conventions and legal and archaeological sites. Cultural heritage could
instruments create the frame through which cultu‐ exist in countryside landscapes and in urban and
ral heritage is defined and evaluated globally, the industrial sites [8]. New museology tendencies
applications that select the cultural elements of have defined cultural heritage as a representa‐
societies for the cultural heritage process are tion of contemporary society values. It produces
managed at national level. The cultural heritage information that creates a vision of cultural ele‐
process at the national level represents the na‐ ments chosen to be part of cultural heritage and
tion’s vision of its significant history and cultural others that have been left out [14]. According
elements. This process of definition results in that to Tomislav Šola, cultural heritage is always an
cultural heritage has a significant role in the expression of society tradition and values. Šola’s
construction of national identities and commonly general theory on heritology affords the under‐
appreciated cultural customs [7]. standing on the background and meaning of cul‐
tural heritage and the objectives of heritage
Cultural heritage has sometimes been seen as a professionals. This results in that the concept of
way society has to preserve its cultural values. cultural heritage is influenced by memory insti‐
The ability of an individual people to understand tutions, their visions and missions, as well as
these values depends on the amount and the their position in society [15].
quality of information that is produced in the
cultural heritage process [13]. Additionally, the UNESCO released the Universal Declaration on
concept of authenticity has sometimes become an Cultural Diversity in 2001. This document recog‐
indicator of shifting tastes that change through nized the multiform nature of culture in time and
generations and times [1]. The credibility and space. According to it, versatile nature of culture
truthfulness of the values connected to cultural can be reached through unique and plural groups
heritage can be revealed by evaluating society’s identities, which make up human societies. Cultu‐
history [13]. ral diversity was declared to be as important to
humankind as biodiversity because it is a source
The concept of authenticity can also give rise to of cultural exchange, innovation and creativity
phenomena that influence negatively the process [8]. Therefore, cultural heritage process should
of cultural heritage. Cultural identities are some‐ be as open and democratic as possible, engaging
times presented through aggressive nationalism, different groups and entire societies in the cul‐
which strives to eliminate minority cultures in tural heritage definition process.
societies [13]. When true authenticity is at risk,
the credibility of cultural heritage is lost [11].
Therefore, the meaning of authenticity in the The Tradition of Preservation
preservation of cultural heritage is to illuminate
the collective and diverse nature of the memory Conservation means to keep and to preserve [16].
and history of society [13]. Conservation of cultural heritage has, in all its forms
and history, pursued the preservation of values
The concept of cultural heritage began to broaden that are attached to the features of heritage [13].
after the World Heritage Convention (1972). The aim of preventive conservation at minimizing
Cultural heritage began to include both human deterioration and loss of cultural heritage has a
and natural environment as well as architectural long history and tradition in societies. This is

HEIDI WIRILANDER
evident in the long standing practice of cultural libraries in Europe published in 1727. In his guide,
heritage protection such as buildings, sculptures, Neickel provides instructions on how to avoid
aesthetic objects and work of art from fire, floods, moisture problems, how insect pests should con‐
rainwater, earthquakes, insects, mould and high stantly be monitored for, and how damages to the
humidity [17]. The tradition of preservation is exhibits can be avoided through careful planning.
much older than the modern conservation history. Additionally, Neickel listed 25 rules1 for collec‐
tion care that resemble modern methods [17].
The De Architectura (On Architecture, published as
Ten Books on Architecture) by Marcus Vitruvius Protection of cultural heritage has often meant
Pollio, written around 15 BC, recorded the exper‐ planned activities that included regular monito‐
tise about roman materials, techniques and con‐ ring and maintenance of objects. In 16th century
struction processes. The work of Vitruvius was England, care of cultural heritage was introduced
followed in the 15th century Italian Renaissance through the idea of “housekeeping”. Housekeep‐
by Leon Battista Alberti in his De Re Aedificatoria ing guidelines were given to maintenance and
(1452, On the Art of Building) [18]. Simon Lambert management personnel and included practical
introduces the idea that there are written docu‐ advice and recommendations about dust, humid‐
ments from around the seventeenth century that ity, heat, light, insect control and even damage
discuss the idea of protecting cultural heritage that could be caused by abrasion [17].
from damage and further destruction [17]. One
of these instances was the conservation projects
of the frescoes by Raphael in Rome in 1659 and Modern Conservation
1702, which were documented thoroughly. Pre‐
vention methods were used in these intervention According to Jukka Jokilehto, the theoretical
projects to avoid damages to the frescos during foundations for modern conservation gave John
the conservation works [17]. According to Lambert, Ruskin and the anti‐restoration movement in mid
conservation professionals in the late 18th and and late 19th century. The anti‐restoration
early 19th centuries also understood the possibi‐ movement criticized restoration architects for
lity that certain treatments themselves could destroying the authenticity of historic buildings
cause harm to cultural heritage. As an example and fought for the protection, conservation and
of this, Lambert [17] brings up Pietro Edwards’ maintenance of the authentic values in buildings.
writings from 1777 [19] and 1798 [20]. Pietro Although Ruskin did not write a theory for con‐
Edwards was the director of Restoration of The servation practise, he identified the values and
Public Pictures of Venice and Rialto and managed significance of historic authenticity in buildings
the painting restorers and inspectors. Edwards was and objects. Ruskin’s guiding principles in iden‐
against highly invasive interventions and ensured tification were: sacrifice, truth, power, beauty,
that the preventive care methods were applied to life, memory and obedience [21].
entire collections during restoration works [17].
Simon Lambert states that one of the earliest

1 Neickel’s guide included for example guidance in object
written documents on preventive conservation
handling and theft prevention.
applications were introduced in Casper F. Neickel’s 2 The International Museum Office was a body of the Leagues
Museographia, a guide to museums, galleries and of Nations that existed before UN [4, p. 2].

Progress in scientific research in the beginning document and it was published as The Code of
of the 20th century also provided new means that Ethics and Practice in 1979 [24].
could be applied to cultural heritage preservation
[17]. It may be considered that modern conser‐ Standards in conservation are based on past expe‐
vation started in 1930, when the International riences and current knowledge. The objective
Museum Office2 organized the first International was to improve the preservation of cultural heri‐
Conference for the Study of Scientific Methods tage and maintain its usability [24]. According
for the Examination and Conservation of Works to Rebeca Alcántara, the use of standards was
of Art. Once the United Nations (UN) and the introduced in the field of conservation trough
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul‐ recommendations for preservation of collections
tural Organization (UNESCO) were established, in the late 1940’s. These standards gave recom‐
the International Museum Office was integrated mendations for suitable levels of relative humidity,
with the International Counsel of Museums (ICOM) temperature and light. During the 1960’s, these
in 1946. The International Council on Monuments early recommendations began to use by the word
and Sites (ICOMOS) was founded by UNESCO in stand in relation to preventive conservation
1965 [22]. The first international measure for measures. The earliest standards concerning
conservation practice was given in 1931 in the preventive conservation were Robert Fuller’s
Athens Charter. This charter later inspired the Standards of Exposure to Light (1963) and Nathan
second measure setting document, the Venice Stolow’s Standards for the Care of Works of Art in
charter in 1961 [23]. Transit (1981) [24].
The conservation profession began to develop in In the 1970’s, the theoretical concepts of conser‐
Europe and in the United States during the 1950’s vation started to evolve into appreciation of
and 1960’s [24]. The incentive behind this deve‐ minimal intervention in the care of cultural heri‐
lopment was the rising concern over lack of con‐ tage objects, which influenced the fast develop‐
trol over treatments carried out by poorly trained ment of preventive conservation theory. This
conservation technicians and artisans [24]. The development and the re‐evaluation of the rever‐
history of organized conservation training begun sibility question resulted in minimalist tendencies
in 1956 when UNESCO established the Rome Centre becoming dominant in conservation [25]. This
which started working three years after the initial progress made preventive conservation methods
proposal in 1959. The Rome Centre has been more precise and extensive [26].
known as ICCROM since 1977 [25]. Since the early
1980’s many countries have established their
conservation training at higher education insti‐ Theory of Preventive Conservation
tutions, mostly at universities [22]. and Risk Management
The International Institute for Conservation of The intention of conservation is to safeguard the
Historic and Artistic Works’ (IIC) American Group authenticity and the integrity of cultural heritage
presented its first set of guidelines and standards [27]. It uses all measures and actions to ensure the
in the field of conservation in 1963 in a document accessibility of cultural heritage in the present and
known as the Murray Pease Report. A code of future times. Conservation prevents or retards the
professional ethics was later added to this deterioration of cultural heritage by controlling

HEIDI WIRILANDER
the environment and item’s structure to maintain light and handling conditions to non‐destructive
the items as unchanged as possible [28]. Accord‐ levels, it seeks answers to questions of how and
ing to the latest definitions, conservation includes why cultural heritage is preserved [17]. Preven‐
preventive conservation, remedial conservation tive conservation activities also include learning
and restoration. All measures and actions in from prior traditions and experiences in collec‐
conservation respect the significance and the tion care [18].
physical properties of cultural heritage item [29].
Scientific research on the factors that cause de‐
Preventive conservation actions are taken in the terioration in cultural heritage have made possi‐
context or surroundings of cultural heritage ob‐ ble to apply more specific methods of preventive
ject or group of objects. The measures and actions care in collection management [31]. Planning
are indirect and should not interfere with the based preventive conservation applications are
objects structure and materials. Preventive con‐ also a cost‐effective way to reduce deterioration
servation methods do not modify the appearance and to maintain integrity and authenticity of
of object. Remedial conservation actions are all cultural heritage [32]. The theory of preventive
those directly carried out on an item or group of conservation is strongly influenced by the
items. According to ICOM‐CC, remedial actions concept of non‐interventive approaches [25].
should be carried out when the objects are so This theory also provides tools for the develop‐
fragile and deteriorated so severely that they ment of damage prevention in catastrophic situ‐
could be lost in a relatively short time period if ations and daily maintenance of cultural
left without treatment [29]. Remedial conser‐ heritage sites.
vation actions may also sometimes modify the
appearance of the objects. Restoration actions Barclay Jones defined two deterioration mecha‐
are applied to a single item when it has lost part nisms that threaten cultural heritage: the
of its significance or function because of past factors that slowly deteriorate cultural heritage
change or deterioration, although it should be materially, and the incidents that rapidly and
always based on respect for the original materials. catastrophically destroy cultural heritage in a
Restoration actions often modify object’s appear‐ very short time period [33]. Slow deterioration
ance [29]. of objects over a long time period is generally
caused, for example, by environmental, storage
The actions and measures of conservation have material or place of storage issues. Rapid and
been organized according to four criteria. First catastrophic damage in cultural heritage are
of all they target future, current and past deteri‐ caused by, for example, water damages such as
oration. Secondly, they influence the materials floods, fires, sabotage, natural disasters, terror
and structures of the cultural heritage items both attacks or acts of war [34].
directly and indirectly. Thirdly, they can be applied
to only one object or groups of objects. The fourth There are two important aspects to preventive
criterion evaluates conservation actions by conservation, the technical and the organisational
evaluating whether these actions can be seen or aspects. The technical aspect deals with monito‐
not on the cultural heritage item [30]. Prevent‐ ring and controlling the collections. The organi‐
ive conservation is more than a technical set of sational aspect involves people who are working
methods of monitoring and adjusting climate, with cultural heritage or who are in contact with

it [35]. At the institutional level the preventive Ashley‐Smith’s Risk Assessment for Object Conser‐
care begins with the collection policies and the vation that was published in 1999 is a fundmental
means of collection management [31]. To work publication in the field of risk assessment.
effectively, preventive conservation methods According to Robert Waller, risk analysis, material
require multidisciplinarily approach and aware‐ research on cultural heritage items and more
ness in everyday actions. The organizational precise definition of deteriorative parameters
level in preventive conservation should be viewed effects on cultural heritage have enabled the use
more broadly especially in the cases of cultural of risk management applications in preventive
heritage sites and landscapes. In these cases, the conservation methods [37]. This has made the
preventive conservation process should involve evaluation of potential damages and threats to
all people and entire communities that live nearby collections very effective. Evaluation does not
the cultural heritage site [32]. concentrate on existing damage when setting
overall priorities for the preservation [36]. Risk
Simon Knell has presented the idea that there are assessment is always based on surveys evaluating
four scientific research levels when preventive the collection condition. Otherwise, the chosen
conservation methods are developed to protect treatments to manage the collection are not tar‐
cultural heritage [36]: at the first stage, para‐ geted specifically to what is affecting it at the
meters of the factors threatening the cultural moment and what might affect it in the future [38].
heritage are listed and evaluated; at the second
level the significance of the listed safety threats Minimal intervention can be examined individu‐
are evaluated; the third step in the development ally for each item in the collection as well as for
process is to find methods to estimate the effects one entire collection inside a large and diverse
of these threats on cultural heritage; and the collections complex. This conservation approach
fourth level in the development process is to apply can sometimes be considered problematic if an
methods to remove the collection safety threats. item is important from both cultural history and
aesthetic standpoint. Minimal intervention
The main risk factors for collections are found in treatments can sometimes focus on short‐term
indoor storage environments. These factors are results on individual object’s deterioration.
climate, gases, pollution and microbiological Long‐term effects on the object’s aesthetic appe‐
factors. Significant risks in indoor climate relate arance might fail in this preservation process.
to inappropriate humidity, temperature and light, Minimal intervention approach has also been seen
and it is affected by wall thickness, air leakage, as problematic from the collection’s accessibility
ventilation system, heating, solar radiation and perspective. For example, this has sometimes meant
the number of visitors. The amount of outdoor that objects are considered unfit to be loaned or
pollens in indoor environment depends on the displayed because of their poor condition [25].
building’s ventilation system. Microbiological
attacks in indoor environment are related to the According to Joel Taylor, integration of the col‐
temperature and relative humidity of the air [35]. lection condition study and risk assessment has
made possible to establish a probable cause of
Risk assessment and risk‐based models have damage in addition to the type of damage. Robert
been increasingly applied to preventive conser‐ Waller introduced the idea that the format of risk
vation field since the 1990’s [37]. Jonathan assessment can be based on the following

HEIDI WIRILANDER
mathematical formula of risk: P × FS × E × LV, is prudent to say that the ethics of conservation
where P stands for probability of damage, FS is support the idea of minimal intervention tend‐
the fraction of the collection susceptible to encies. All the ethical principles of conservation
damage, E stands for the extent of damage, and support the idea that treatments should to be
LV the expected loss of value in the collection performed using a minimalist approach. Conser‐
[38]. This risk assessment makes possible to iden‐ vation treatments, both interventive and non‐
tify the methods of control. Robert Waller presents interventive, should therefore be based on the
three general methods of control in collections needs of the items to secure their values and
risk management: to eliminate the source of risk; functions. In order to keep the integrity of cul‐
to place a barrier between the source of the risk tural heritage objects intact, these items should
and the collection; and to act on the agent respon‐ be preserved through preventive conservation
sible for the risk [26]. methods so carefully that the remedial conser‐
vation actions could be avoided or minimized.
Risk assessment and risk‐based applications in
preventive conservation have enabled mathema‐ Preventive conservation is likely the only theo‐
tical modelling3 of environmental conditions in retical approach in conservation that enables
historic buildings from the early 2000’s. The preservative actions to reach entire cultural
computer model is not only used to simulate the heritage sites or collections at the same time.
historic building’s environmental conditions, but Because preventive conservation actions are
also to predict the effects a single change might indirect and they do not interfere with the
have on the preservation process of the collec‐ structure and materials of objects, it best pre‐
tion [39]. serves the objects’ authenticity and integrity.
All the conservation treatments that are directly

Conclusions carried out on an item have influence in its ma‐
terials, raising the question of reversibility. The
The extent of cultural heritage and collections in conservation treatments may later on lead to
memory institutions that ought to be preserved more complex problems from the preservation
is growing rapidly. It is not possible to secure cul‐ and re‐treatment point of view. Preventive con‐
tural heritage through individual item’s remedial servation is the only conservation approach
conservation now or in the coming years. Although which does not raise concerns about the treat‐
all three aspects of conservation have their place, ments reversibility of an object. The reason for
it is the preventive conservation applications this is that preventive conservation operates on
that will secure the future of cultural heritage. the object own material degradation process.
Through all the theories on cultural heritage Today, the concept of continuous preventive
evaluation and preservation ethics presented, it conservation and risk management has a
leading role in many organisations’ conservation
strategies for cultural heritage. Minimal inter‐
vention has proven to protect the historical
3 Changing parameters in this modelling are such as indoor en‐ integrity and authenticity of objects and provided
vironment, air quality, pollution, decay and human interaction. the possibility of re‐treatability. Planning based

preventive conservation and risk management Acknowledgements

has proven to be a cost‐effective way to maintain
the value of cultural heritage. Cultural heritage I would like to thank the Jenny and Antti Wihuri
items will preserve their integrity and authenti‐ Foundation, Alfred Kordelin Foundation and the
city the best way possible by avoiding or minimi‐ Department of Art and Culture Studies of the
zing deterioration. A deteriorated item that has University of Jyväskylä for financial support and
been conserved using remedial conservation funding of my PhD research. Valuable comments
treatments does not reverse its deterioration on my article have been given to me by my PhD
even if the item’s condition is stabilized. supervisors professor of arts education Pauline
von Bonsdorff and professor of museology Janne
Preventive conservation approach should be ex‐ Vilkuna both from University of Jyväskylä. My
panded to a wider range of activities that might sister Heli Wirilander‐Crotty has been a great
have an impact on the preservation of cultural help in proofreading my English translation.
heritage in the future. Preventive conservation
theory provides large scale of areas in which
preventive conservation based models could be
developed and applied to improve the preserva‐
tion of individual items and enlarging collections.
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[27] International Charter for The Conservation many, July 30 ‐ August 1, 2003, K. G. Saur,
and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (The Munchen, 2005, p. 17
Venice Charter 1964), ICOMOS, p. 2, URL [PDF]
(accessed 17.04.2012) [35] E. Dahlin, "Preventive conservation strate‐
gies of organic objects in museums, historic
[28] ICOM‐CC Definition of profession, URL buildings and archives", Conference paper, 5th
(accessed 10.04.2012) European Commission Conference, 16‐18 May 2002
Cracow Poland, Institute of Catalysis and Surface
[29] Terminology to characterize the conservation Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 2002, p.
of tangible cultural heritage, Resolution adopted 57‐58, URL [PDF] (accessed 10.04.2012)
by the ICOM‐CC membership at the 15th Triennial
Conference New Delhi, 22‐26 September 2008, [36] S. Knell (ed.), Care of collections, Leicaster
pp. 1‐2, 2008, URL (accessed 17.04.2012) Readers in museum studies, TJ International,
1997, p. 84
[30] Commentary on the ICOM‐CC Resolution on
Terminology for Conservation, Rome, 7‐8 March [37] R. Waller, "A Risk Model for Collection pre‐
2008, pp. 1‐2, URL (accessed 17.04.2012) servation", Preeprints of the 13th Triennial Meet‐
ing Rio De Janeiro, Vol. I, ICOM Committee for
[31] C. L. Rose, C. A. Hawks, "A preventive conser‐ Conser‐vation, Page: 21, 2002
vation approach to the storage of collections",
in C. L. Rose, C. A. Hawks, H. H. Genoways (ed.), [38] J. Taylor, "An Integrated approach to risk
Storage of Natural History Collections: A Preventive assessments and condition surveys", Journal of

HEIDI WIRILANDER
the American Institution for Conservation 44(2), CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

2005, URL (accessed 10.04.2012)
e‐conservation magazine is open to submission
[39] D. Watts, B. Colston, A. Bülow, Predicting of articles on a wide range of relevant topics
damp‐related problems in historic buildings and for the cultural heritage sector.
monuments used for library and archive purpose,
Cobra 2001, Conference papers, p. 8, 2001, URL Next deadlines for article submission are:
[PDF] (accessed 10.04.2012)
for Issue 24, September 2012 – submissions
due 15h May 2012
for Issue 25, March 2013 – submissions due

15th November 2012
Nevertheless, you can always submit your

manuscript when it is ready. Upon revision,
it will be published as soon as possible
depending on:
‐ the number of the manuscripts on hold,
submitted earlier by other authors
HEIDI WIRILANDER ‐ the release date of the upcoming issue
Conservator‐restorer ‐ the pre‐allocated space in the magazine
Contact: [email protected] to each section
Heidi Wirilander is a textile conservator. She holds Please check our publication guidelines
a BA (2004) and a MA (2008) in Conservation at for more information.
EVTEK, Finland and a MA (2010) in Museology at
the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. In addition,
she possesses qualifications to supervise and
plan maintenance and basic cleaning measures in
outdoor museums and historic buildings. Heidi
works as an entrepreneur in the area of conserva‐
tion in Helsinki Finland and works on her Ph.D.
studies in museology at University of Jyväskylä.
Heidi’s Ph.D. thesis discusses preventive conser‐
vation of cultural heritage collections and collec‐
tion management issues in catastrophic situations,
covering 19 incidents that have occurred in
Finland between 1990 and 2010. She is a member
of ICOM (Finland), ICOM‐CC (textiles working
group and preventive conservation working group)
and IIC the Nordic Group Finland (NKF Finland).

THE CONCEPT OF
CULTURAL HERITAGE
PRESERVATION
By Ali Miri
ALI MIRI
Cultural heritage includes any artifacts, natural destruction out of which no remnants can be
sites or intangible culture that contains signifi‐ gathered: a destruction accompanied with false
cance and value. Regardless of its physical dimen‐ description of the thing destroyed. Do not let us
sions, the excellence of cultural heritage depends deceive ourselves in this important matter; it is
entirely on its meaning and importance. It carries impossible, as impossible as to raise the dead, to
an intrinsic message from its time to the future restore anything that has ever been great or
generations. Historic structures, buildings, sites beautiful in architecture […]. Another spirit may
and objects (works of art) are some of the most be given by another time, and it is then a new
important resources and need to be preserved building; […]. And as for direct and simple
and protected. copying, it is palpably impossible. […] Do not let
us talk then of restoration. The thing is a Lie from
The history, philosophy and theory of preserva‐ beginning to end.”
tion of historic buildings and structures can be
traced back to the 19th century by examining the With the above statement, Ruskin wanted to
ideas of John Ruskin and Viollet‐le‐Duc, who are express his point of view in an extreme way. He
considered by many to be two of the first conser‐ believed historic buildings and structures should
vation/preservation theorists. Many others fol‐ not be “preserved or restored” to the point of
lowed, such as Gustavo Giovannoni, Luca Beltrami, actually being replaced. He further stated [1, p.
Camillo Boito, Camilo Sitte, Cesare Brandi, Renato 196]: “Watch an old building with an anxious
Bonelli, Paul Philippot and Sir Bernard Feilden, care; guard it as best you may, and at any cost,
among others. from every influence of dilapidation. Count its
stones as you would jewels of a crown".
Ruskin, a poet, writer and art critic, believed
nothing from the present should disturb the With this, Ruskin defends we should be caring,
remnants of the past and that a building is born, by observing and maintaining historic buildings
lives and then, dies. and structures scrupulously which ultimately will
extend their life. He also believed that we should
In his book “The Seven Lamps of Architecture” try to keep the authenticity and the originality of
(first published in 1849), Ruskin discussed the the cultural heritage as much as possible without
qualities, authenticity and values of historic any intervention or replacement of materials.
buildings and structures. He refers to the seven
lamps of architecture as principles for the main‐ Conversely, Viollet‐le‐Duc believed one should fill
tenance and importance of those buildings. These in the blanks of a damaged building or restore it
lamps are Sacrifice, Truth, Power, Beauty, Life, completely. To him, the building could or should
Memory and Obedience. For each of them, Ruskin be restored to a state or condition as good as
discusses a different aspect of the maintenance possible. A condition that might never have been
of cultural property. For the lamp of Memory, he actually existed as long as it was coherent with
said [1, p. 194]: “Neither by the public, nor by the true nature of the building. Viollet‐le‐Duc
those who have the care of public monuments, is summarized his opinion of restoration in the
the true meaning of the word restoration under‐ following definition [2]: “Restoration: Both the
stood. It is the means the most total destruction word and the thing are modern. To restore an
which a building worst manner can suffer: a edifice means neither to maintain it, nor to repair

CONCEPT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION
it, nor to rebuild it; it means to reestablish it in a spiritual, architectural, archeological, sentimental,
finished state, which may in fact have never age considerations and so on. Some of these
existed at any given time”. resources may have a limited value in the present
but which can increase exponentially in the future.
Between these two diametrically opposed theo‐
ries lies Camillo Boito’s perspective as balance A family photo, for example, has inherent value
between them. Boito believed that a monument at the time it is taken. The significance of the
is a historical document, and should be restored photo is probably limited to the members of the
to the extent that is faithful to the document family. One hundred years later the same photo
without adding to or deleting from its original can be significant not only to that family’s
content [3]. With his theory, he established descendants but possibly to all of society. Future
several principles that are still today used for generations can understand more about that era
restoration. One of those principles is that the from the photo which contains clues to material
original and restored parts of a building should culture of the period and to the socio‐economic
be distinguishable and visible which shows the and cultural position of the family, tribes and
legitimate and sincere restoration of the objects. society.
He also suggested that other important principles
are reversibility and minimum intervention. These Similarly in a broader degree, a historic structure
came into the picture to minimize the impact (exterior and interior of a building), an archeo‐
preservation processes have on historically logical site, a historic center of a city, a historic
significant objects. landscape, a museum or an art object have the
potential to represent a particular period or
Having briefly reviewed these different philoso‐ periods in history. But first, someone has to
phies of the 19th centuries, I would like to continue acknowledge that fact and read the clues.
outlining proposed procedures of what I think
would be preservation of cultural resources and Cultural heritage can be viewed as a work of art
ultimately for historic structure preservation representing its own time. It represents the
today. culture and techniques of time along with the
sentiment, intent and conscience of its designer,
Preservation by itself is instinctive in human artist or craftsman. Essential to any work of art
beings. Since the beginning, humans were pro‐ or piece of cultural heritage is the recognition of
tecting, repairing and cleaning their own shelter, its values and significance by the individuals or
whether it was a cave or an independent standing the society.
structure, although at that time there were no
philosophies, theories, rules, regulations or When recognition of a work of art registers in an
standards. individual or a professional (such as a historical
architect, historical landscape architect, archeo‐
The general concept of preservation relates to the logist, curator or craftsman), that is the moment
safeguarding of cultural resources. The degree of when the values of the object or structure are fully
the significance of the resource relates to its value appreciated and recognized. That appreciation
or values. These values include social, economical, has also a strong impact on the conscience of the
political, scientific, aesthetic, philosophical, professional and eventually on his/her decisions

ALI MIRI
subsequently made to preserve the object. In him/herself and the cultural resource. It is this
other words, a site, structure or work of art will sensitive, friendly and spiritual dialogue between
not be considered of historic significance and the professional and the cultural resource that
values until it is recognized by professionals and leads to accurate planning and selecting appro‐
individuals or society. Unawareness of knowing priate materials and procedures for the preser‐
the significance of a site, building or works of vation or restoration of cultural properties.
art renders it without value. The recognition and
comprehension of the cultural heritage values When the connection between the individual and
also has a direct relationship to the knowledge, the cultural resource reaches its highest point,
awareness and experience of the professional the spiritual communication begins. It is at this
person or individual. This recognition influences moment in time that the intellect of the individual
the selection of the policy, method and degree with her/his knowledge, experience, sentiment
of intervention and the approach towards the and imagination creates an intuitive spiritual rela‐
preservation of cultural heritage. This approach tion with the resource. This relationship creates
towards preservation becomes more systematic more respect in the individual toward the resource
and organized with rules, regulations and policies. (a good example is a church, mosque, synagogues
This recognition should create a link between the or a Buddhist temple and the feeling a person has
cultural heritage and the professional’s intelli‐ when they enter the church for prayer).
gence, knowledge, experience and comprehen‐
sion of values, decision making and selection of The act of recognition of the cultural resource is
preservation methodology, and application of integral to the act of preservation. It is the act of
techniques (Diagram 1). This cycle or thought recognition that determines the principles for
process takes place several times during the preservation or intervention on the cultural
preservation of the cultural resources. resources. It is the act of the recognition that
brings the significance, integrity, character,
Recognition of the values and significance of a authenticity and tangible and intangible values
historic site, a historic structure (interior and the of the components of the cultural resource into
exterior) or a work of art dictates the fundamen‐ the consideration and also establishes the
tals of the planning and the procedure of the pre‐ character defining elements of the resource. Once
servation and not vice versa, i.e. the procedure is the bond between the resource and the profes‐
not determined /fixed until the cultural heritage sional has been formed through the act of recog‐
is more studied and understood. nition, the cultural resource represents itself a
valuable object embodying certain artistic,
The act of preservation begins when the study historic, scientific, architectural, philosophical,
and analysis of the resource starts and gradually political and other values that were created by
a connection between the professional and the humans at a certain time and place.
cultural resource materializes; depth of this
connection continues to develop throughout the I believe old buildings are analogues to human
process of preservation and matures more and beings. They were created, lived and died. If the
more. The knowledge, experience and profession‐ human body is taken care of, it will usually live
alism of the expert enable him/her to establish a longer. The same situation applies to the cultural
line of real or subliminal communication between heritage especially historic buildings and

CONCEPT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE PRESERVATION
Recognition of
Cultural Heritage
Application of techniques, Professional’s knowledge,

required standards and policies experience and awareness
Preservation planning, Evaluation of resource,

strategy and methodology comprehension of the
values
Decision making on the
basis of professionals
knowledge, experience
and resource’s values
Diagram 1. Process of evaluation, recognition and selection of methodology, policies and standards on the bases of professional
knowledge, experience for preservation of cultural heritage.
structures. If we maintain cultural heritage Preservation of cultural resources can take place
properly, it will live longer. in many different ways. It all depends on the
recognition, sensitivity, experience and awareness
The physical, technical, aesthetic and character of the professionals and the planning, procedure
defining elements of the resources and the profes‐ and methods they ultimately choose. The original
sional receptiveness, experience, knowledge and design, configuration, materials, character
above all admiration and compassion should be defining elements and the technique or techniques
considered as principles that guide the preserva‐ of construction originally utilized to bind them
tion and intervention and support transmitting together should be respected, protected and
the cultural resource to the future. preserved.
Recognition of the resource occurs repeatedly Every effort, including thorough research should
during the intervention phase in the professional take place to ensure that the intervention does
intellect and conscience. not diminish or change the character, integrity,
authenticity and the values of the cultural
Our cultural heritage talks to the professional. resource.
The professionals should know the language and
listen with their eyes instead of their ears. The term Whenever a professional or a team of professionals
“listen” is usually associated with ears instead of are faced with the preservation of a significant
eyes. However, clues can be solved visually as well building, site or an object, that individual or
as verbally. A professional can look at a cultural professional team must consider the factors which
heritage and perceive the problems. This percep‐ are significant, such as the exterior, the interior,
tion is a result of the communication between the structure and character defining elements of
the cultural heritage and the observation of the the historic structures. These are defined by and
professional. related to the significance of the architectural

ALI MIRI
elements, style of architecture and above all the

values of the building.
Are you
In conclusion, recognition, professional know‐
ledge, experience and awareness, evaluation of
reading this?
cultural heritage, comprehension of the values
and ultimately proper decision making are funda‐
mental factors for preservation planning and
approach toward the protection of cultural
heritage. Finally the first principle for the protec‐
So is everybody else...
tion of cultural heritage is its permanent care
and maintenance.
References
[1] J. Ruskin, Seven Lamps of Architecture,

For advertising and other
Crowell, 1880
information on publicity,
[2] E.‐E. Viollet‐le‐Duc, Dictionnaire raisonné de please contact
l'architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle, Vol.
8, B. Bance, Paris, 1854, pp. 14–34
general@e‐conservationline.com
[3] J. Jokilehto, A History of Architectural
Conservation, Butterworth‐Heinemann, 1999
and request a copy

of our mediakit
ALI MIRI
Historical Architect
Dr. Ali A. Miri is an advocate for preservation of

cultural heritage. He has been involved in the
preservation/restoration of historic buildings
and structures since 1969. He is an alumni of the
International Center for the Preservation and
econservationline
Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the
University of Rome, Italy, the University of Edin‐
burgh, UK and the University of Tehran, Iran. At
present he is working in the National Park Service
(Southeast Region) in the Cultural Resources
Division in USA.

book revie
THE AIC GUIDE TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
AND CONSERVATION DOCUMENTATION
2ND EDITION
Review by Rose Cull
Contributors: Jeffrey Warda (Editor), Franziska

Frey, Dawn Heller, Dan Kushel, Timothy Vitale,
Gawain Weaver
Publisher: American Institute for Conservation
of Historic and Artistic Works
Publication Year: 2011
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978‐0‐9760501‐3‐1
Language: English
Price: $75.00
Now that film, photographic paper, and processing There have been a few major books on
chemicals are difficult to find and digital photo‐ the topic of digital imaging most re‐
graphy is considerably faster, cheaper, and easier cently, Digital Heritage: applying digital
to share, digital photography for conservation imaging to cultural heritage, 2006,
documentation has become the dominant form edited by Lindsay MacDonald and pub‐
of documentation in the field. With digital docu‐ lished by Butterworth‐Heinemann,
mentation come new standards and the rapid and Digital Imaging for Cultural Heritage
advances in digital technology (we all probably Preservation: analysis, restoration, and
have a camera on our phone today that would reconstruction of ancient artworks, 2011,
have cost hundreds only a few years ago), there by Filippo Stanco, Sebastiano Battiato,
is a need to re‐evaluate the standards for digital and Giovanni Gallo with the University
photography. The purpose of this second edition of Catania, Italy, published by CRC Press.
(the first edition was published in 2008) is to Both of these books are 500+ pages
respond to advances in technology and offer more long and assume the reader already
information about equipment, storage and backup has a thorough knowledge of digital
of electronic records, and photographic techniques processes and procedures.
for conservation. The second edition is twice the
size of the first edition, and spiral‐bound so it can In contrast, the Guide is 224 pages in
lie flat on a workspace. length, and it is designed as a usable
e‐conser vation
BOOK REVIEW
and readable source about digital photography some cameras with small sensors can have high
and documentation. Think of it like ‘Digital levels of mega pixels, the pixel density will be
photography and conser‐vation documentation high, meaning the pixels are smaller and have
for dummies’. The general tone of the book is less sensitivity, more noise, and less dynamic
encouraging, it is clear the authors have experi‐ range. After absorbing all their information in
ence with a number of conservators who use point‐ one part of the chapter, certain products are
and‐shoot cameras and save all documentation recommended based on these standards. This
as .jpg files, which must be frustrating. example illustrates the general tone of the book,
the authors explain what they are trying to
The guide is a general reference and how‐to accomplish with digital documentation and then
manual, so individual topics are indexed, and lead offer a few recommended materials or practices.
from the basic concepts to the more detailed step‐
by‐step instructions. The chapters are ordered I found chapter 6, “Photographic techniques for
by: workflow, equipment, camera settings, image conservation”, very helpful for ideas about how
processing, storage and backup of electronic to take illustrative images for conservation
records, and photographic techniques for conser‐ documentation. This is a technical reference and
vation. The chapters are in the order of how a offers a variety of tips and tricks for documenta‐
photograph would be taken, processed, stored, tion. The chapter begins with basic techniques
and the final section offers tips specifically for and moves on to more complex techniques, for
conservators. Each chapter begins with a ‘how to example, from photography in visible light to
use this chapter’ section, and ends with a biblio‐ photomicrography, infrared photography, ultra‐
graphy of other resources if the reader is interested violet photography, and multispectral imagining.
in finding more information about a particular This chapter offers many visual examples of
area. Later chapters reference previous chapters different types of photographic setups that can
for more in‐depth information about certain illustrate the condition issues of an artifact.
topics and websites are also referenced as areas
to look for further information. The chapters use The book concludes with an appendix of screen‐
tables and charts very well to display information. shots to walk you through the different processes
Some of the images are very useful, but some such as “tethered capture” and “adding meta‐
serve more a decorative purpose of filling space data”. Overall, I believe this is a very useful book
rather than act in an informative or illustrative for a conservation lab setting up a digital docu‐
way and more of an effort could have been made mentation system, or updating a current digital
to find more demonstrative images. setup. I found that the contributors explained
digital photography in a clear and organized
The second chapter about equipment is particularly way, which made a good reference book.
useful, it describes the current standards and
makes product recommendations. For example, ROSE CULL
when purchasing a camera and looking at pixel Conservator
information, it is most important to have a low
pixel density and a high number of mega pixels. Rose Cull is a sculpture conservator and owner of
The pixel density is the relationship between the Art Conservation Services LLC in Phoenix, USA.
size of the sensor and the number of pixels, while http://www.phoenixartconservation.com

BOOK REVIEW
MATERIALS, TECHNOLOGIES, PRACTICE IN

HISTORIC HERITAGE STRUCTURES
Review by Mirela Anghelache
Editors: Maria Bostenaru Dan, Richard Př ikryl,

and Ákos Török
Publisher: Springer
Publication Year: 2010
Pages: 371
ISBN: 978‐90‐481‐2683‐5
Language: English
Price: € 129,95
The book is also available as a collection
of chapters on SpringerLink
IT is edited by Maria Bostenaru Dan, Richard Although sometimes erroneously listed as confe‐
Přikryl and Ákos Török. The book is dedicated to rence proceedings, the book consists of the full
the assessment and conservation of materials in papers given in conferences, where only abstracts
historic heritage structures. The book consists of and invited papers were presented, that took
18 chapters, including an introduction, written by place while the book was being prepared.
41 authors and followed by an index. The chapters
are subdivided by subtitles, and provided with In the introduction, Maria Bostenaru Dan, an
abstracts which can be freely consulted on architect based in Italy and Romania for the dura‐
SpringerLink. The chapters are grouped in four tion of the project, presents an overview, defines
sections: adobe and bricks; natural stone; binders, the characteristics and the significance of the
concrete and mixed materials; and monitoring materials that the sections will deal with, as well
the seismic risk. The authors are both from the as the definitions of the terms used in the title
academic field and conservation practice, and from and their background in defining cultural value,
the fields of architecture, civil engineering, conser‐ highlighting the innovation brought by the book.
vation science, geology and material science. The
front matter also includes a section about the The first section consists of 3 papers, one on
editors and a list of contributors, besides the adobe and two on brick construction, featuring
preface by the editors. The book has 371 pages case studies from Spain, Portugal and Vietnam.
and 120 illustrations. All papers in this section are invited papers, after
the conferences had taken place.

BOOK REVIEW
The first chapter, a case study of Rammed‐Earth of these papers, on age determination, had been
Constructions in Andalusia, Spain by Eduardo presented at a conference.
Sebastian and Giuseppe Cultrone is the only
chapter dealing with the earth as material, which The first chapter, on “The Basilica of Maxentius
has become nowadays very popular for sustainable and Its Construction Materials” and written by
construction. The second chapter, “Ancient Clay Carlo Giavarini, deals with one of Rome’s archaeo‐
Bricks: Manufacture and Properties”, was written logical remains, and especially with its chemical
by Francisco M. Fernandes, Paulo B. Lourenço and properties. The so‐called “opus caementicium”
Fernando Castro from the University of Minho, was a forerunner of today’s concrete and made
Portugal where they present the results of their possible an innovation by the Romans compared
analysis of bricks from religious monuments to Greek architecture, namely the curved shapes
throughout the country. The last chapter, written of the vault in closing spans. Also, industrial
by Paola Condoleo from the Polytechnic School of production in Antiquity is looked for in every
Milan, is entitled “The My Son Temples in Vietnam: material. The paper introduces the natural disaster
Construction Techniques and Structural Issues” to which the last section of the book is dedicated:
and is a paper based on a cooperation project the church suffered an earthquake.
between Italy and Vietnam. Unlike the first two
chapters dealing strictly with the materials’ The next chapter, “Characterization of Ancient
chemical and physical characteristics, this paper Pozzolanic Mortars from Roman Times to the 19th
deals with the structure itself and how the building Century: Compatibility Issues of New Mortars with
technique influences it. Substrates and Ancient Mortars” by Ana Luísa
Velosa, Rosário Veiga, João Coroado, Victor M.
The second section includes six papers on natural Ferreira and Fernando Rocha from Portugal, looked
stone which were presented at a number of at case studies from the Azores islands. It was
conference sessions organized in the frame of the underlined that new cement‐based mortars may
European Geosciences Union General Assembly. damage historic bricks, and therefore the use of
The papers cover a wide range of European cities lime mortars is advised for.
and periods, from Antiquity to today. Stone has
never been completely replaced by modern mate‐ The following chapter is dedicated to binders as
rials in countries where there were the resources well. Written by Roman Kozlowski, David Hughes
and tradition for this. Other continents present and Johannes Weber, a team from Poland, UK and
heritage built in stone as well, giving it a univer‐ Austria working on an European project aimed at
sal value. manufacturing again the so‐called “roman cement”,
it is entitled “Roman Cements: Key Materials of the
The third section includes six chapters on materials Built Heritage of the 19th Century”. Besides the
based on binders (mortar, plaster and concrete), chemistry issues in the manufacture of the mate‐
thus materials used in binding the singular pieces rial, the artistic issues on the way the employment
to a masonry structure, to decorate or even to build of the material marked the facades in the 19th
the structure itself. It is here where the novelty of century in Europe are key elements of the project.
the book lies, looking to concrete from Antiquity,
in the Maxentius basilica in Rome until (Southern) The next chapter is about a related topic, “Historic
Italy, as well as for early iron‐concrete. Only one Mortars and Plasters as a Material for Age

BOOK REVIEW
Determination”, and is written by Danuta experience from Western and Central Europe, parti‐
Nawrocka, Tomasz Goslar and Anna Pazdur from cularly Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal,
Poland. Like in the case of stone, mortars and Scotland, Slovenia and Spain. It includes also a
plasters are an indicator to age determination case study from outside Europe, in Vietnam.
and, thus, a tool for the history of architecture.
Care shall be taken with replacements in time, A drawback of the book is that it doesn’t consider
such as the one mentioned for stone, or in case materials such as timber and metal. Nonetheless,
of compatible mortars as described before. the aim was to provide materials for so‐called
“Massivbau”, the German denomination for
The last chapter is focused on early reinforced, a masonry and reinforced concrete construction,
material of the 20th century, and was made by avoiding light skeleton materials such as metal
Mauro Mezzina, Fabrizio Palmisano and Giusep‐ and timber.
pina Uva from the Technical University of Bari.
Such as a previous case, this paper deals with the Also, the point of view of the architect involved
physical instead of the chemical properties from in conservation and restoration has come short.
a structural engineering point of view. Early rein‐ Nevertheless, the book is listed as useful litera‐
forced concrete arrived to Italy with the Henne‐ ture for architects and included in the database on
bique technique, introduced by the Porcheddu architecture works and creations “archINFORM”.
society, which made it less vulnerable. Today, such Thus, a later work should deal with essays on signi‐
structures are being subject to conservation and ficance of material and Kenneth Frampton’s “tec‐
functional conversion, such as the FIAT in Torino tonics” [K. Frampton, Studies in Tectonic Culture:
or numerous buildings in Genoa, and this goes in The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and
hand with studies of the structure. Twentieth Century Architecture, John Cava (ed.),
MIT Press, Cambridge MA, 1995] about how
The fourth and last section deals with structures material influences the architectural expression.
built with these materials, where brick or stone This may be, however, more important for new
constitutes the elements and mortar the binder. buildings than for existing ones. We hope to have
The first chapter in this section is about the “Heri‐ provided a comprehensive review which would
tage Masonry Buildings and Reduction of Seismic encourage further literature research in this direc‐
Risk: The Case of Slovenia” by Miha Tomazevic. tion, maybe through contacting the contributors
Seismic retrofitting methods aiming at conserva‐ to learn more about the work they have done on
tion include the use of a new material of the end the real sites of the case studies.
of the 20th century: fiber reinforced polymers, a
current investigation topic in materials science.
Concluding, the book is very well written, well

illustrated with only black and white figures and MIRELA ANGHELACHE
drawings. It is recommended to everyone who Geologist
works in research of how to conserve and restore
today’s buildings built with traditional materials. Mirela Anghelache, geologist and researcher at
Particularly in countries where this is rarely under‐ the Institute of Geodynamics of the Romanian
taken, it proves a unique resource to learn from Academy, Bucharest, Romania.

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e­conservation

the online magazine no. 24, autumn 2012

9 The Renaissance Workshop: The Materials and Techniques

15 Polychrome Sculpture: Artistic Tradition and Construction

19 Connecting to Conservation: Outreach and Advocacy

22 Copying, Replicating & Emulating Paintings in the

27 French Bronzes: History, Material and Techniques of Bronze

33 Conservation Matters in Wales

37 CMA4CH 2012: Use of Multivariate Analysis and Chemometrics

INTERVIEW 41 International Conservation Workshop Lopud:

METHODOLOGY 50 British Carlo Maratta Picture Frame: Technical Examination

60 Study and Conservation of the Painting "Paul III and Ranzio

95 Study and Conservation of the City Center of Shahr‐e Ray, Iran

DOCUMENTATION 106 3D Documentation Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning of the Remains

126 Between Tradition and Innovation: 3D Documentation

THEORY 136 Brushes for Retouching: How to Choose Them

148 The Use and Influence of Varnish on Paintings

PREVENTIVE CONSERVATION 154 Preventive Conservation of the Bark Cloth Collection of

164 Preventive Conservation: a Key Method to Ensure Cultural

177 The Concept of Cultural Heritage Preservation

185 Materials, Technologies, Practice in Historic Heritage

By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps

[3] N. Levine, Against the Steam: A Buddhist Manual

THE RENAISSANCE WORKSHOP

Review by Helen Glanville

11‐12 May 2012, Rome, Italy

On 11th‐12th of May, the British Museum hosted

The two days, subdivided into sessions represen‐

Several of the presentations and posters were the

British Museum Director Neil Macgregor opening the conference.

were used to determine attributions of undocu‐

Robert Van Langh (Head of Conservation, Rijks‐

historians of science, reconstructing print‐shop French authors from a variety of disciplines, on

Review by Ana Bidarra Organised by:

Visit to the stained‐glass conservation studio.

CONNECTING TO CONSERVATION: OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY

Review by Rose Cull

8‐11 May 2012 Organised by:

the object, and I saw many similarities between ROSE CULL

COPYING, REPLICATING & EMULATING PAINTINGS

Review by Sue Ann Chui

21‐22 May 2012

Organised by: National Gallery of Denmark

(IRPA, Brussels and University of Liège, Belgium)

“England in the 16th‐17th century” was the theme

In the third session “Materials as Markers”, Melanie

Up to down: the picturesque Nyhavn, Copenhagen (photo by

century artists to recent neuroscience research in engaging exhibition, designed in collaboration

Wadum explaining the various steps of conserving

On the second day, the fourth session “From the

Philip IV gave Rubens extraordinary permission to

Simulated conservation studio in the exhibition. Photo by Sue Ann Chui.

FRENCH BRONZES: HISTORY, MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUES OF

Review by Carol Grissom

9‐12 June 2012 Organised by:

and eighteenth century; (2) the production of

The four‐day conference began with a well‐at‐

Above: Seventeenth century farm buildings at the Château de

At Fontainebleau, chief curator Vincent Droguet

econservation