Conservation Lab Research Articles

Introduction: Art History after Computer Vision

The essays gathered in this special section of The Art Bulletin, “Art History after Computer Vision,” explore the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to art historical research. Written from a range of disciplinary perspectives, they collectively advocate for informed, deliberate engagement with AI by art historians. The intent of this special section is not to provide an exhaustive account of the myriad ways in which AI is already affecting disciplinary practices—whether in conservation labs, libraries, heritage sites, museums, or classrooms (real and virtual)—but rather to initiate a discipline-wide discussion of the implications of AI for art history.

Examination and analysis of a stored stucco window in the conservation lab of Bab Al-azab area, citadel of Salah Al-din Al-Ayyubi, Cairo Egypt

Historic areas are at the forefront of global attention because of their historical and social traits that reflect human civilization, giving them an economic weight that helps preserve the city's historical identity. For that, the aim of this paper is based on examining and analyzing the components of a deteriorated stucco window kept in the Restoration Lab of Bab Al-azab Area of the Citadel of Salah al-din Al-ayyubi, which was carried out via different techniques. The stucco window used in this study was inspected using a digital microscope and scanning electron microscope to determine the degradation of the stucco and wooden frame's outside surface. Besides, the polarized microscope involves studying minerals by studying the optical properties of stucco. Also, the light microscope was used to identify the wood. Besides, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) showed the presence of constituent elements for both the stucco and glass. In addition, X-ray diffraction estimated cellulose crystallinity to decrease. A technique called Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) was also used to find changes in lignin, gypsum, anhydrite, and calcite, as well as cellulose and hemicellulose. A microbiological investigation indicated the presence of a fungal infestation on a wooden frame. This study showed that Salah El-Din Castle's semi-separate historical areas can be considered one of its architectural, planning, and historical models, which have their fabric and characteristics.

Locating and Designing Participatory Conservation in the Museum: an analysis of Chinese practices

With rich cultural heritage resources, there are increasing expectations and demands about engaging the public with conservation in China. This thesis intends to demonstrate the participatory conservation practices that can be enlightening for museum visitors. This paper focuses on the cases of Chinese practices at the Shaanxi History Museum and the Hainan Museum. It explores the aims, design and location of the conservation labs in each setting, and seeks to unpack the physical, intellectual and authority boundaries in this engagement space. The research builds upon the analyses of semi-structured interviews with professionals, individual observations of the two case study spaces, and a wide ranging literature review covering participation, museum space, museology and conservation. The thesis concludes that participatory conservation provides great opportunity and insights to meet audiences’ curiosity. This is achieved by opening the professional intellectual space to the public and inspiring people’s critical thinking together with their passion to care about cultural heritage. The thesis evidences how both Chinese and European museums care about the visiting experience of audiences and conservation outreach. However, it argues how Chinese museums might be seen to give attention to the security of objects – in terms of having more original work in areas open to the public. Whereas, in contrast, European museums there is a focus on communicating, interpreting and sharing the process of engaging audiences.

Digitizing and Printing the Burgert Brothers Ledger Books: A Case Study in High-Volume Facsimile Production.

The goal of digitization is typically to create digital assets which represent the physical object as a means of digital preservation or access. On occasion, projects require bringing those digital images back into the physical world in the form of a facsimile. While reproducing objects for display and/or use is a common and well-established practice, there are unique cases that require innovative applications of existing tools and methods. Working closely with NEDCC’s book conservation lab, we imaged eight ledger books and then printed two copies of each to be rebound into near-identical, usable copies. Using this project as a case study, we will share some of the successes and hurdles we encountered while working through this large volume of material, with particular attention to deviations in image capture and processing workflows when producing bound facsimiles.

Giving the Past a Future: Community Archaeology, Youth Engagement and Heritage in Quinhagak, Alaska

Initiated by the descendant community of Quinhagak and endorsed by village Elders, the Nunalleq Archaeology Project was unique for Yup’ik Alaska when it began in 2009. Since then, this embedded community project has provided the village with over a decade of archaeological presence in the form of excavations, finds processing, conservation lab work, and, since 2018, a local repository housing the entire archaeological collection. Accounts of collaborations between archaeologists and Indigenous communities often focus on Elders and cultural bearers. However, whilst these collaborators are, and continue to be, invaluable for the Nunalleq project, here we want to acknowledge the generation of young adults who have grown up with the Project, and to whom archaeological finds and artifacts are now an intrinsic part of their heritage. This paper discusses how the Nunalleq Archaeology Project has come to influence local heritage, and how community engagement has in turn shaped the archaeological practice and co-designed outreach work. We constructively reflect upon insights borne from a decade of collaborative practice and critically ask how such community collaborations may be strengthened for the future.

With Plenty of Elbow Room: Planning New and Upgraded Spaces for Library and Archives Conservation and Audiovisual Preservation

In 2018, the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries upgraded from a tired, twenty-year-old basement space to a new, purpose-built conservation lab for library and archives collections. The new conservation lab, which is housed in the special collections and archives library, quadrupled available lab space for its conservators and fleet of student employees. The move afforded Conservation space in the same library as the most vulnerable collection materials. In addition, rooms in the special collections and archives library were repurposed for audiovisual (AV) preservation, creating two new spaces for film and video workflows and upgrading an existing small audio room. This paper will discuss the conservation and preservation lab construction literature and will serve as a practical exemplar of the challenges and successes of the planning process, including lessons learned and unexpected benefits.

Evaluating Websites of Conservation Labs in Museums using Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making theories

The museums’ conservation labs and the treatments on the artefacts, many times are overlooked and are not obvious for the public. Nevertheless, their content may be of interest to students, researchers, archaeologists, tourists, artists for further education and preservation guidelines purposes. In this paper we evaluate the electronic presence of museums’ conservation labs using both empirical and inspection methods of evaluation. For this purpose, a combination of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is used to implement an evaluation experiment that combines inspection and empirical methods of evaluation. The proposed scheme of evaluation that implements a combination of methods and decision making theories has been used for evaluating the 29 websites of museum’s conservation labs and ranks them taking into account their content, usability and functionality.

AHP, Fuzzy SAW, and Fuzzy WPM for the Evaluation of Cultural Websites

The evaluation of cultural websites is a complicated procedure that depends on several criteria. The main contribution of this paper is on showing how this process may be implemented. For this reason, different multi-criteria decision-making methods are combined and compared for processing the results of the evaluation. More specifically, the paper provides the criteria for evaluating a website of cultural heritage and presents the application of Analytical Hierarchy Process for estimating the weights of the criteria. Then, it compares two different multi-criteria decision-making models, fuzzy simple additive weighting and fuzzy weighted product model, for being combined with Analytical Hierarchy Process and processing the results of the evaluation. The evaluation involves 29 websites of the conservation labs of the international museums and useful conclusions are extracted about the application of all methods and the combination of Analytical Hierarchy Process with fuzzy simple additive weighting and fuzzy weighted product model.

Non-invasive identification of polymers in cultural heritage collections: evaluation, optimisation and application of portable FTIR (ATR and external reflectance) spectroscopy to three-dimensional polymer-based objects

The conservation of polymer-based cultural heritage is a major concern for collecting institutions internationally. Collections include a range of different polymers, each with its own degradation processes and preservation needs, however, they are frequently unidentified in collection catalogues. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a useful analytical tool for identifying polymers, which is vital for determining storage, exhibition, loan and treatment conditions. Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR), and External Reflection (ER) are proven effective FTIR sampling techniques for polymer identification and are beginning to appear in conservation labs. This paper evaluates and optimises the application of these two FTIR techniques to three-dimensional plastic objects in the museum context. Elements of the FTIR measurement process are investigated for 15 common polymers found in museum collections using both authentic reference sheets, and case study objects to model for surface characteristics. Including: use of the ATR and ER modules, the difference between clamping and manually holding objects in contact with the ATR crystal, use of the Kramers–Kronig Transformation, signal-to-noise ratios for increasing number of co-added scans, resultant time taken to collect each measurement, associated professional, health and safety considerations, and the use and availability of reference materials for polymer identify verification. Utilising this information, a flowchart for applying FTIR spectroscopy to three-dimensional historic plastic objects during museum collection surveys is proposed to guide the conservation profession.

Why did the Chicken cross the Ocean: an Analysis of Faunal Remains from the Emanuel Point Shipwrecks [University of West Florida, Pensacola

The purpose of this research project is to determine, through analysis, what species of animals were being utilized onboard the Spanish ships during the Tristán de Luna expedition of 1559. In order to accomplish this goal, I will be analyzing faunal remains recovered from the three Emanuel Point Shipwrecks: EPI, EPII, and EPIII. This research is important because the analysis will allow us to better understand and interpret the lives of the Spaniards onboard the ships during the Luna expedition through their diet. In 1559, Luna attempted to create the first permanent settlement in Florida, the purpose of which was to construct a chain of missions along the gulf coast (Hudson 1989). These Missions would serve as a crucial component for both converting Native Americans and supporting previously shipwrecked Spaniards (Hudson 1989). The establishment of a permanent settlement in the gulf also had political implications; a colony would mark the Spaniards claim to La Florida and serve to prevent other countries from establishing their own colonies (Arnade 1959, Hudson 1989). Under the command of Luna were a total of eleven ships, carrying close to fifteen hundred individuals and enough supplies to last a year (Worth 2009). Food, or the lack thereof, was one aspect which served detrimental to the success of the expeditions which came before Luna (Worth 2009). Because of this, the Luna expedition was planned to include enough food to last the Spaniards until crops could be sown and harvested (Worth 2009). Not long after the Spanish arrived, however, Pensacola was struck by a powerful hurricane, sinking seven of Luna’s ships (Arnade 1959, Milanich 1995, Worth 2009). Most, if not all, of the supplies were still onboard the ships when they went down during the hurricane because a permanent storehouse had not yet been constructed (Arnade 1959, Milanich 1995, Worth 2009). Since the time of their sinking, 459 years ago, three of the seven ships that were lost have been discovered. The first Emanuel Point shipwreck was discovered in 1992 by a group of archaeologists from Florida’s Division of Historical Resources. The University of West Florida’s archaeology program joined the project in 1996. In total, 8,848 individual organic fragments have been recovered from Emanuel Point I alone; these include the remains of fish, shark, reptile, bird and mammal bones. All of these materials are kept in the maritime conservation lab, where they are processed and then conserved. Afterwards, they are moved to the Collection Management Building on campus for storage and future study by both faculty and students. In order for the remains to be analyzed, they must first be preserved through a process called desalination. This process, conducted in the laboratory incorporates the use of tap water and eventually deionized water to remove most, if not all, salts from the bones. After the bones are desalinated, they go through a process called consolidation. Consolidation allows the bones to be safely exposed to the atmosphere without deteriorating, warping, or excessively cracking; this is accomplished by soaking the bones in a solution of Elmer’s glue and water, usually a 50/50 solution, after which they can be left to air dry. Once the bones are desalinated, consolidated and dried, they are stable and can then be analyzed. I will be analyzing the faunal material for specific taphonomy characteristics linking them to consumption by humans. These taphonomic characteristics can include cut marks, breaks, bone splitting, and the presence of teeth marks; all of these can directly correlate the remains with butchering or consumption. To conduct species specific identification, I will be working with the Division of Anthropology and Archaeology’s faunal specialist, Mrs. Cathy Parker, and her comparative type collections. Through this analysis, I will be able to determine the specific species of animals that were being utilized as food by the Spanish and were onboard the ships during their sinking. This study will allow a new glimpse into the life of the Spanish sailors during Tristán de Luna’s fateful 1559 expedition to establish the first permanent settlement along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Expanding Access: Renovating Quaker & Special Collections at Haverford College

Expanding Access:Renovating Quaker & Special Collections at Haverford College Sarah M. Horowitz and Mary A. Crauderueff Quaker & Special Collections at Haverford College will reopen September 3, 2019 after the completion of a renovation. This 18-month project transformed Haverford's library, preserving historic portions of the building while adding brand-new spaces. Quaker & Special Collections will reopen with a new reading room, which provides easy access to curatorial staff; a classroom with 30 seats and flexible furniture to allow for a wide variety of teaching activities; processing space; an exhibit gallery; a conservation lab; and climate-controlled secure stacks. These new spaces will allow for the growth and expansion of Quaker & Special Collections programming, including extensive engagement with classes across the curriculum, student-curated exhibits, and research fellowships. The philosophy behind the renovation was to infuse light, technology, and access to collection materials throughout the entire library building. Thus, two seminar rooms, in which faculty teach semester-long classes, are equipped with locking cases. These cases can be used to house materials from Quaker & Special Collections selected by faculty in concert with curators. Throughout the semester, faculty teaching in these classrooms can bring out materials from the cases as they are referenced in class, rather than only being able to engage with original primary sources during a single instruction session. The main gallery space, located near the Quaker & Special Collections reading room, will host two exciting exhibits during the 2019–2020 academic year, both curated by students. Our opening exhibit on incunabula, or 15th century printing, was curated over the course of a summer internship by a rising Haverford senior; the spring exhibit will be curated by a first-year writing seminar exploring borders and borderlands in literature, and will focus on abolition and slavery. Display walls in several areas of the library allow students, classes, and student groups to display their work without needing to create a formal exhibit. The radical access and exciting possibilities inherent in these new library spaces will enable students to deepen their engagement with primary source materials across the curriculum and throughout their careers at Haverford. [End Page 66] Expanded access is not limited to the spaces which will soon be opening. During the renovation, Quaker & Special Collections staff processed approximately 700 linear feet of archival materials in 300 collections, including materials from the 1670s through 2016. Topics include: war resistance and relief work, family papers, literary organization papers, education-related papers, Quaker Meeting records, and Haverford College history, including student organizations like the Wom*n's Center, student scrapbooks, class governance materials, Board of Managers and Corporation records, and more. Collections with new or expanded access include the Lewis Benson collection, parts of the Philadelphia and Baltimore Yearly Meeting records, the papers of Richard Thompson, a Vietnam War medic and CO; Marlis Gildemeister, who volunteered with the American Friends Service Committee after World War II, Quaker educator Joan Countryman, the Tract Association of Philadelphia records, the Bible Association of Friends records, and a collection of Emlen and Mifflin family papers. The official dedication of the Lutnick Library will take place on the afternoon of Saturday, October 26, 2019. The festivities will include the printing a commemorative broadside, pop-ups with the opportunity to view and handle new acquisitions and collection highlights in Quaker & Special Collections, opportunities to explore digital projects based at the Haverford Libraries, and the curatorial talks for our exhibit "Who Created the New and Copied the Old: Printed Books of the Fifteenth Century," which features materials from The David Wertheimer, Class of 1977, Collection of Early Printed Books. The reopening of Quaker & Special Collections also means that our Gest Fellowship and Scattergood Fellowship are being offered again. These fellowships provide support for researchers to work with Haverford's unique collections. More information is available at www.haverford.edu/library/quaker-special-collections/fellowships, and an announcement in late 2019 will proceed applications due in early 2020. These fellowships also bring greater access to Quaker & Special Collections materials not only through providing dedicated time for researchers to study them, but also through their infusion into the scholarly discourse when this work is disseminated. The reopening of Quaker & Special Collections at Haverford...

Re-defining burrowing crayfish in a new way using morphometrics.

All crayfish worldwide can be defined as one of the three types of burrower. However, burrowing types were created using behavior and habitat. Geometric morphometrics via landmarks can be used to determine similarities and differences between burrowing types. It is hypothesized that multiple genera that fall under one type of burrower will have a closer correlation to each other in terms of body shape. The findings could possibly be used as another parameter in the determination of a burrowing type but may also give some insight into the evolution of crayfishes.In this study, eight species were chosen from the West Liberty University Crayfish Conservation Lab collection. There were two tertiary burrowing species, and three secondary burrowing species, and one unknown burrowing species chosen. Of the tertiary, secondary, and unknown burrowing species, 30 specimens were chosen of each. Ten form-I males, ten form-II males, and ten females served as representatives of each species. Two primary burrowing species were also chosen. Representing these species were five form-I males, five form-II males, and five females. Every individual crayfish had a photograph taken of the cephalothorax and was catalogued. Images were then used to create a .tps file to be landmarked in the program TPSDig 232. Fifteen landmarks were chosen across the cephalothorax. The data was then analyzed using a principal component analysis and a canonical variate analysis.

Regenerating the arts: sculpture conservation and 3D panoramic guides at the Juming Museum, Taiwan

AbstractThe Juming Museum in New Taipei City, Taiwan has carried out the in situ preservation of 30 outdoor stone sculptures by the Taiwanese artist Ju Ming. As part of the programme their original display area was reactivated as a Stone Conservation Lab and additional work was carried out, including the installation of protective canopies and a wooden walkway to the area, as well as the initiation of a three-dimensional (3D) scanning project and online resource for the sculptures.The canopies have played a central role in mitigating both the biological deterioration and weathering of the stone but while the walkway increased the safe distance between visitors and the artworks, it also prevented audiences from a close appreciation of the sculptures. The application of 3D scanning and implementation of a 3D panoramic guide has successfully resolved this paradox and resulted in some unexpected benefits. Unlike virtual street-views, which may lack artwork information and present only 2D images, the 3D panora...

Book Review: Planning and Constructing Book & Paper Conservation Laboratories

Planning and Constructing Book & Paper Conservation Laboratories. Edited by Jennifer Hain Teper and Eric Alstrom. Chicago: American Library Association, 2012. 230 p. $67.95 softcover (ISBN: 978-0-83898601-1). Teper and Alstrom developed this publication after their professional experiences led them to recognize a void in the relevant literature. The authors, who each direct conservation departments in academic libraries, had become frustrated with the lack of research available to support their individual efforts to design conservation laboratories. In an attempt to fill this information need, they compiled and edited a series of chapters by conservators and preservation administrators who offer their insights and experiences related to the design of new conservation laboratories and renovations of existing spaces. Although the contributors are experts in the field, the editors recognize in their introduction that the design of conservation laboratories is often highly subjective, and therefore the opinions presented can vary even within the small selection of chapters chosen for this publication. Some chapters are broad in scope, discussing administrative issues related to project management, budgets, and scheduling, while other chapters focus on more specific technical features related to conservation laboratories, such as water purification and quarantine areas. Important distinctions are made in the differences between a space intended to serve as a bindery and one that is to be a conservation laboratory, or even more specifically, book conservation labs versus paper conservation labs, and the varying needs of each. In addition to the lab spaces themselves, there is discussion of office space and dedicated areas for eating and drinking. The chapter authors include a variety of interesting details, even for individuals who may have some experience with preservation and conservation functions within the library. For example, Alstrom suggests the use of treatment sinks that are clear on three sides, to facilitate effective and safe teamwork when washing materials. He also recommends the placement of freezers outside of the lab to allow access for other library staff members who may discover wet or moldy materials beyond the hours that the lab is open. This recommendation that raises some security concerns, since it can be challenging to ensure that the freezer is available to all staff members who might need it, while not to individuals who could compromise the protection of the materials. Nonetheless, this recommendation illustrates the need to think creatively and contemplate a wide range of considerations when planning the location of laboratory resources. The text of several chapters is supplemented and enhanced by photographs, diagrams, and tables. …

시판용 접착제의 지류보존처리 적합성 판단을 위한 열화 특성 연구

Most of the libraries and archives that lacks conservation lab facilities, frequently apply common synthetic resin adhesives such as PVAc group(Pa), acrylic group(Ac) and PVP group(Pv) on simple repairs. The archival quality synthetic adhesive(Pa-1) that is used at the National Library of Korea and the common synthetic resin adhesives were selected for the experiments. Accelerated aging test was applied on the adhesive samples and change of the pH and chromaticity were measured for one month. As the result of the pH mesurments, Pa-1 and Ac-2 were at the acceptable pH range. As the result of the chromaticity mesurments, degree of yellowing() showed smaller change to greater change in the following order; Pa-1

Museum Laboratories: Where Art Meets Science

Museum Laboratories: Where Art Meets Science

Emerging Themes, Emerging Voices

As American Art celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, we can sense a shift in the questions scholars are bringing to the nation’s visual history. Th is issue of the journal is dedicated to identifying some of the intriguing directions newer art historians are starting to explore—from inquiries into science and sensation to a “serious” attention to humor. To preface the rich research articles that follow, I off er some observations and suggestions from my catbird seat as editor of American Art and academic advisor for the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s fellowship program. In my daily work, I have had the privilege to converse with scholars from many universities about dissertations and books not yet written, to read fellowship and grant proposals as well as journal manuscript submissions, and to follow presentations at a variety of professional conferences. From these and other interactions, I highlight here a number of scholarly voices. To begin, let me cite some more reasons to celebrate: studies of American art and artists, once considered “inferior” to research on Greek and Roman sculpture and works by Rembrandt, Monet, and Picasso, are fl ourishing. Th e founders of the fi eld chose to research U.S. painting at the peril of their academic careers. And Charles C. Eldredge, former director of our museum, likes to recall that there were doubters when he launched this journal in 1987—colleagues who predicted it could not endure. He commented then that American art history had only come of age with the nation’s bicentennial, noting: “It took a new generation of historians to embrace art that owed as much to the Oregon Trail as to the Appian Way.”1 Subsequent decades have proven their bold gamble successful. Th e journal heads into its third decade amid a wealth of programs and resources related to American art history that could not have been foreseen at the time of its birth. Th e fi eld has more professors, students, fellowships, prizes, publication opportunities, and funds for exhibitions than ever before as well as a growing professional organization, AHAA (the Association of Historians of American Art).2 Just in the last year, the attention paid to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s 2006 reopening, with its new Luce open-storage study center and Lunder conservation labs, and to the National Portrait Gallery’s reinvention of itself as a more lively venue for contemporary art has been remarkable. Commentaries