THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTE OF CONSERVATION • MAY 2015 … · THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTE OF...

THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTE OF CONSERVATION • MAY 2015 • ISSUE 58

A thorny situationAlso in this issue

The interns’ end of year show

Dust management

Making replicas

ICONnews MAY COVER 2015_01234 09/05/2015 12:35 Page 1

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inside MAY 2015 Issue 58

2 NEWSFrom the Chief Executive,Book & Paper Groupconference success, interns onshow, awards, Group news

10PEOPLE

13MANAGING DUSTStudying the influence ofcontext on an archive’scleaning strategy

163D PRINTINGCreating replicas with the newscanning and printingtechnology

20A NEW CONSERVATIONTOOLA natural resource is pressedinto conservation use

22AROUND AND ABOUTFootnote on The PaisleyFountain, Joshua Reynolds atthe Wallace Collection, aphotographic exhibition inEdinburgh

25REVIEWSPicasso, glass deterioration,cyanotypes, upholstery,washing artworks on paper

32IN PRACTICEAnalysing and conservingpainted medieval stones andthe emerging conservatoron a helpful course inemergency planning

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Institute of Conservation1.5, Lafone House, The Leathermarket, Weston StreetLondon SE1 3ER

T +44(0)20 3142 6799

[email protected]@icon.org.ukwww.icon.org.uk

Chief ExecutiveAlison Richmond [email protected]

Conservation Registerconservationregister@icon.org.ukwww.conservationregister.com

ISSN 1749-8988

Icon NewsEditorLynette [email protected]

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For recruitment and all otheradvertisingRebecca Hendry020 3142 [email protected]

Cover photo:Boxes of thorns from different plantsready for use as a cleaning tool onthe Staffordshire Hoard project. © Birmingham Museums Trust

Disclaimer:Whilst every effort is made to ensureaccuracy, the editors and Icon Boardof Trustees can accept noresponsibility for the contentexpressed in Icon News; it is solelythat of individual contributors

Deadlines:

For the July 2015 issue

Editorial: 1 June

Adverts: 17 June

From the Editor ‘Dry as dust’ may be a pejorative phrase innormal parlance but there is nothing dryabout our article on how best to tackledust in The National Archives. The valueof scientific study to conservation practiceis also demonstrated with the article on3D printing and its use to create replicas

where the originals could not be made available. Thissuccessful harnessing of new technology to traditionalskills may help to keep us from being replaced byrobots and automata if our CEO’s glimpse into thefuture comes to pass. But I think it will be a long whilebefore a robot possesses the ingenuity and lateralthinking exemplified by our front cover illustration inwhich nature’s bounty is harnessed to 21st centuryconservation.

Whether robots will be able to fight fires and salvagemuseum and stately homes’ contents in the future ismoot. For now it is down to us and, as I write this, it isan unhappy coincidence that our emerging conservatorarticle is about training for emergencies, as the newsbreaks of a devastating fire at Clandon House in Surrey.

Lynette Gill

ICON NEWS • MAY 2015 • 1

Icon is registered as a Charity inEngland and Wales (Number1108380) and in Scotland (NumberSC039336) and is a CompanyLimited by Guarantee, (Number5201058)

IconNews MAY 2015 09/05/2015 11:21 Page 1

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FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

THE FUTURE OFPROFESSIONSAlison Richmond ACR FIICon what next forconservation and relatedprofessions

Last month the CharteredInstitute for Archaeologists(CIfA) held their annualconference in Cardiff. It wascalled ‘The Future of YourProfession’ and it followedswiftly on the heels of IfAreceiving their royal charter.Although it is probably tooearly to tell what differencebecoming a chartered

institute has made, CIfA already asserts that ‘[It] acknowledgesthe professionalism of CIfA members, and allows us all toseek or assert parity of esteem with fellow professionals inother chartered institutes.’

To answer the question ‘What next?’, CIfA invited otherprofessions, some working exclusively in the historicenvironment sector (Institute of Historic Building Conservation[IHBC] and Icon) and others that have some members who doso all or some of the time (Royal Institute of British Architects[RIBA] and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors [RICS]).These range in size from IHBC’s 2200 members to RICS’s118,000 worldwide. Each has its own distinctive membershipstructure, mode of incorporation, professional qualificationsand so on. Nevertheless, it never ceases to amaze me howmuch we all have in common. Moreover, the challengesfacing us are shared, whether on a global scale – growth ofurban populations, movement of people, scarcity ofresources, interconnectivity, pervasive technology – or morelocal – shift from public sector funding to private philanthropy;growth of private practices; and multi-generational workplaces.

I came away with three important things that I think Iconshould be thinking about.

RIBA has commissioned research into what the professionalbody for architects of the future would look like. Robert Firth,RIBA Council member, introduced Generation Z born after1994. Unlike its predecessor, Generation Y, this generation isborn digital and has known nothing else. Z wants informationin bite-sized chunks, immediately so as to move on to thenext thing quickly, is unlikely to be interested in governancestructures invented in the 19th century (Boards, committees),wants a portfolio career, maintaining wide ranging intereststhroughout, wants authentic experience and to learn frommore experienced professionals in an environment that isaltruistic, fast paced, creative, collaborative and connected.We need to think about how we can meet the requirementsof Generation Z because Z is not going to mould itself to our

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professional updateshape. What would Icon look like? For example, trying tocompete on information might be a lost cause, but what wecan offer is mentoring.

The second key idea is achieving wider recognition forprofessionals. This was a shared goal for all of the professionspresent, even the ones that had been established for over ahundred years. Cross-marketing (telling your client that theyshould be using a professionally qualified architect/surveyor/conservator or professional bodies insisting that their membersuse accredited professionals) and collaboration (joint marketingcampaigns highlighting the value of professionals in thehistoric environment sector) or educating supporter networksabout the value added of using a professional expert. This allfell under the heading of ‘Creating better clients’. Moreover,according to Lynda Jubb, Chair RICS Building ConservationForum, this has a knock-on effect – clients become advocates.

Another tried and tested way of increasing recognition isgoing for chartership. Alastair McCapra, Chief Executive ofthe Chartered Institute of Public Relations, put it like this: It isa public declaration, a social contract that clearly states yourpurpose for society: at the most fundamental level, you aredeclaring that you are a profession that acts in the publicinterest and your members commit themselves to their owndevelopment. What is the benefit to the profession? Alastair’sexperience tells him that it establishes the goodwill of relatedprofessions, helps you to think through your purpose, commitsyou to CPD, and is the first step to individual chartered statusfor your members. The question of whether chartership wouldbe good for Icon members has not yet been broached. Wewill have our eyes on CIfA to see how they fare.

The third trend to be taken on board is competition.Professor Andy Friedman, Chief Executive of PARN, identifieda number of forms, for example professions expanding intorelated areas and the growth of amateurism fuelled by readilyavailable information. Competition can also come from newtechnology (think of the driver-less car and the taxi cab driver).Intriguingly, research into the likelihood of your profession ortrade being automated has led to some interesting results ina list of over 700, with psychotherapist being the least likelyand telemarketer being the most likely. (Archaeologists werethe 39th least likely!) The roles that were least likely to beautomated were those that required any of the following

• perception and manipulation (surgeon)

• creative intelligence (fashion designer)

• social intelligence (PR specialist)

Conservators certainly fall into the first two categories and, Iwould argue, also the third given their need to understandshifting social values ascribed to art and heritage. So we areprobably safe from automation for the moment!

It is always educational to reflect on Icon in comparison toother professional bodies and this time I was struck by, evenin relation to the old, well-established ones, how far we havecome, how much we have achieved in our short history, thatwe now have most of the building blocks of a profession inplace, and we are now in a good position to focus on our future.



ICON SEEKS NEW CHAIRIcon is seeking an exceptional person to become the newChair of its Board of Trustees. This is a fantastic opportunity tohelp Icon develop strategically and spread its influence, bothinto the conservation sector as well as the outside world.

The candidate should know Icon well and have a solidunderstanding of its culture, people and its commitment tohigh standards and professional ethos. But more than that,they should have a strong desire to see Icon succeed inchallenging times by providing energising leadership.

The Chair will work closely with the Chief Executive, AlisonRichmond, and will be responsible for maintaining the smoothrunning of Trustee business. The role is well supported by anactive group of Trustees, through established committees andgovernance procedures, as well as the industrious and ever-helpful Icon staff.

It is recognised that the Chair can be a time-consumingposition and so the Interview Panel will also consider a jointapplication by two people with a view to sharing the role.

If you are interested, please consider applying, or finding outmore about the position. Or if you have a colleague orassociate who you think would be perfect for the role, thenplease encourage them to apply.

For more information, please look at the websitewww.icon.org.uk under About Icon/Trustee Vacancies: Chairof Board.

Deadline for applications: 1 June 2015Starting date: after the Board meeting on 23 September 2015

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH Icon is to launch a new website this summer, which we hopewill reflect the dynamic and outward-looking nature ofconservation in the 21st century.

As many of our members will know, we invited tenders inDecember last year, and this February appointed KolabDigital to design the new site. Kolab is a fairly young businessbased in Poole, Dorset with an office in Hatton Garden.

In March we held a workshop with Kolab and the pace hassince been hectic. We are currently surveying the ‘wireframes’,which are used to develop the overall structure of the site,and working on the final graphic design concept.

Representatives from each of Icon’s specialist groups wereinvited to attend a presentation on 29 March, to obtain theirsuggestions for the new site. Nine members from eight ofIcon’s groups attended, along with members of staff from theIcon office. The workshop was a great success and manypositive ideas were put forward.

The new site will be based on the Drupal 7 contentmanagement system, which is not only very powerful andflexible but also very easy to use. More information andtraining will be given to groups’ editorial teams very soon.

In another exciting development, Katie Allen joined us in lateMarch as our new Digital Content Officer. You will be hearinga lot from Katie as she will not only be running the new

website but she will be generating social media outputalongside Michael Nelles, Membership Manager, and AlisonRichmond, Chief Executive. You can read more about Katieon page 10.

The new site will be very ‘image rich’, with plenty ofopportunities for photos and videos of the conservationcommunity and their work. Please send anything you thinkmight be of interest to Katie at [email protected].

The planned launch date of the new website is July 2015.Watch this space!.

ICON CONSERVATION AWARDS UPDATEThanks to all members who have sent in applications.Screening of applications are underway and shortlists will beannounced week beginning 15 June. Judges are gettingready to visit the projects during June and July.

NEW QUALIFICATION LAUNCH NEWSA new Conservation and Collections Care Qualification is tobe launched in July 2015. Icon has been working inpartnership with the V&A to develop the new qualificationwhich brings together the V&A’s Museum TechnicianQualification and Icon’s Conservation TechnicianQualification. There are two clear routes through thequalification with some shared units.

There is a bit more work to do on how the qualification will bedelivered. Our aim was to launch in May but 3CQ will now belaunched in July and ready to go for recruitment in October.We know that there have been a number of expressions ofinterest in the new qualification. Please be assured that we areworking hard to make this great new qualification available assoon as possible. Please direct any questions you may have toSusan Bradshaw [email protected]

ADAPT & EVOLVE TAKES FLIGHTThe Icon Book & Paper Group Conference Adapt and Evolvelaunched in spectacular style on Wednesday 8 March, with awell-attended evening reception at the Foundling Museum.Delegates mingled and enjoyed wine and canapés, hearingaddresses from Alison Richmond, Icon Chief Executive, and

Icon’s CEO Alison Richmond at the Foundling Museum reception


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special guest Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chair of Arts Council England.

In the days leading up to the launch, the team workedtirelessly to get everything in order for nearly three hundreddelegates. Conference bags were all stuffed by hand at theIcon office in the days before the team drove everything overto the venue. ‘I couldn’t stop myself from having a rummagewhile I worked and from flipping through the beautifulconference brochure and leaflet,’ says Amy Heslip,Conference Committee Chair. ‘Both were carefully andtirelessly created and edited by Melissa Lewis and AnnaJohnson. Well done for all their hard work!’

At the time of writing, the event was in high gear at aUniversity of London venue, having attracted delegates from

up and down the UK and also from as far away as Canada,Estonia, Germany, Kuwait and the United States.

Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to make theconference a success. Look out for a full report on theproceedings in the next Icon News!

ASK THE EXPERTS EVENTSIcon is organising a series of ‘Ask the Experts’ days linked to aproject called Home Ground, which is celebrating the culturalheritage of six National League Football Clubs that originatedfrom a local crafts trade tradition.

This is an opportunity to promote conservation to a newaudience and, working with the Home Ground Project topromote the conservation of specific materials in relation tonew artworks which are being created during the programme.

The idea is to have three accredited conservators at eachdate/venue, who will to be able to take public enquiries aboutthe conservation of their own artefacts and promote ingeneral the conservation work of all materials.

This is a chance to highlight the conservation of specificmaterials associated with the Home Ground project andpromote your own work. If you interested in taking partplease contact Susan Bradshaw, our ProfessionalDevelopment Manager, on [email protected] ortelephone 01626 824510 to find out more and how you canget involved.

The dates and venues are:

Enjoying the reception at the Foundling Museum

Guest speaker Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chair of Arts Council England

The reception after the first day of conference

An attentive audience



CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE WITH ICON’SINTERNS It was a joyful event, albeit with that little tinge of sadness thatalways comes with the end of an era. It was this year’s end ofyear show for Icon’s interns, which also marked the conclusionof the Heritage Lottery funding for the bursary scheme.

Hosted by the British Museum (BM) in its splendid andspacious new Department of Conservation and ScientificResearch and warmly welcomed by Anna Bűlow, Acting Headof the Department, the event was very well attended withinterns past and present, supervisors, funders, Icon trustees,representatives of host organisations and well-wishers.

Icon staff, Jayne Sheraton and Kath Whittam, who have beenso vital to the running of the scheme, also came up trumpswith the organisation of this celebration, with the invaluablehelp of BM staff Faye Miles and Jordina Ferrando.

The mixture of tours of the BM’s new studios, posters,

Location Venue Date SpecialismMacclesfield Silk Museum 21-Jul TextilesStoke on Trent Middleport Pottery 01-Oct CeramicsWalsall The Leather Museum 11-Dec Leather/SaddleryLuton TBC 11-Mar 2016 MillineryCrystal Palace TBC 29-Apr 2016 Stained Glass

DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES• Icon’s Annual General Meeting will be held on

30 November 2015 at 17.30 at St. Bride Foundation BrideLane, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EQ.

• Icon’s next Triennial Conference will be held on June 15 to17 2016 at the University of Aston, Birmingham. Look outfor Call for Papers coming up next.

At Sheffield United FC and the launch of the Home Ground project.The group includes Erica Steer, CEO of Devon Guild of Craftsmen(second from right), then Saffron Wynne, Exhibitions Officer at theGuild, then Christine Murray of the National Trust, and Icon’s SusanBradshaw in the middle.

Launching the Home Ground project: Mike Blundell, Chairman ofSheffield United, and John Hagger a leather craftsman who madethe naturally tanned leather football in the showcase behind him

Anna Bülow welcomes guests to the interns’ end of year show

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Morley, fresh from recent triumphs appearing on the AntiquesRoadshow Detectives and publishing her monograph on TheStones of Stamford, claimed that none of these things wouldhave happened without the internship and Icon opening thedoor for her. It was, she said, ‘a golden ticket to go anywhere,see anything, talk to anyone’.

Ellin Belton concurred, describing it as ‘an invaluablegateway’. The Icon internship had given her ‘skills and a beliefin her own skills base and confidence’. She noted, withjustifiable pride, the logos of institutions where she hasworked since her internship days: Chatsworth House, EnglishHeritage and the National Trust.

Mel Houston observed that she is poacher turnedgamekeeper: once an intern and now an intern supervisor.‘You know where the problems are’ she said darkly. She tooagreed that an Icon internship ‘lets you in so many doors’.

A gold standard Our CEO Alison Richmond celebrated the fact that a

speeches, food and drink and lots of colleagues to catch upwith made for a noisy and good humoured occasion. Even aspectacular meltdown on the part of the BM’s lifts, whichresulted in some heavy duty stair climbing, couldn’t dim thegood cheer.

And there was a lot to be cheerful about. The posters wereabsorbing individually and striking collectively in the overviewthey provided of just what the interns do: the breadth of theirspecialisms and the range of their projects, the interestingtreatments they undertake, the great places they work.

Especially notable were the posters presented by three formerinterns - Rachel Swift, Mel Houston and Andrew Thackray; foreach showed a poster from their intern days and one of theirrecent work. What is thrilling is that all three are now accredited.

What an internship can offerThree former interns spoke enthusiastically about what theirexperience on the programme had meant to them. Rachel

Touring the British Museum’s new conservation facilities

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Demonstrations of conservation in action were laid on Rachel Morley Ellin Belton

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generation of former interns are working towards accreditationor have already achieved it; they are taking on their owninterns; they are taking up leadership roles in the profession.

The Icon internship programme, she noted, is a gold standardfor training in the sector: research identifies where the skillsgaps are; recruitment carefully matches host, student andsupervisor and Advisor; Icon’s Professional Standards providethe framework for assessing an intern’s development;supportive networks are set up for the interns and they arepaid a living stipend.

The view from HLFAccording to Nick Randell, Icon’s Grant Manager over thenine years, Icon hit the deck running after the award of itsgrant in December 2005 and it had been a privilege to followthe progress since. He reflected on the importance ofproviding new training routes into the profession and,although there was more to do, the project had increaseddiversity in the workforce with 42% of interns coming inwithout a prior conservation qualification. In accomplishingthis, Icon had shown the importance of paid internships.

Other points to celebrate were the great networks that haddeveloped from the programme, the higher profile that someof the smaller hosts had gained from being associated with itand the potential to continue benefiting from lottery moneyby funding traineeships through HLF’s Skills for the Futureprogramme. Good examples of this are the opportunitiesprovided by Lizzie Neville’s PZ Conservation and the fiveyears’ of painting and textile internships offered by the BowesMuseum. He looked forward to seeing more suchopportunities being taken up. Icon offered a great,sustainable model for others. He wished Icon continuingsuccess into the future and urged the interns to carry on thelegacy and employ interns in their own practices in due course.

Looking to the futureThe show celebrated a major achievement: the successfulrunning of the HLF internship bursary scheme for the pastnine years. Lottery funding awarded direct to Icon for trainingpurposes may have come to an end but the Icon Internship

Programme is open for business as usual. Other funders haveprovided significant sums for internships as well during thatperiod and continue to do so. There are internships in thepipeline and the capacity to manage many more. If you wouldlike to know more about how Icon can help you with fundingfor training, please contact Susan [email protected]

As Alison Richmond described it

‘Icon has grown up with the Training Bursary Scheme The TBSwas set up at the same time that Icon was formed.The TBS isin our DNA.’

So if you or your organisation is preparing a funding bid for aproject, do build in the opportunity to benefit an emergingconservator and the profession!

Some numbers

146 interns over 9 years

• 100 Heritage Lottery funded

• 46 funded by 17 other funders

Over 90% retention in the sector

38 specialisms covered

77 host organisations

• 49 public sector or civil society

• 28 private practices

£3.53 total funding

• £2.45m from the Heritage Lottery Fund grant

• £1.08m from other sources

Nick Randell of the Heritage Lottery Fund

An atrium forms part of the new building’s design

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THE JUNE BAKER TRUST

Awards for Conservators in ScotlandThe June Baker Trust has made awards in the first round of

its new annual grant scheme ‘Grants for emergingconservators in Scotland’. The scheme gives grants to supportrecently-qualified conservators in the process of gaining theirearly workplace experience to fund a learning anddevelopment plan of their own choosing that will enhancetheir future employability.

The successful applicants were as follows:

• Emily Hick will be learning about conservation surveys byresearching methodologies, learning relevant skills fromexperienced professionals in two different institutions, andimplementing her learning by carrying out surveys on twocollections in a university in Edinburgh.

• Erika Freyr will be volunteering in the conservation studio ofa national institution and in a private studio, where she willbe working alongside experienced conservators who willinclude her in projects involving treatments she has not yethad professional experience of, or which she is less likely tobe given responsibility for in her first year after training.

• Marta Garcia Celma will be working on a two weekplacement at a national institution gaining knowledge andexperience of surveying collections; she will then work forthree weeks with a private conservator to learn about theworkings of an independent conservation studio.

The trustees were encouraged to see the strong interest inthis scheme, and were delighted by many applicants clearlyidentifying gaps in their learning and finding ways to meet theobjectives of the scheme, which are to: build professionalnetworks, gain practical and employability skills and widensector understanding.

The scheme will run for a further two years. An invitation toapply for the 2015 round will go out in the autumn.

ZIBBY GARNETT TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPAWARDSThe Trustees of the Zibby Garnett Travel Fellowship are proudto announce the 2015 awards. There are nine recipients thisyear and a total of £10,200 awarded.

• Kelly Murray (Twyi Centre, Llandeilo) is going to CeglieMessapica, Puglia, Italy for a stone restoration workshop

• Erin Murphy (UCL Archaeology and Museums) will bestudying wall painting conservation at Restoration WorksInternational in Nepal

• Jan Cutajar and Abigale Duckor (UCL Archaeology andMuseums) are going to carry out on site archaeologicalconservation in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania

• Lisa Clayton (City & Guilds of London Art School) will travelto Tsurumi University, Japan, to study traditional JapaneseUrushi Lacquer

• Hannah Sutherland (Glasgow University) will be studyingtextile conservation at Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

• Chenelle Rodrigues (Edinburgh University, MScArchitectural Conservation) is going to Earth, Hands &Houses in Poland studying traditional mud and limeplastering techniques as part of a straw bale buildingworkshop

• Tom Vowden (York University, Stained Glass Conservation)will travel to The Glass Studio in Mumbai, India

• Puneeta Sharma (Chester Beatty Library, Dublin – PaperConservation) will be going to Bilioteca, Montefiascone inItaly to study recreating medieval palette pigments.

The deadline for applications for the 2016 awards is noon onthe last day in February next year.

NEWS FROM THE GROUPS

Paintings GroupThe next Paintings Group event will be an evening talk byMorwenna Blewett on Thursday 18 June 2015, entitled‘Refugee Restorers, Sir Kenneth Clark & the National Gallery’.

Our usual venue, Freemason’s Hall, 60 Great Queen StreetLondon WC2B 5AZ, is close to both Covent Garden andHolborn Tube Stations. Doors will open at 6pm, with the talkscheduled for 6.30pm – 8pm.

Tickets: Icon members £10, Non-members £15, Students £5(student card required to be shown on the door). Free wineand cheese included in the price of the ticket. For bookingand further information please check the Paintings Groupsection of the Icon website; tickets will be available for onlinepurchase through Eventbrite.com.

Stone and Wall Paintings GroupCall for papersThursday 8 October 2015Icon Stone and Wall Paintings Group Conference: Fired Earth– the conservation of terracotta and brick.Venue: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldate’s, Oxford, OX1 1BX

This conference will draw together those who are interestedin the conservation of these materials, focusing on theirarchitectural use and the dilemmas they pose and thepractical solutions used to conserve them. If you would like topresent a technical paper or case study please contact ClaraWillett: email [email protected]

AGM

The Stone and Wall Painting Group AGM was held in theHeadley Lecture Theatre of the Ashmolean Museum inOxford on 19 March 2015. Twenty five members attended andour Chair Jez Fry expertly presided over the meeting.

From now on the AGM will be held in the Spring followed bytalks or a tour. The group will also hold a conference everyAutumn (please see the details above for the conference tobe held in October 2015). We plan to arrange other site visitson an ad hoc basis. If you are involved in projects that wouldmake an interesting site visit for Icon members, please let usknow so that the committee can organise a pop up event.

It was announced that we are getting an email address so that



members can contact the group or our web editor, BereniceHumphreys, who can put information on the website.

The meeting included discussions that will undoubtedly berevisited: about training, work experience, and the concern forthe work of professional conservators being devalued.

The group was then split into two tours, the first lead by SuLockley, Librarian in Charge of Oxford Union Library. TheLibrary has wall paintings representing Arthurian legendspainted from 1857 to 1859 by a team of young Pre-Raphaeliteartists including Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris andEdward Burne-Jones. SWPG members on this tour speculatedabout the treatment of the paintings in the 1980s, trying todecipher the during-treatment photographs (if any readerswere involved in this treatment we would be very eager tohear about what was done).

The other half of the group went on a tour of the University ofOxford School of Geography and the Environment, RockBreakdown Lab. Dr Shuaishuai He and Dr Mona Edwardsgave us an introduction to the lab, which focuses on thedeterioration of stone in historic buildings. The tour was brim-full of useful trials, techniques and equipment that areaccessible to conservators in the field. Conservator and PhDstudent Katrin Wilhelm demonstrated sensors for remoteenvironmental monitoring on archaeological sites. Dr PaulaCarmona-Quiroga described her research to assess thesuitability and stability of anti-graffiti coatings. Dr Anna Arizziexplained methods to compare the durability of hemp

mortars that have been exposed to different climates.Conservator Cristina Cabello-Briones described her PhDresearch to evaluate the effect of shelters in the protection oflimestone on archaeological sites. Soil scientist NoreenZaman described evaluating the chemical weathering of stoneduring reburial. Dr Martin Coombes described how ivy couldbe both hazardous to stonework while at the same timeproviding protection.

So many people enthusiastically contributed to this event,organised by Committee members: Peter Martindale, Jez Fryand Caroline Babington. Thank you to all the contributors forproviding such an extremely interesting afternoon.

Sarah Pinchin SWP Group News Editor

Textile GroupThe Textile Spring Forum, Learning Curve: Education,Experience, Reflection was held on April 13 at BirkbeckCollege. Thank you to all the speakers and to those whoproduced posters. It was a very successful event withinteresting and varied topics explored throughout the day. Areview of the event can be found on page 28 of this issue.

The AGM was part of the day. Our Chair, Deborah Phipps,came to the end of her three year term on the committee.She will be missed but thanks go to her for all her hard workand commitment. Three other committee members alsostood down: Kate Orfeur, Zoe Lanceley and Susana Fajardo.We also thank them for their hard work.

The new Chair is Alison Lister, Director/Principal Conservator,Textile Conservation Ltd. The other new members are SarahGlenn from the V&A, Katy Smith from the Bowes Museum andKim Thüsing from the National Museum, Wales. Thecommittee welcomes them to the team.

The ‘Understanding Tapestry’ course in Lincoln went very well.A review of the day is featured on page 29.

The Icon triennial conference will be held in Birmingham inJune 2016. Look out for further details throughout the year.

Further details of events will be on Iconnect, the website andFacebook.

Stone and Wall Painting Group members view a prototypeenvironmental sensor which uses a mobile phone to transmit stonespecific data from a remote archaeological site to a computer in thelab. Katrin Wilhelm (left) uses this equipment to monitor stones atPompeii

Stone and Wall Painting Group members on the tour of the RockBreakdown Lab in Oxford.

Dr Martin Coombes talked about the circumstances in which ivycauses damage, how to minimise the problem, and how to managethe growth effectively. He urged us to question whether it needsremoval because it can also protect stone walls from other agentsof deterioration


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word about conservation andbecome a really useful andlively meeting place andindustry hub for conservationprofessionals.

If you have stories,photographs and news toshare please get in touchwith me [email protected] and besure to follow us on Twitter@Conservators_uk and like uson Facebookwww.facebook.com/pages/The-Institute-of-Conservation.I’m looking forward togetting to know conservationand all of you!

Katie is in the office onThursdays and Fridays

Katie Allen joins Icon as ournew Digital Content Officer.She writes:

I am joining Icon from theworld of website editing,copywriting, blogging,journalism and anything else Icould turn my keyboard to!

I’ve always been interested inthe arts, history of design andcreativity. My first editorialjob was on Knitting magazineand I have gone on to writefor and edit magazines aboutcraft and sewing – evenpublishing my own craft bookin 2012 called Just SewStories. I previously workedat The Bookseller, the trademagazine for the publishingindustry, where I waspromoted to website editorof thebookseller.com andwelovethisbook.com, whichsaw me juggling writing,editing, commissioning,scheduling, social media andall the other tasks associatedwith running two very busywebsites.

I am very pleased to becoming on board at Icon,and I’m particularly excited tobe joining when the websiteis undergoing a very dynamicand contemporary redesign.I’m looking forward tohelping build a vibrantwebsite which will spread the

Updates from Cambridge:Edward Cheese left theCambridge Colleges’Conservation Consortiumand took up the post of Book& Manuscript Conservator atthe Fitzwilliam Museum in theNew Year.

Following on from Edward’sdeparture, BridgetWarrington was appointedto the position of ManagingConservator of theCambridge CollegesConservation Consortiumbased at Corpus ChristiCollege. Bridget worked forthe Consortium as Book andManuscript Conservator forthe two years leading up toher appointment.

The Cambridge ConservationConsortium consists ofeleven member colleges –Christ’s, Clare, CorpusChristi, Downing, Emmanuel,Gonville and Caius, King’s,Pembroke, Queens’, StJohn’s and Sidney Sussex.The Consortium’sconservation team works on avaried collection ofmanuscripts, books andarchival material, includingmodern archives and papersfrom all member colleges.

peopleMoves New Icon staff Departures

Rebecca Hendry came toIcon in 2009 as a temp tohelp us with our filing. Sheofficially joined the team atthe end of that year and,developing on the job, hassince become indispensablein her role as Finance Officer.Her willingness to help andher passion for Icon alwaysset her above and beyondthe call of duty.

Rebecca has now moved onto a new job at The BreakfastClub where she will beworking in the FinanceDepartment. She says thatshe was really attracted tothis fun, young company andparticularly liked theircommitment to CorporateSocial Responsibility. We willall miss Rebecca and heroasis of calm at the centre ofthings.

Alison Richmond CEO



Welcome to these new members

We’d like to extend a verywarm welcome to everyonewho joined us in Februaryand March 2015. We hopeto see you at an eventsoon.

Rose MillerNational Museum WalesAssociate

Masumi SuzukiSupporter

Adam MarriottAssociate

NRLCNational Research LaboratoryFor ConservationOrganisation

Marina GarianiStudent

Aranzazu Blat BurgesAssociate

Chiara MazzoniStudent

Jonathan KempAssociate

Julia RobinsonAssociate

Juliette FrancoisStudent

Jonathan Santa MariaBouquetAssociate

Shaun ThompsonAssociate

Diane KnaufStudent

Emma BloysStudent

Shobhakar AdhikariStudent

Eri Ohara AndersonStudent

Julie McBainStudent

Erin WalkerStudent

Rachael Seculer-FaberStudent

Colleen O’SheaStudent

Angela Warren-ThomasAssociate

Anna DembickaStudent

Elizabeth WooleyStudent

Kate Clive-PowellStudent

Clare GoulbournAssociate

Caterina MargheriStudent

Centre For Jewish HistoryOrganisation

Deborah HarrisAssociate

Matthew BresnenStudent

Lucy CokesStudent

Nick MaddockStudent

Kyoko KusunokiSupporter

Andrew EverettAssociate

Anne MaheuxAssociate

Adam GoodingStudent

Conservation By Design LtdOrganisation

Julie WertzStudent

Snow FainStudent

Marie de LauzonSupporter

Connie TangStudent

Cesar CerejoAssociate

Christina RomanowskiStudent

Jane Elizabeth TownsendStudent

Timothy RitsonAssociate

Rebecca PollakStudent

Crystal MaitlandAssociate

Julie GoldmanAssociate

Cuong NguyenStudent

Monica Dixon TripianaAssociate

Michelle SullivanStudent

Theresa KamperStudent

Gemma MathiesonStudent

Lucie PageAssociate

Lisa FormanAssociate

Anne DriesseAssociate

Marie KaladgewStudent

Mary Terese VigliottiStudent

Rijksdienst Voor Het CultureelErfgoedOrganisation

Martin Marks OBEAssociate

Elaine TroupAssociate

Maria Pardos MansillaStudent

Feichi GaoStudent

Weissman PreservationCentreOrganisation

Irmhild SchaeferAssociate

Lucy HartStudent

Jack NewmanStudent

Aline LeclercqAssociate

Sadie WilsonAssociate

Annabel HallAssociate

Sophie HetheringtonStudent

Nadege DaugaAssociate

Sam JohnsonStudent

Daria KeynanAssociate

Lisa ClaytonStudent

Cristina RusuStudent

Ruoxuan ChenAssociate

Daniele PastaAssociate

Panna KemenesStudent

Janet LeeStudent

Hasan Al MesaabiStudent

Ruth MurgatroydStudent

Jennifer DeanAssociate


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Managing dust

Removing dust from cultural heritage collections is anessential factor in their long-term preservation. Dust can bephysically damaging and disfiguring, it can catalyse chemicalreactions and abrade surfaces, even during cleaning, and itcan also serve as a food source for pests and mould. In 2013the Conservation Research team at The National Archives(TNA) initiated a project designed to inform a review ofcurrent commercial cleaning contracts in the context of howthe collection is used, accessed and stored. The outcomes ofour study provided recommendations for delivery of a moreefficient and cost-effective cleaning regime.

AIMSThis project aimed to assess the risk that dust poses to thecollection. The study focused on the sources of dust, rates ofaccumulation, and the efficacy of mitigation methods,including cleaning and storage.

The risks associated with dust have been extensivelyinvestigated in the context of museums and historic buildings(Victoria & Albert Museum, English Heritage, The NationalTrust), but less so for library and archive collections. Thecontext of an archive, including TNA, is very different,because the majority of the collection is boxed and stored inair-conditioned repositories with low foot traffic. Scanningelectron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX)confirmed that repository dust is generated frompredominantly internal sources. Analysis of dust samplescollected from the repositories found that sources werelargely biological material, such as skin cells and hair, fibresfrom clothing and boxes, natural material brought in onclothing and shoes, such as quartz/silica and aluminosilicates,particles of paint from shelving, and carbon-rich organicparticles transferred from outside.

ACCUMULATIONTo monitor dust accumulation we expanded upon the non-adhesive, ‘loss-of-gloss’ method used by the Victoria & AlbertMuseum.* Glass microscope slides were positioned on boxesin the repositories for periods of 2, 4, 6 and 12 months. Thedust that accumulated on each slide reduced the gloss of theslide appreciably. The loss of gloss was measured using aGlossmeter. Unlike those used in static displays, it was highlylikely that the glass slides in the repositories would be movedduring the monitoring period. Disturbance to the dust layeron the slides would have compromised results. Therefore theslides were fitted in mounts constructed of box board andplaced onto a larger piece of polystyrene board to keep themstable.

MITIGATION Currently, TNA cleaners are contracted to clean forty-two kmof shelving per year. The task is divided into units of two aislesper day; lamb’s wool dusters and microfibre cloths are usedto clean surfaces. Central areas with higher foot traffic arecleaned more frequently. In addition, floors are swept weeklyusing dry mops, central areas are vacuumed and windowledges dusted.

A series of experiments to investigate the efficacy of a varietyof cleaning methods and equipment were undertaken. Themethods and equipment tested included those currently used

Dr Helen Wilson and Amy Sampson of The National Archives report on theirstudy of dust and the influence of context on cleaning strategy

Typical levels of dust accumulated on boxes of collection material inthe repositories prior to cleaning

Equipment tested in cleaning experiments: lambs’ wool duster (A),brush (B), Dust Bunny® cloth (C), microfibre cloth (D), cotton duster(E), One-Wipe® cloth (F), and HEPA filter fitted vacuum withmultiple brush attachments (G)

* (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/spring-2011-issue-59/dust-to-dust.-access-to-access)

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at The National Archives, as well as others used in historicproperties and museums. UV-fluorescent powder was used asa substitute for dust in order to better assess the movementof ‘dust’ during these cleaning experiments. Scanningelectron microscopy analysis confirmed that the particles ofpowder were comparable in size to those of the smallerparticles of dust found in the repositories. The test surfacesand cleaning equipment were examined under UV light,before and after cleaning, to assess how much powder wasremoved, how much was retained by the cleaning equipmentand to what extent the powder was re-circulated into the airand re-deposited on surfaces.

ADDITIONAL PROTECTION Protective housings, such as boxes and folders, are anothermeans of moderating the risk of harmful dust to a collectionand so the value of these methods in protecting collectionitems was also assessed. UV-fluorescent powder wasdistributed over boxes containing facsimile documents; theboxes were handled and opened as they would be in therepository and reading room. Again, UV light was used tovisually assess the extent of re-distribution of the powder.

FINDINGSDust accumulation was confirmed to be greatest in thebusiest areas of the repositories but also in areas adjacent towindows, possibly due to air-flow variations near to heating,ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) vents.

Results from the testing of mitigation methods demonstratedthat:

1. a HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaner, followed by a dry orbarely-damp microfibre cloth was the most efficientmethod of cleaning, permanently removing powder withminimal re-circulation

2. lambs’ wool dusters in particular transferred substantialquantities of powder between surfaces and re-circulated itinto the air

3. microfibre cloths removed more powder than cotton onesand both re-circulated powder less than the lambs’ woolduster

4. brushes moved the powder but did not remove it

5. some protocols re-distributed, rather than removed dust

6. dust can be present on surfaces without being visible andso cleaning of seemingly ‘dust-free’ surfaces will benefit thecollection

7. dust can become ingrained in the surface of fibrousmaterials during cleaning using any of the techniquestested, the extent of which is not always discernible; onceingrained, it cannot be fully removed

8. boxes and secondary enclosures reduced the transfer ofpowder from box to document. However, a degree ofpowder was still transferred through direct contact withpowder-affected surfaces, or indirectly through re-circulation (i.e. when box lids are removed).

Based on these findings, a series of recommendations todecrease dust infiltration in TNA collections was made. Theseincluded the use of: clean hands when handling records; drymicrofibre cloths for cleaning boxes; barely-damp microfibrecloths for cleaning shelving; and, where possible, vacuum

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Boxes containing facsimile documents (A) were dusted with UV-fluorescing powder (B) before simulating standard handling procedures (C)

UV-fluorescent powder transferred from the outside of a ‘dusty’ boxto the person handling the box



cleaners with HEPA filters for cleaning all surfaces. The use oflambs’ wool dusters for cleaning the repositories was notrecommended.

CONCLUSIONThe context of use and storage of TNA collections hasinfluenced the methods developed to assess the risks of dustand to evaluate effective ways of mitigating this risk. Whilethe point at which the accumulation of dust becomeshazardous to collections has yet to be established, it is clearthat dust removal, combined with adequate housing isnecessary to minimize the risk of dust affecting collections.The evidence-based recommendations emerging from thisresearch are informing on-going discussions with TNA’sEstates team to implement the most appropriate and cost-effective method of reducing dust levels. In this way, soundscientific evidence is informing organisational practice andpolicy.

Distribution of UV-fluorescing powder on card after cleaning with a HEPA filter fitted vacuum, a dry microfibre cloth, and a lamb’s woolduster, viewed under UV light (A) and visible light (B)

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Acknowledgements

We thank English Heritage, the Collection Care Department atTNA, and Rachel Gallen (HLF Skills for the Future trainee) fortheir support and involvement in this project.

Further information can be found on The NationalArchives blog, at http://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/under the authors’ names and athttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/impact-of-dust.htm.


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INTRODUCTIONIn December 2013 English Heritage opened the newStonehenge Visitor Centre to the public, it included displaysof original artefacts found at the World Heritage site.However not all of the artefacts considered vital for the visitorcentre story were available for exhibition. Three suchspecimens were owned by Salisbury and South WiltshireMuseum. The originals were needed for their own galleries,therefore high quality replicas were required for theStonehenge displays.

The objects were:

1. A Late Neolithic ceremonial mace head made of highlypolished hornblende gneiss, its banded mineralogyproducing a distinctive pattern. It is approximately 50mmlong, has a hole in the middle for the shaft and is thought tohave been a ceremonial object.

2. A Late Neolithic incised chalk plaque. This is a roughlyrectangular piece of chalk, broken at two edges and the othertwo are rounded and slightly convex. Both surfaces aresmoothed, one surface is flatter and marked with striations,these can be seen to form a rough chevron design.

The use of3D scanningand printingin theproductionof replicas Annette Townsend1, Caroline Buttler2

and Dominic Eggbeer3 describe theuse of a new technology to createreplicas for the Stonehenge VisitorCentre

1 Department of Collection Services, & 2 Department of Natural Sciences,Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NPand 3 The National Centre for Product Design & Development Research,Cardiff Metropolitan University, Western Ave, Cardiff UK CF5 2YB

The original mace head, chalk plaque and bone skewer pin ownedby Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum

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3. A Late Neolithic bone skewer pin, approximately 150mm inlength. This has at some time been broken and repaired.

METHOD OF REPRODUCTIONTo produce the best quality replicas the specimens wouldhave to be moulded, however due to their unique nature, theowner institution understandably did not want the surface ofthe objects to be covered in moulding materials.

Carving a copy of the mace head out of a piece of gneiss wasdiscussed but it would have been impossible to find a rockthat exactly matched the pattern of mineralization seen in theoriginal.

Another option was to sculpt replicas of the three objects. Askilled model maker could do this and although the resultswould not be exact copies, they would be extremely close.However this method would require the original objects to beavailable for reference during the process and it was notpossible to borrow them for a period long enough toundertake the task.

A non-interventive method was required that would produceaccurate casts of the three objects. The recent advances in 3Dscanning and printing technology provided techniques thatcould solve this problem. An accurate copy of the specimencould be created without contact with moulding materials orhaving to borrow the specimen for long periods of time.

Different methods of 3D printing were discussed with theNational Centre for Product Design & Development Researchat Cardiff Metropolitan University. It was considered that,although a printed replica would fabricate the fine details, itwould not have the feel or look of the originals. Colourprinting does not provide the detail of the original and theresin used by the printer does not give a suitable surface forpainting. It was therefore decided that the best way forwardwould be to make a 3D print, then mould and cast this andthen paint the cast to produce an exhibition quality replica.

3D SCANNING The specimens were scanned using a Next engine 3D scannerin two orientations and then the two scans stitched together.The mace head and chalk plaque were both robust and couldbe easily mounted in a clamp to be scanned. However thebone pin was quite fragile so a Plastazote support wascreated to prevent any pressure being exerted on thespecimen, which may have caused damage. The scans weresaved as ‘Obj’ files which could be used by the 3D printer.

3D PRINTINGThe 3D printing was undertaken at the National Centre forProduct Design & Development Research, CardiffMetropolitan University, using a ProJet 3000 Plus printer. Thisuses polymer jetting-based technology, whereby an ultravioletsensitive resin is jetted from fine nozzles and cured layer-by-layer. The resolution is 750 x 750 x 1600 DPI (xyz); 16μ layers. Awax-based support structure supports the polymer part which

The original mace head specimen mounted and clamped for 3Dscanning

The 3D prints created with polymer jetting-based technology

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is melted away, then the print cleaned and degreased. Theprocess is highly suited to fabricating the fine details apparenton the Stonehenge artefacts.

MOULDING AND CASTINGThe 3D prints were placed on a bed of waxy modelling clayand prepared for two part moulding. Platsil Gel 10 platinumcure silicone rubber was brushed onto the surface of theprints and then trimmed once set. Platinum silicones do notshrink when cured and are dimensionally stable, making themperfect for highly detailed replication. Platsil Gel 10 also has athirty minute demould time, which significantly sped up themoulding process. Walls of clay were built up and a finedental plaster poured over the first side of the mould tocreate a hard support case. The moulds were turned over,release agents applied and the process repeated on thesecond side. The 3D prints were then removed from themoulds.

Different casting materials were tested for strength, colourand tactile qualities. Jesmonite AC300, a non-toxic waterbased acrylic casting resin, was chosen to replicate the macehead because of its stone like feel and suitability for painting.

Using the 3D prints to create two piece silicon moulds with plaster supports

The filled moulds left to cure in an upright position

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Jesmonite was also used for the chalk plaque replica. Thebone pin required a stronger material which would support itsfiner shape, so an epoxy resin was chosen. Pigments wereadded to the surface of the silicone moulds and mixed intothe uncured casting materials to create base colours. Themoulds were then filled, closed and stood upright for anyexcess resin and air bubbles to escape. Elastic bands werewrapped tightly around the moulds, pressing the pieces ofthe mould closely together whilst curing.

Once set, the casts were removed and trimmed. Penciloutlines were carefully drawn on the surface of the mace headcast using photographs of the real specimen as reference.Layers of colour were stippled and brushed on with acrylicpaints. Small scratches that had not been captured by the 3Dprint were manually recreated with modelling tools on thesurface of the bone pin and chalk plaque.

DISPLAYThe replicas went on display in the new Stonehenge VisitorCentre in December 2013 and have been appreciated fortheir realistic qualities. They have the feel of the originalartefacts and an appearance of depth in the surface detail.Further copies were also made to be used as educationalhandling specimens. This project represented a successfulmarriage of new technology and traditional skills.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank James Jepson (Amgueddfa Cymru –National Museum Wales) for scanning the specimens, MaryDavis (Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales) forvaluable technical assistance, Sara Lunt ( English Heritage) whoinitiated the project and Jane Ellis (Salisbury and SouthWiltshire Museum) for organising the loan of the specimens.

The final high quality display replicas

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The conservators at Birmingham Museums Trust have beenusing thorns to clean decorative metalwork, such as vestacases, coins, buttons and in particular the Staffordshire Hoard,for the past few years.

WHY THORNS?The idea of using thorns for the Staffordshire Hoard objectswas first considered as gramophone records were historicallyplayed with thorns, suggesting that it may be a suitablematerial to trial.

Steel implements such as scalpels, picks and pins arecommonly seen in a conservator’s toolkit, but these tools are

much harder than the hoard gold and silver alloy objects andare therefore not suitable due to the risk of scratching andpossibly marking the gold. Many hoard objects already have anumber of surface scratches, but the majority of these are theresult of manufacture construction marks or from thesubsequent removal of their component parts from theoriginal objects in the 7th century. Thorns have become theperfect solution for the conservation of the 4000 fragmentsand objects that make up the Staffordshire Hoard.

THE BENEFIT OF THORNSThorns have the advantage of having very fine, naturally sharpbut flexible points that can get into very small areas. Manyhoard objects have very fine cloisonné or filigree decoration,and a tiny implement is required to remove soil around thesedecorative features.

Thorns from several species of plant were trialled, but thethorns that had the properties we were looking for – softness,flexibility, and thin/small size – were berberis, pyrocanthus,hawthorn and blackthorn. These thorns vary in size andflexibility, which enables us to select the thorn that is mostappropriate for a particular object.

OTHER VIRTUESIn addition to being softer than steel and safer to use onhoard objects, using thorns in conservation has other indirectbenefits:

• Thorns are a natural product that is completelybiodegradable, so they can be disposed of along withregular rubbish

• They are a sustainable and renewable product

• They are free of charge and in abundant supply in the backgardens and allotments of Britain, so they do not affect ourbudget

• Unlike cocktail sticks, they do not tend to split and splinter;instead, the point grows dull or the entire thorn snaps inhalf, at which point it is simply thrown away

POSSIBLE DRAWBACKSA few potential risks to using thorns have been identified, thefirst one being that insects might hitch a ride into the studioon the thorns and their associated branches and leaves. Tominimise this risk, bags of thorns are inspected prior to beingbrought into the museum, at which point they are held in theconservation offices instead of the studio until they are readyto be clipped. The second risk is that some natural substancesuch as plant juice/sap might be transferred from the thornsto the objects. To minimise this risk thorns are inspected andonly dry, clean thorns are used.

A new conservation toolThe Staffordshire Hoard Conservation Team at Birmingham Museums Truston using thorns to conserve the Staffordshire Hoard

Visitors around the new conservation and research tables atBirmingham Museum and Art Gallery

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THORNS IN ACTIONThe use of thorns has been very successful in conservingthese important objects and the conservation process cannow be seen featuring in the New Staffordshire Hoard Gallerywhich opened last October at Birmingham Museum and Art

Gallery. Visitors can see the tools, learn about how the hoardhas been conserved since its discovery and even look down amicroscope to see the cleaning in action.

For more information about the hoard and regular updatesyou can visit www.staffordshirehoard.org.uk

Cleaning with a thorn

The results of careful cleaning with thorns

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around and aboutOther industrial heritage newsIf big stuff like the Paisley Fountain is your thing, then maybethe next BigStuff conference is for you. Taking place everytwo or three years, these international events focus on thechallenges of preserving the large industrial structures andtechnical objects that form such an important part of ourmodern heritage. The aim is to bring together conservationprofessionals, curators and those working in or interested inthe heritage field to share experiences and ideas, andencourage a consistent approach to preserving technologicalheritage.

BigStuff 2015 will be held at the mining museum CentreHistorique Minier, Lewarde, in France from 3–4 September.Full details can be found atwww.bergbaumuseum.de/bigstuff2015

The Paisley Fountain is awinner!Remember our serial last year about the work of bringing thePaisley Fountain back to life? If you don’t, this picture willsurely remind you! Well, it has won the Museums + HeritageAward for Excellence 2015 in the ‘Restoration orConservation’ category. The competition was strong withBletchley Park, Historic Royal Palaces and Tate amongst theshortlisted contenders.

The award may officially be made to Renfrewshire Council butfor us the winner is our author Jim Mitchell ACR. As Jim said ‘It’s good for Icon too’.

Jim also told Icon News that, following the announcement oftheir win, the team was celebrating into the small hours.Sadly, he wasn’t able to be at the awards ceremony as he wasdown with flu but no doubt the news helped towards hisrecovery.

The Paisley Fountain wins a prestigious award



Joshua Reynolds, Studio Experiments in Colour and Media

Joshua Reynolds, Mrs Jane Braddyll, 1788

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Flying the flagOn Wednesday 18 March, I went to fly the flag for Icon at theWallace Collection where, as part of British Science Week,they were hosting a Masterclass on The Science ofConservation for students studying A level physics andchemistry.

The Masterclass centred around the Wallace Collection’scurrent exhibition ‘Joshua Reynolds: Experiments in Paint’.This exhibition looks at the themes of experimentation andinnovation, tracing Reynolds’ working practice and his use ofpigments and media. Students met the conservators whoconserved these eighteenth-century paintings and found outabout the science behind their work. They discovered whatmuseum conservation involves and where taking a sciencedegree can lead.

They looked at technical analysis such as the chemical analysisof paint - including gas chromatography mass spectrometry(GC-MS); a demonstration of x-ray florescence analysis (XRF)and UV light examination.

There were workshops, talks and discussion led by expertsfrom The Wallace Collection, The National Gallery and Icon.The students saw how conservation linked with the sciencethey are taking for A level:

• Mass spectrometry (A level Chemistry)

• Magnetic fields deflecting charged particle (A level Physics)

• Energy levels in orbitals – excitation, de-excitation andionisation (A level Physics)

• EM spectrum (GCSE/A level Physics)

I gave them an introduction to Icon, who we are and what wedo. I talked about our members and our membershipbenefits, including Icon News, Internships, our Groups andPACR.

I took along our Intern at the V&A, Mark Kearney, who is livingthe dream! Mark told them how he came from a sciencebackground, with a BSc in Physics with Astrophysics, followedby a Grad Dip and an MSc in Conservation. He told them howmuch hard-core science is involved in conservation. He hasjust completed his 12 months internship in Modern Materials.Look out for his blog: http://surgeonforplastic.wordpress.com/

Thanks to Emma Bryant,the Education Officer at the WallaceCollection, for inviting Icon to attend. We are always happy toattend events to raise the profile of conservation and of Icon.

Kath Whittam

Professional Development Support Officer

‘Joshua Reynolds: Experiments in Paint’ runs at the WallaceCollection in London until 7 June. It reveals discoveries madeduring a four-year research project into the outstandingcollection of twelve Reynolds paintings at the WallaceCollection. As well as celebrated portraits and experimentalstudies it also includes the hidden stories behind thepaintings, archive resources and x-ray-images. One of thecurators of the exhibition was Icon member Alexandra Gent,also responsible for paintings conservation for the ReynoldsResearch Project.

A forthcoming photographicexhibitionPhotography: A Victorian Sensation will open at NationalMuseums Scotland (NMS), Edinburgh on 19 June 2015 andrun for 5 months. Showcasing the best of the museum’s earlyphotographic collection, approximately 1500 photographs willbe displayed, complemented by Victorian photographicequipment, jewellery, ceramics and ephemera.

Taking you on a tour of the development of the photographicimage, the exhibition will begin with the earliest images madeby Daguerre and Talbot, plus a strong Scottish focus. It willfollow on with Sir David Brewster’s influence on stereophotography, the impact of Frederick Scott Archer’s invention


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of the wet collodion process and its resultingcommercialisation.

Photography for the masses will include displays of cartes-de-visite, the production of photographic novelty wares and workby amateur photographers like Julia Margaret Cameron.Displays of tintypes, the low-cost image popularised aroundthe time of the introduction of Bank Holidays in 1871,followed by an AV of the story of George Eastman and thedevelopment of the Kodak company from 1888, and takingvisitors to the mass commercialisation of photography in thetwentieth century, will round the exhibition off.

NMS’s Paper Conservators have developed a successful andcollaborative relationship with the exhibition team to ensurethat optimum conservation and display requirements will bemet. To date we have:-

• conducted a survey of the collection in order to prioritisethe areas and types of photograph requiring greatestconservation input.

• focussed much of our work on the treatment ofdaguerreotypes and ambrotypes displaying glassdeterioration

• organised a two day Identification and Conservationworkshop by Susie Clark, Photographic Conservator forNMS’s exhibition team in Autumn 2014

• agreed that the installation schedule will include a six week‘off gassing’ period for the case interiors.

• carried out Accelerated Ageing Tests on paint samples andcase interior material.

• worked with the National Galleries of Scotland to carry outmicrofading analysis of all salt paper prints intended for

Gathering Water Lilies by Peter Harry Emerson, 1886, platinum print.

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display to inform the selection process.

• agreed a rotation policy with Curators and Design &Exhibition for the most sensitive material, and agreed thatsome exceptionally sensitive early material will be shownonly as copies.

• held regular mock-up sessions with the exhibition team toensure best outcomes for lighting and displaying thephotographs.

Please access the Museum’s website www.nms.ac.uk to findout more information on the exhibition and read forthcomingblogs related to our work.

We are also hoping to hold a seminar and gallery tour,organised between NMS and Icon’s Photographic MaterialsGroup after the summer.

Victoria HanleyPaper Conservator, NMS

The Prince and IAs part of the celebration of 150 years of London’s mainsewerage system, held at Abbey Mills Pumping Station, thesite was visited by HRH The Prince of Wales earlier this year.Helen Hughes ACR, an architectural paint conservator, was onhand to meet him. She and Saskia Huning, an artist andspecialist decorator, had been asked by Thames Water tocreate and present reconstructions of how the polychromedecoration of the internal cast-iron work of Bazalgette’spumping station – known as ‘the cathedral of the sewers’would have looked in 1865 when the pumping station wasopened.



Full size reconstruction of the original 19th century polychromedecoration painted by Saskia Huning

The existing decoration of Abbey Mills Pumping Station – thebuilding is known as the ‘cathedral of the sewers’

The collaboration team – paint researcher Helen Hughes and artistSaskia Huning at the pumping station

Paint sample mounted in cross-section x500 magnification. Showingthe original blue picked out on the columns

Helen Hughes ACR explains her research findings to HRH PrinceCharles

Helen Hughes had already carried out extensive microscopicpaint research to establish the existing scheme. She andSaskia spent time on site colour mixing and working out howthe main colours would have worked together. During theirresearch they began to appreciate the magical theme of thedecorative scheme – the architectural elements sprouted intofoliage as the cast-iron structure ascended the building.

From these discussion full size sample boards were paintedup by Saskia, of the base of the columns, the capitals andsections of railing. The boards gave a vivid impression of howthe interior once looked – and could look again if Thames

Water decides to reconstruct the scheme. It is hoped thatlocal partners can be found to take the project forward andSaskia hopes to direct the repainting, providing training fordecorators and involving local schoolchildren.

Prince Charles, an amateur painter himself, took a greatinterest in the details of the research and the recreation.

Helen reports that it was ‘A thoroughly enjoyable project towork on, culminating in meeting HRH Prince Charles andother VIPs on the event day to talk them through theextravagant scheme that would have been in place’.

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reviewsCONFERENCES

THE BLUE PERIOD: New Interpretations byMeans of Technical StudiesMuseu Picasso, Barcelona30 January 2015

Associated generally with economy, artistsreusing canvases, painting over earlier, lessresolved work is not new. But in late JanuaryBarcelona’s Museu Picasso organised aseminar on Picasso’s Blue Period thatrevealed that for Picasso the practice hadnothing to do with poverty. Doing itthroughout his career it was a creative, not adestructive act.

A range of paintings was discussed but theday centred mainly on five: the MuseuPicasso’s 1903 Barcelona Rooftops, his 1903Tragedy from The National Gallery of Art,Washington DC, his 1903–4 Woman Ironingfrom the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,New York, the 1901 The Blue Room fromThe Phillips Collection, Washington DC andhis 1903 The Old Guitarist from The ArtInstitute of Chicago, all of them havingrecently undergone advanced analysis with arange of techniques in their respectiveinstitutions. Again and again the conclusionsconcurred.

Classically trained in 19th century academicpainting practices, Picasso was alwaystransgressive. The smooth, muted surfacesbeloved of the academy were not for him.Fascinated with the process of painting, heused colour, texture, absorption, scrapingand scratching, resulting in textures notalways those one might expect from thesubjects represented. In his BarcelonaRooftops evidently curved brushwork is notin keeping with the straight edges of thepainting’s subject. Intruding from below X-rays reveal a fairly finished compositionrelating to his 1903 La Vie. Why leave thisbrushwork so evident?

Similar clues show that the thinly paintedThe Blue Room takes its surface texture froman under layer containing a man in jacketand bow tie, head resting on one hand,known for some time from this texture butmore recently revealed more clearly bymulti- and hyper- spectral imaging. WomanIroning also has ample clues of acomposition below the visible one, again ofa man’s head.

Some paintings hide several images. TheNational Gallery of Art’s Ann Hoenigswalddiscussed two compositions under TheFamily of Saltimbaques, and below the 1903Tragedy there is one similar to a 1902drawing, Corrida de toros: El Arrastre of adead horse being dragged from the bullfightarena. Below that is a bullfight scene from1901, and below that again infra-redphotography reveals pencil or ink and diluteoil sketches, done directly on the wooden

portrait comes from the underlying image. InThe Blue Room, also, colours from the lowerimage intrude creatively into the visible one.He plays with the layering emphasisingedges, adding subtly to his images. WithThe Old Guitarist we find quite a colourfulscene sandwiched between two Blue periodcompositions. What are we to make of this?

Woman Ironing, traditionally dated to1903–4, has parallel scraping, as thoughPicasso wanted to dematerialise thewoman’s image, exposing colour from lowerlayers, in places using it as shadow. MarilynMcCully has suggested that the man belowmay be Ricard Canals, who has beencredited with introducing Picasso to etching.Picasso’s The Frugal Meal of September1904 shares compositional similarities withWoman Ironing and other 1904–5 works alsoshow scraping, indicating that it became partof Picasso’s repertoire at that time unrelatedto media. Thus dating Woman Ironing tospring 1904 may be too early.

But we also learn that within a singlecomposition there is no mixing of layers, no

panel’s surface, which Picasso bought in1899, using it as an aide memoire for twoyears before painting the bullfight on it.Reflectance Transformation Imaging, thatmerges multiple raking light images, revealsthat The Old Guitarist may have started offas a clean shaven young man, and below thisis a seated figure with a child, a cow and calfand then below this a woeful, seated figurethat may also relate to La Vie.

However, Picasso was not simply hidingprevious images. Each surface influencedsubsequent ones. He used the similarities ofdisparate forms; the boy’s head in Tragedyreuses the outline of part of the horse’sheaddress underneath, the man’s headunder Woman Ironing is transformed intothe bowl’s shadow in the upper image; hismoustache becomes folds in the cloth.

In 1895, painting over flowers on atambourine, Picasso used their colours in thebeard and flesh tones of his image of a man,giving it depth and liveliness. His 1901Portrait of Sabartes overlays a woman with acap and much of the colouring for Sabartes’

Pablo Picasso, Barcelona Rooftops, 1903

X-ray of Barcelona Rooftops by Pablo Picasso, 1903

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wet in wet. One layer is dry before Picassoapplies the next. Fired with his subject, heapplies a layer of paint but must wait untilthat layer is dry before continuing. How longmust he wait? Days? Weeks? And all thattime his mind does not stop. He sketchesand paints other pieces; his thoughtsdevelop. Thus multi layered compositionsrepresent the process of his thinking. Youthink you are seeing everything until you digdeeper. These multi-layered compositionsare the thread of the artist’s thoughtstwining through different subjects, or asPenrose Golding put it:

’Instead of leaving a record, to see how youcan leave a record … for him, the truesubject of the work is always the work that isyet to be done.’ *

Clare Finn* ‘The Painter and his Model’, Roland Penrose andJohn Golding, Picasso 1881–1973, London, 1973,Écrits sur l’art, p. 363.

GLASS DETERIORATION COLLOQUIUM ICCOM-CC & State Academy of Art andDesign StuttgartStuttgart February 2015

For ten years Gerhard Eggert and AndreaFischer (State Academy of Art and Design,Stuttgart) have organised a series offocused, popular colloquia covering a rangeof conservation issues. This year, glassdeterioration was the theme, with aparticular focus on glass-induced metalcorrosion. The colloquium was organised inassociation with the Glass DeteriorationGroup of the ICOM-CC Glass and CeramicsWorking Group. It was a well-paced eventwith lively discussions, and plenty ofopportunities to meet speakers anddelegates from across Europe and America.

The first session focused on glassdeterioration and conservation. KatherineEremin (Harvard University) in GlassDeterioration: what do we know and how dowe measure it, summarised the complexitiesof unravelling how composition, manufactureand post-production history of glass mayaffect its deterioration behaviour. Analysis iskey to understanding these aspects and itwas hoped that increasingly sophisticated,non-destructive analytical techniques wouldcontinue to deepen understanding of glassdeterioration and in turn inform conservationpractice. Continuing the emphasis onanalysis, Guus Verhaar, a doctoral student atthe University of Amsterdam, in Identificationand documentation of the early stages ofglass sickness, outlined a proposed methodof identifying the onset of glass diseasethrough quantitative analysis of surfacedeposits using ion chromatography.Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)would also be explored for documenting thedeterioration of a surface.

presented a series of object case studies.Although copper alloys were the primaryfocus, zinc and lead alloys were alsoconsidered.

Isabel Keller (Swiss National Museum), inHow rare is it? A survey in the Swiss NationalMuseum, studied the occurrence of whatappeared to be glass-induced metalcorrosion in their collection, concluding thatthis was certainly not a rare phenomenon,and noting that carbonyl pollutants, emittedby wood products in cases and storage,were significant in its formation. This was anissue highlighted throughout thecolloquium.

Stephanie Wümmers (State Academy of Artand Design, Stuttgart), in Glass balls fallingdown: copper and lead corrosion of a BlackForest Schäppel, detailed the occurrence ofcorrosion products on a magnificentSchäppel, an elaborate traditional bridalheaddress from the Black Forest region ofSouth West Germany. She studied coppercorrosion products (from decorative wiresand supports) and lead corrosion products(from lead-mirrored glass balls) on theheaddress, confirming that the corrosion hadresulted from association with deterioratingglass. Further case studies were presentedby Silke Beiner-Büth in Glass Deteriorationin the Hamburg Museum. The HamburgMuseum’s collection of miniatures had beenseriously affected through both glassdeterioration and glass-induced metalcorrosion, exacerbated by offgassing woodproducts from 1970s’ storage units. Thedamage here was not just confined to theglass and metal, but also endangered theminiatures, as alkali-rich solutions from thedeteriorating glass could drip onto thepainted surfaces. This study also highlightedthe difficulties faced by a smaller institutionin finding the necessary support to addressthis serious problem.

Four posters were displayed on the first dayof the conference. Two showcased issues

A nineteenth century Black Forest Schäppel from the Ethnographic Museum of the vonPortheim Foundation, Heidelberg, showing glass-induced metal corrosion (beforetreatment)

In The relevance of refractive index for thetreatment of crizzled glass, Norman Tennent(University of Amsterdam) considered ameans to improve the appearance of crizzledglass by using consolidants to coat thedeteriorated surface, matching the RefractiveIndex (RI) of the consolidant to the glass asclosely as possible. The significant ethicalaspects of such a process were consideredalongside practical constraints, such as thenecessity to understand beforehand howdeteriorating glass might behave under suchtreatment.

Returning to analysis, Chiara Gamarra(University of Turin), in Influence ofdegradation on the production ofquantitative data by using portable-XRF onglassy matrices of Limousin composition,discussed the effectiveness of non-destructive surface analysis on moderatelydeteriorated glass using SEM-EDX and p-XRF on synthesised enamel samplescomparable to Limousin enamels. RobertDinnebier (Max Planck Institute for SolidState Research, Stuttgart), in Orderedstructures from powdered samples: modernx-ray powder diffraction of corrosionproducts, looked at the effectiveness of x-raypowder diffraction in studying the crystalstructure of deterioration compounds.

The second session of the colloquiumfocused on glass-induced metal corrosion,with emphasis on the work of the GIMMEproject (Glass Induced Metal Corrosion onMuseum Exhibits). Gerhard Eggertsummarised the history of GIMME research,begun in 2012, and its confirmation that thealkaline environment on the surface ofdeteriorating glass can cause corrosion inclosely associated metals. Four hithertounknown glass-induced copper corrosionproducts have been identified through theGIMME project, and in the following paper:Copper formates and further unknowncorrosion products, Andrea Fischer

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that featured throughout the conference:Dana Rohanová (University of Chemistry andTechnology, Prague), Corrosion of potassiumarchaeological glass, and UlrikeRothenhäusler (Swiss National Museum,Zurich), Historic Swiss pharmacy glasses after100 years of permanent exhibition –condition and conservation treatment.Gerhard Eggert contributed a poster on thework of Wilhelm Geilmann: Peculiar pictures:the Geilmann album. Geilmann was an earlyscientist of glass who kept detailedphotographic records (micrographs) of hisstudies of deteriorating glass. The Museumof London poster: Hazing of display caseglass: a review of recent work, documentedthe occurrence of sodium-rich deposits onthe interior surfaces of glass display cases.This phenomenon has been observedinternationally. Investigations with materialsscientists at Imperial College London andmanufacturers of display cases are ongoing,with the aim of resolving this issue.

Day two of the colloquium was held in theLandesmuseum Württemberg, with the thirdsession focusing on new theories. ScientistsOlivier Schalm (University of Antwerp) inLaminated altered layers in historical glass:density variation of silica nanoparticlerandom packings as explanation for theobserved lamellae and Christoph Lenting(Steinmann-Institut, Bonn): In situ, real-timeand isotope tracer glass corrosionexperiments; understanding patternformation in silicate glass corrosion zones,addressed the structure of lamellae, thelayering feature of some deteriorated glass.The possible benefits to conservation fromresearch into the effectiveness of glass as amaterial for long-term storage of radioactivewaste were also touched upon.Understanding lamellae and how theydevelop may inform, for example, the way inwhich wet archaeological glass is dried, andhow it might be supported.

The colloquium concluded with a livelyround table discussion, expanding on thethemes of the sessions. This was followed bythe AGM of the ICOM-CC GlassDeterioration Group, which, among otheraims, is hoping to establish an internationalterminology for glass deterioration. Theimportance of this for condition reportingwas emphasised. A bibliography of glassdeterioration is also being developed(available at: www.icom-cc.org/ in the GlassDeterioration section of the Glass andCeramics Working Group). To find out moreand to contribute, contact Guus Verhaar [email protected]. The nextGroup conference will be in Wrocław, Poland(May 2016). The next Stuttgart colloquium,also in May 2016, will consider theconservation of waterlogged wood.

As a final treat, delegates were invited tovisit the famous Ernesto Wolf collection ofarchaeological and historical glass, led by

Textile Conservation Studio) discussed thetreatment of a large chenille carpet and thechallenges encountered when handling andworking on a large and complicated object.Her paper explained the significance thecarpet holds and how the conservation ofsuch a large object is undertaken.

The afternoon started with a presentation onthe conservation of the Doddington Halltapestries by Alice Brown and SophieMinnis (Doddington Hall Project). Theyprovided a good insight into the estimatingprocess and time-keeping in tapestryconservation. As young, emergingconservators the project has been invaluablein providing them with opportunities todevelop their practical skills, theircommunication skills and the importance ofgood estimating, time management anddecision making. Jennifer Cruise (Professorof Science, University of St. Thomas,Minnesota) looked at the scientificinformation that is available to conservators.In her study she identified the factors thatlimit the utility of conservation science andwhat is needed to improve this.

The next two presentations were self-reflective. The first was by Nora Meller(Royal Museums Greenwich) on herinternship at the National Maritime Museum.She focussed on the interdisciplinarycollaboration and the methods ofdocumenting, condition assessing andpreparing for storage and display that shelearned during her internship. The secondpresentation by Ann French (The WhitworthArt Gallery, Manchester) connected personalself-reflection to professional change. As2014 marked her thirtieth year inconservation, this was a good opportunity toreflect on how the profession has changedduring the last thirty years and howprofessional and personal events haveimpacted on her understanding of andattitudes towards conservation practice.

Where the day started with education forfuture textile conservators, it finished with apresentation by Joan Kendall (TextileConsultant at Hatfield House) on how shetrained and managed volunteers for thetextile conservation group at Hatfield Housefor almost forty years. Her account gave theaudience a good and amusing insight intohow she taught, managed and inspired thevolunteers.

It was a very successful and interesting dayfor people at any stage of their textileconservation career. Afterwards there was agreat opportunity to catch up and discussthe day over a glass of wine.

Yoko HanegreefsLevy Textile Conservation InternNational Trust Textile Conservation Studio

Astrid Wollmann, conservator at theLandesmuseum Württemberg.

For more details and expanded abstractssee the colloquium website:http://objektrestaurierung.abk-stuttgart.de/glass-deterioration/programme.php.

Hazel would like to thank the Anna PlowdenTrust for a grant towards attending thecolloquium.

Hazel Gardiner (British Museum) & HelenGaniaris (Museum of London)

LEARNING CURVE: Education, Experience,ReflectionIcon Textile Group Spring ForumLondon 13 April 2015

The annual meeting of the Icon TextileGroup provided a day packed with twentyminute lectures and an array of interestingposters on recent and past ways of learning,sharing experiences and looking back to thepast and what we can learn for the future.

The day started with a presentation fromFrances Lennard and Sarah Foskett (Centrefor Textile Conservation, University ofGlasgow) on textile conservation education.As 2015 marks the fortieth anniversary for theTCC, this was a good opportunity to reflecton the course and how a good balancebetween academic and practical educationhas been reached. Katriina Simila(Collections Unit, ICCROM) showed in herpaper how everyone’s point-of-view isdependent on who we are and what webelieve and know. Being conscious of thiscan help us recognise the positions of othersand lead to better communication.Jacqueline Hyman (The Textile RestorationStudio) and Pierrette Squires (BoltonMuseum) talked about their successfulcollaborative working between private andpublic conservation practices. This has giveninterns the opportunity of working with bothas part of their internship and has enabledthem to learn and experience differentapproaches.

The second part of the morning containedpresentations on conservation treatments.Maria Jordan and Libby Thompson(Historic Royal Palaces) shared theirexperience with polychrome patterned nylonnet, describing the successes and challengeswith both digitally printed net and hand-painted net. The paper presented by SarahGlenn and Elizabeth-Anne Haldane (V&A)discussed different cleaning methodsdeveloped for paintings conservation,including the use of chelators, enzymes, gelsand emulsions, that can also have anapplication in textile conservation. Throughcase studies they showed alternativecleaning methods where, in the past,treatment was not possible owing to variousfactors. Aimee Grice-Venour (National Trust



Constanza was very excited to have other‘paper nerds’ in the studio. In addition toFabriano Artistico, the paper she frequentlyuses for workshops, she also providedZerkall Extra Smooth and Zerkall Hammeredas well as a variety of Japanese papers for usto experiment with.

Participants were each given two negativesmade from images they had submitted – anice touch, giving the workshop a personalfeel. The coated papers were exposed to UVlight in a special vacuum unit. Since eachexposure took 800 seconds there was plentyof time to ask questions and observe as theexposed images were developed. Theimages could be left a vibrant blue or couldbe toned using baths of black or green tea.

As a photographic conservator thisworkshop was very useful, providing me witha deeper understanding of how the imageswere made. Given that Lux Darkroom workswith a variety of different processes includingVandyck brown, salt and albumen printing Ihope that Icon runs more workshops like this.

Elspeth JordanPhotograph and Paper Conservator*(https://londonalternativephotography.wordpress.com/)

UNDERSTANDING TAPESTRYIcon Textile GroupLincoln March 2015

In March a group of textile conservatorsgathered eagerly at the Heritage SkillsCentre, Lincoln Castle, to learn more aboutthe processes of tapestry weaving. Most, ifnot all of us, had some experience ofworking with either historic or more moderntapestries but little to no hands-onexperience of how they would originallyhave been woven, so the two-day coursepromised to be enlightening andchallenging in equal measure. We were notdisappointed in either respect.

Our tutor for the two-day course was CaronPenney, Master Weaver, formerly TapestryStudio Director at West Dean, and founderof the ‘Weftfaced’ tapestry workshop. Caronwas ably assisted by Katharine Swailes, alsoa Master Weaver with West Dean. Thecourse started right at the very beginning (avery good place to start), with warping up asimple weaving frame, including guidanceon warp count, tension and otherconsiderations that we were able torecognise from ‘the other side’ of theprocess. Caron and Katharine were endlesslypatient as most of us became quicklybefuddled over slip knots and other thingswhich had looked so easy in thedemonstration, and everyone was soonready to begin weaving.

The content of the course aimed tointroduce techniques for forming shapes andcreating shaded effects, working from boththe front and the back of a tapestry. Allmaterials were included and each weavertook away a sample to proudly show theirfriends and families at the end of the twodays. Some even took home their frame, sokeen were they to carry on practising theirnew skill.

We began by weaving a simple diagonalshape, then blocks of colour to practise howto deal with slits – single interlocks, doubleinterlocks and sewing up slits (somethingthat I think we all felt comfortable with!).Helped on by Caron’s relaxed, learner-drivenstyle of teaching – where each new weaverprogressed at their own pace and newtechniques were introduced anddemonstrated as and when the group wereready to move on (or even repeated morethan once, if some sections of the groupprogressed faster than others) – the first daypassed in no time at all, and the ‘home-timebell’ was only rung when it looked as thoughwe might be locked in to the Castleovernight.

Day two continued in the same relaxed style,this time with the more complicated shadingtechniques – hatching, hachures, the demiduite and blending. These required moreconcentration, with a number of uscommitting that cardinal weaving sin: falling

WORKSHOPS

CYANOTYPESIcon Book & Paper and PhotographicMaterials GroupsLondon March 2015

On March 26 Constanza Isaza Martínez ofLux Darkroom (www.luxdarkroom.co.uk)welcomed eight attendees to her studio foran evening workshop on cyanotypes. She,along with colleague Melanie King, founderof the London Alternative PhotographyCollective*, provided excellent, hands on,introduction to the cyanotype process.

Invented in the 1840s by Englishman SirJohn Herschel, cyanotypes use light-sensitiveiron salts to form blue photographic images.Since the chemicals involved have a low levelof toxicity it is an excellent introduction tophotographic printing.

Like the majority of the participants I’m aphoto developing novice but the smallgroup and approachable teaching stylequickly put me at ease. After an overview ofthe chemistry involved, everyone was giventhe chance to coat a variety of papers withthe light sensitive material. Several studentsbrought their own handmade paper and

Sayaka Fukuda washing a cyanotype print

Cyanotype images developed by Judith Lee

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‘out of shed’. Nevertheless, all mistakes weregreeted with good humour; such was thefriendly atmosphere between participantsand tutors.

As the afternoon of the second day drew in,weavers were invited to view the tapestriesfrom Doddington Hall, which are currentlybeing conserved at the Heritage SkillsCentre. This was a real treat for those whohad not seen these tapestries before, butequally beneficial for those of us morefamiliar with them, as we looked at thetechniques used by the 17th century weaverswith new eyes and, I think it’s fair to say,even greater respect.

The second day was rounded off with that

bubbles. These bubbles are potentiallydamaging. Bubble development andpressure build-up can happen quickly, as thebubbles form at nucleation sites within thepaper, potentially leading to unwantedstretching, rupture and tears.

Chine-collé prints, it was emphasised, arecomplex works to treat. These prints aretraditionally made of a thin Oriental paperadhered overall with adhesive to a heavierWestern plate paper (which is more porousand contains more air) and run through aroller press during printing. The forces of thepress can push the ink through the top sheetinto the backing paper creating anadditional bond which can interfere withseparation, should it become necessary. Ifremoving the print paper from the platepaper becomes necessary due to theformation of bubbles or de-laminationduring aqueous treatments, then re-assembly in the precise original position canbe a challenge. Clearly it is far better toavoid being in such a position by preventingthe problems rather than rectifying them.

So gas is a problem during washing whichwe want to eliminate; but where is it allcoming from? Surprisingly paper can have asmuch as 70% air positioned within itsrecesses and voids. Gases are also dissolvedin tap water. Indeed, water fresh from thetap is supersaturated with gas. Whathappens with this gas when we wash multi-layer papers? Most of it is displaced bywater. The passage of water throughdifferent papers is very complex butessentially air can become trapped withinpaper or can come out of solution formingbubbles within the paper.

Nicholas has found ways to minimise thepotentially damaging gas. The first way is todisplace the air within the paper by fillingthe paper voids with Industrial MethylatedSpirits by saturating (immersing) the printbefore aqueous treatment. The second is touse de-gassed (de-aerated) water duringtreatment. The prints are initially floated, toallow air to escape, and then washed byimmersion. Washing face down was alsotrialled.

There are various methods available todegas water. The most simple is boilingwater for five to ten minutes in a kettle, asgas becomes less soluble as the watertemperature increases. The ‘Burco’ boilercan be used for larger quantities. Onceboiled, the water must be left to cool. Thewater should not be stirred and, if placed ina completely full, sealed container, can bestored for several months. Other methods ofdegassing include vacuum degassers andultrasonic degassing. Freezing can also beused as the gas is forced out of solution withfreezing, however, this is a slow method.Vortex degassing and using a hydrophobicmembrane were also mentioned. Combiningmethods, such as bubbling with nitrogen

The participants on the Back to Basics ‘Understanding Tapestry’ course

Abigail Tyler on the ‘UnderstandingTapestry’ course

staple of textile conservation – tea and cake– and a chance to view each others’ work.Considering that we all worked with thesame basic structure and techniques, thevariety introduced through colour choiceand individual styling was extraordinary.

The course was very memorable and utterlyfascinating. The practical skills we learnedwill, I’m sure, help enormously in our workwith tapestries as Conservators, giving us anew level of appreciation and understandingof these very special works of art. In additionthough, I found spending two daysimmersed in a new craft skill, in the companyof like-minded people immensely enjoyable.I hope very much that it is an experience Iwill be able to repeat in the future.

Leah Warriner-WoodConservator, WHConservation & Lecturer,University of Lincoln

TALKS

A NEW TECHNIQUE FOR WASHINGARTWORKS ON PAPER Independent Paper Conservators’ GroupLondon March 2015

This talk was given by Nicholas Burnett,ACR, Chief Executive/Chief Conservator ofMuseums Conservation Services Ltd. Hefocused on the problems associated with theaqueous treatment of multi-layered objectsand what we can do to alleviate them. Workssuch as Chine-collé, (India Laid), pasteboards and other works with secondarysupports are prone to blistering, bubblingand partial or complete delamination duringwashing.

Problems can emerge from their layeredcomposition, poorly adhered layers or thelamination of papers of various degrees ofporosity which can react in unfavourableways when washed. Multi-layered objects areprone to stresses which can be caused bydifferential expansion and contraction of thelayers. Added to this mix, gases can becometrapped between the layers forming



and then boiling will produce very low levelsof dissolved gas.

Practical experimentation includedcomparing techniques using a large groupof Chine-collé prints. This showed that tapwater gave the worst results whereas pre-wetting with IMS and using degassed watergave the best. In contrast, washing facedown did not give an advantage for theseprints. Videos showing how the plate paperwetted quickly compared with the printpaper demonstrated why this was so.

Nicholas also expressed his need for a largegroup of homogeneous Chine-collé printsfor further testing. When assessing a multi-layered work before treatment, heexplained, by gently flexing the sheet one

can check for localised adhesive layer failure.One interesting observation was that re-washing after drying produced significantlyworse results. This was probably due to theshearing forces that can be created duringdrying and which can be reduced by slowingthe drying time and ensuring both sides dryat the same rate. This is simply carried out bysandwiching the works between blottingpaper. It was also noted that paste, ink,mould or damage will affect the permeabilitywhen washing.

To avoid bubbles etc when carrying outsubsequent wet treatments Nicholassuggested either non aqueous de-acidification or aqueous de-acidification via asuction table, or using, of course, a de-

gassed water solution. For sizing, using asuction table was recommended.

If air is largely removed from the artwork andwater before washing, the problemsassociated with washing these multilayeredworks can be alleviated. The air can bedisplaced from the paper by IMS and thewater degassed by any of the methodsmentioned. Another simple tip suggested byNicholas was that if you do not havedegassed water, you can leave tap water tostand overnight to allow the level ofdissolved air to fall until it is no longersupersaturated; it’s better than using waterstraight from a tap.

Interestingly, research has shown that highlydegassed water (gas levels of 1ppm) allowsoil and water to mix. This could havepotentially great benefits for conservators;facilitating for example, the removal ofgrease stains or finger prints fromphotographs without the use of solvents orsurfactants and enabling more effectivewashing for numerous types of artefacts.

Following the talk there were someinteresting questions from a packed roomrelating to the practical aspects of washing.During the washing procedure Nicholasexplained that he pre-humidifies the artwork,and after the initial float washing the item isimmersed in the de-gassed water,sometimes using glass rods to hold the itemdown.

Julie Fitzgerald ACR

Independent Paper Conservator.

Illustrations from Nicholas Burnett’s talk

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The next Independent PaperConservators Group lecture, given byCatherine Rickman ACR FIIC & ClareReynolds ACR, will be on November 242015. The title is the Conservation of thecartoon for ‘The Meeting of Wellingtonand Blücher after the Battle of Waterloo’by Daniel Maclise, from the RoyalAcademy of Art’s Collection. For moreinformation about the IPCG pleasecontact Laila Hackforth-Jones:[email protected]


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THE CONSERVATION AND ANALYSIS OFSOME PAINTED STONES

Vicky Garlick MA of Conservation Services, DurhamUniversity, discusses work on stones from the Bishop’sManor House in Darlington

IntroductionIn August 2014 approximately two hundred and fifty pieces ofbuilding stone with roll moulding, keel moulding and painteddecoration were recovered from the site of the Manor Houseof the Prince Bishop of Durham in Darlington duringexcavation by Archaeological Services.

The Manor House was built towards the end of the 12thcentury along the banks of the River Skerne and was theBishop’s residence when administering his lands in the southof County Durham. Due to lack of use by the Bishop it quicklybecame an estate office and lodgings for members of royaltyand aristocracy when they were passing through the district.Part of the manor house was damaged during the 17thcentury civil war, later rebuilt by Bishop, John Cosin, then atthe start of the 18th century it was converted into aworkhouse.

The stones received for conservation work were found as partof the foundations for the workhouse, and out of the twohundred and fifty that were recovered, only six were found tohave a significant amount of plaster, whitewash and painteddecoration on them.

TreatmentAlthough there was obvious dirt coating the surface of thepainted stones, the actual stonework required little attention.The stone itself was stable and a stiff bristled brush was able todislodge the majority of the loose surface dirt. For those areaswhere the dirt was thicker and had adhered to the surface,they were dampened using a 50:50 ethanol/distilled watersolution, while the dirt was removed gently using a scalpel.

in practice

The stones in situ

Areas where the mortar was still attached were incrediblyfriable; as they required more care, they were gently brushedto remove surface dirt. The mortar was then consolidatedusing a 6% Paraloid B72 in acetone solution, which wasapplied both by brushing onto the surface and injecting intocracks in order to increase penetration.

There were three layers of painted decoration on the stones:a white plaster layer, the original decoration and a whitewashlayer. This was treated using a 25:75 solution of distilledwater/ethanol on cotton wool swabs to safely remove thesurface dirt without removing any of the pigment layers.

There were several areas of green organic staining on thesurface of the stones, most likely derived from algaeinfestation; the worst areas were on the painted decoration ofthe stones. Attempts were made to remove this staining usingthe ethanol and distilled water solution, however this onlyremoved the surface material and not the underlying staining.A 2% hydrogen peroxide in distilled water solution wasapplied locally to the areas of staining using a small softbrush. The areas were then rinsed using pure ethanol andblotted with an absorbent soft cloth. This treatmentsuccessfully removed the surface staining without causingdamage to the stone or pigments. To prevent future surfaceloss, the painted decoration was also consolidated using the6% Paraloid B72 in acetone solution, which was applied with asmall soft brush.

Before the hydrogen peroxide treatment



Mercury in the red pigments Lead in the red pigments

Analysing pigments

Analysis To aid possible provenance and evidence of the age of thepainted decoration, the surface pigments were analysed.Samples of the pigments, approximately 1mm³ were removedfrom the surface of the decorated areas on the stones in orderto place them in the scanning electron microscope (SEM,Hitachi TM 3000 model) and determine their composition. Thetable below shows the pigment elements present.

All of the white samples contained calcium (Ca), typical forwall-plaster; the absence of sulphur (S) indicates a lime plaster(CaCO3) rather than a gypsum plaster. The black pigmentsshowed high concentrations of carbon, a commonly usedmaterial during the medieval period to create black pigments.

Stone

PigmentBright Red Pale Red/

Pink White Buff Black

24 Ca, Pb, Hg,Fe n/a Ca Ca, Fe Ca, C

56 n/a n/a Ca Ca, Fe n/a

146 n/a Ca, Fe Ca Ca, Fe Ca, C

156 n/a Ca, Pb Ca, Pb Ca, Pb, Fe Ca, C

202 Ca, Pb, Hg Ca, Pb Ca Ca, Fe C

221 Ca, Fe n/a Ca Ca, Fe Ca, C

There were substantial levels of iron, as well as aluminium andsilica in the buff pigment present on a number of stones,which may suggest that an iron rich clay was added to createthe colour.

There were two main shades of red pigment; a bright red anda dark red. Both red pigments found only in small quantitiesbeneath the over-paint had traces of lead (Pb) and mercury(Hg). This suggests that the red pigments are made fromcinnabar (mercury sulphide, HgS), which was often extendedthrough the addition of red lead (minium, Pb3O4). Howeverthe darker red pigment also had traces of iron (Fe) on thespectrum, which suggests an iron oxide such as haematitewas added to create the darker shade.

ConclusionThe traces of paint form a simple stone block pattern, whichhas been created over a white plaster layer and is the mostcommon pattern seen in medieval wall painting. Thepigments, such as carbon black, haematite, red lead andcinnabar, are consistent with a medieval date between the12th and 17th centuries. The presence of cinnabar speaks ofthe quality of these wall paintings and the wealth of theBishop of Durham, as it was mined and imported from Spain.

References

- Caple, C. (2007) Excavations at Dryslwyn Castle 1980-95, Societyfor Medieval Archaeology.

- Eastaugh, N. (2004) The Pigment Compendium: a dictionary ofhistorical pigments. Oxford, Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.

- Howard, H (2003) Pigments of English Medieval Wallpainting.London, Archetype.

- Ryder, P (2014) Worked Stones from Excavations on the Site of theBishops’ Manor House Darlington.

- http://archaeosoup.com/what-lies-beneath-darlington-town-hall/

- http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/history/10817042.Haunted_palace_in_the_mud/

- http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Darlington/


34

the emerging conservator

PLANNING FOR AN EMERGENCYMartha Infray, who has just completed an Icon internshipat Norfolk Museums Service, commends the value of apractical course in emergency planning and salvage

Preventive conservation is the process that seeks to prevent,reduce or mitigate the effect of the factors that every daythreaten an object’s continued survival. However accidents dohappen and dealing with an emergency becomes a necessity(fire at Uppark in 1989 and at the Glasgow School of Art in2014, and flooding at Calke Abbey and at Coughton Court in2007).

Emergency Planning (EP) is a crucial area of preventiveconservation but is not always addressed properly. Everymuseum and institution should have an emergency plancontaining information about their local emergency service,the location of keys, the location of salvage kits, phone

Putting on breathing apparatus

A handling exercise (how to carry paintings properly)

Above & below: a water exercise (how to direct flood water out of abuilding using ladders, ropes and tarpaulin)

numbers of the emergency response team, grab sheets, andother useful information. Sometimes however, emergencyplans are not up to date and people feel unsure about whatthey would actually do in a real life emergency situation; atleast this is how I felt.

As part of my twelve months Heritage Lottery fundedinternship in Preventive Conservation at Norfolk MuseumsService (NMS) I have been involved with EP, the writing ofgrab sheets and the updating of information but I felt Ineeded to attend a practical course which would give me aninsight into all aspects of managing the salvage and first aidtreatment of artefacts.

The Emergency Planning and Practical Salvage Course:Working with the Emergency Services is run several times ayear at the West Midlands Fire Service Training Centre inSmethwick and I could not recommend it enough. It ispresented by experts from English Heritage, the NationalTrust, the Fire Service and independent professionals. As youwill read in the brochure: ‘This is the ultimate preparation for



The fire brigade getting ready for intervention The fire brigade intervenes

The salvage team in action

Getting equipment from the quartermaster Objects packed in crates awaiting drying treatment

dealing with any emergency. Anyone who is either expectedto take charge of an emergency situation or participate in thesalvage or protection of artefacts in case of fire, flood or otheremergency will have the opportunity to practise in realisticconditions.’

During this three day course I learnt about knot tying, the safeuse of ladders, managing water, efficient documentation, firstaid treatment of collections, proper handling of objects, radioprocedures, health and safety, flood prevention, the trainingof salvage teams, and successful human chains. Tounderstand smoke layering, loss of vision and hearing, andthe difficulty of a salvage operation, I and the other courseattendees wore a fire-fighter kit complete with breathingapparatus and walked through Phoenix House, the replicahistoric house at the West Midlands Fire Service TrainingCentre, which had been set on fire for the exercise.

The highlight of the course for me, but also perhaps the moststressful time, was on Day 2, when we undertook the practicalexercise. I volunteered to be the Recovery Team Coordinator.This means that my job for the day was to organise resourcesfor the triage of objects, establish work stations, equipmentand teams for wet recovery and dry recovery, ensure that allsalvaged objects were treated, packed and labelled, andfinally ensure that locations of objects were documented. Ifound that the following five points were critical:

• clear communication

• delegating

• remaining calm under pressure

• thinking fast

• listening to your team needs

I chose to volunteer as the Recovery Team Coordinatorbecause as a conservator, this is what I would be expected todo during an emergency. I had a fair understanding abouthow I would deal with each material during the first aid stageof the exercise but I knew I was lacking expertise when itcame to books, photographs and paintings. Having beentrained as an archaeological conservator, my knowledge of allthree disciplines is basic.

I was provided with a crafty A4 sheet that can be neatlyfolded and kept in your pocket which lists the steps whichshould be taken when administering first aid to artefactsmade of different materials. For books, I learned that windtunnels can easily be created with a fan, tables and polythenesheets for efficient drying of wet specimens. For photographs,I learned that they can be dried vertically suspended from a


36

A wind tunnel used to dry wet books Wet recovery assistants at work

Inside the wet recovery area

A wet recovery assistant with appropriate PPE for drying ataxidermy specimen

line held by a plastic peg at the top, avoiding the image, andweighted down by another plastic peg at the bottom. Forpaintings, I learnt that you should always keep your hands stillon the frame because if the frame is wet, the mouldings andgilding will be soft and sticky.

During the exercise, it became apparent that most of theobjects arriving in the Recovery Area were wet, in fact therewere only two dry objects! This meant that I had to act quicklyto reorganise my space. Having to constantly reassesssituations and wanting to ensure the safety and well being ofmy team meant that I was constantly walking through theRecovery Area to keep an eye on things. I advised a memberof my team to wear appropriate PPE when he was given ataxidermy bird specimen to dry and ensured that everyonehad breaks regularly.

It was an eye opener to work alongside the EmergencyServices. They were very professional and quick to act andthey managed to empty Phoenix House of all its contents inless than two hours, retrieving the priority objects first asinstructed by the Salvage Team Coordinator. Having gonethrough the process of walking through a burning buildingmyself, I now understand the hardships that fire-fighters go

through during a mission and as a result I felt greater respectand compassion for them.

I have gained enormously from this course and have sincestarted to review our own EP here at NMS. I have alsodisseminated relevant information to my colleagues in boththe Conservation Department and the CollectionsManagement Department which have prompted discussions.What really struck me is how easily something can go wrong.Fire develops extremely quickly and flooding can be sudden; Iam now much more aware of my surrounding environmentand take every precaution to prevent both fire and floodingfrom happening (i.e.: switching off plugs, closing fire doors,asking about building maintenance and when the rainwatergoods and drains were last checked).

The course has made me feel a lot more prepared and as aresult I feel more confident knowing that I can ‘do it’. I nowhave a greater understanding of what happens during anemergency and what roles people play (Incident Coordinator,Security Officer, Documentation Officer, Communication andWelfare Officer, Salvage Team Coordinator, Quartermaster,Recovery Team Coordinator, and the Press and Media Officer)without forgetting, of course, the importance of working withthe Emergency Services. What I take from the course is howwell we worked together as a team, how everyone gave 100%,and the sense of unity and common purpose that comes fromtaking part in an operation that everyone feels passionateabout: in this case, the saving of our cultural heritage.

I would like to thank Icon and the Clothworkers’Foundation for covering the full cost of attending thiscourse.


ICON NEWS • NOVEMBER 2005 • 3

+44 (0)1379 647400 www.pel.eu [email protected] +44 (0)1379 650582

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4

Tru Vue® Conservation Conference Scholarship

Introducing

www.conservation-us.org/grants [email protected]

www.tru-vue.com/museums

Tru Vue has partnered with FAIC and Icon to provide funding for conservators from across the globe to attend professional development events such as conferences and training courses. Our goals for the scholarship program include encouraging international exchange and dissemination of training and conference information.

Administered by:

The Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC)& The Institute of Conservation (Icon).

For more information about this program and application formswww.tru-vue.com/Museums/scholarships


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