Museum Artifacts Research Articles

Application of predictive models to assess failure of museum artifacts under seismic loads

Abstract In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the protection of cultural heritage structures and artifacts from seismic excitations. Nevertheless, although the vulnerability of museum exhibits under seismic excitations has been repeatedly verified, it has not been given proper attention. In this work, emphasis is placed on efforts for mitigating seismic risk of museum artifacts elucidating the necessity to identify artifact failure not only based on code design spectra that mainly account for far-fault conditions but also considering near-source phenomena. A general methodology is proposed and demonstrated with representative examples. The methodology considers the detailed geometry of the artifacts, its support conditions, relative distance from the soil surface, the fundamental frequency of the housing structure as well as relevant seismological data, such as vicinity with active faults and soil type, and provides the critical distance from an active fault within which the artifact could fail. The proposed methodology can serve as an easy-to-apply analytical means to assess the seismic risk of museum exhibits for preserving cultural heritage.

A Digitalization of the Museum Funds – a Possible Software for Scientific Passports

The digitalization of the museum funds is an important process in the realization of the most important functions of the museums in Bulgaria. The attempts for digitalization of the museum funds are accidental. This paper aims to present a development of Regional Historical Museum – Pernik for digital passporting of museum artifacts.

Democratizing the Digital Collection

ABSTRACTThree-dimensional modeling and printing of museum artifacts have a growing role in public engagement and teaching—introducing new cultural heritage stakeholders and potentially allowing more democratic access to museum collections. This destabilizes traditional relationships between museums, collections, researchers, teachers and students, while offering dynamic new ways of experiencing objects of the past. Museum events and partnerships such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art “Hackathon”; the MicroPasts initiative; and Sketchfab for Museums and Cultural Heritage, encourage non-traditional methods of crowd-sourcing and software collaboration outside the heritage sector. The wider distribution properties of digitized museum artifacts also have repercussions for object-based and kinesthetic learning at all levels, as well as for experiential and culturally sensitive aspects of indigenous heritage. This article follows the existing workflow from model creation to classroom: considering the processes, problems, and applications of emerging digital visualization technologies from both a museum and pedagogical perspective.

The atemporal mirror

Abstract As a museological genre proliferating in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the posthumously reconstructed artist’s studio is synonymous with the information age’s impulse to store and retrieve data. Accordingly, historic studios presented as museum artefacts might be thought of as symptoms of ‘a new breed of temporality whereby nothing ever dies’. This article examines the coalescence of present and historical contexts operating within the reconstructed studio of Francis Bacon, relocated from its original location at 7 Reece Mews in London to Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. Bacon’s blemished, circular mirror is conspicuous amid the detritus in the artist’s chaotic studio. From a sleek object originating in Bacon’s early design career, to its apparent role as a prop in the Reece Mews studio, and its current status as a museum artefact, this mirror has borne witness to the shifting contexts of Bacon’s studio. It can be understood as a portal through which spatial, material and temporal phenomena appear reconfigured. As such, Bacon’s studio mirror will be considered in terms of its potential to exert posthumous influence, and provoke contemporary art practice predicated on atemporality.

An Energy Efficient Strategy for Local Environment Control of Relics Preservation in Archaeology Museums with Funerary Pits

Indoor environmental control has been proved to be critical for long-term preservation for artifacts in archaeology museums. However, it is usually a very energy intensive process to sustain a steady condition continuously throughout the year for the whole exhibition hall. In this study, an energy efficient strategy that only controls the local environment for the preservation area is proposed. A laboratory room with a funerary pit was constructed to simulate a large open exhibition hall. Experimental investigations using the test pit, with radiant panels and air curtain system for control of the local environment for the funerary pit, validated this management strategy for the preservation of relics in archaeology museums. The results show that using both an air curtain and a radiant heating system provides a feasible and energy-saving strategy for controlling the preservation environment independently.

Consolidation of artificially degraded polyurethane ester foam with aminoalkylalkoxysilanes

Museum artifacts made of polyurethane ester foam are frequently affected by conservation issues mainly related to the loss of their mechanical properties. Modification of mechanical properties often leads to structure crumbling and in some cases to the loss of the entire artifact. A previous study evaluated the possibility to reinforce new flexible industrial polyurethane ester foam with aminoalkylalkoxysilane (AAAS) based treatments. In this paper AAAS are applied on artificially degraded polyurethane ester foam to investigate the possibility to reinforce already degraded objects. Two AAAS, the 3-Aminopropylmethyldiethoxysilane and the N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane have been tested. AAAS solutions at different concentrations have been used to apply the monomers on the foam samples by immersion. Mechanical properties have been studied by Compression Force Deflection Test, which shows that after AAAS treatment the resistance of the foam to compression improves and the cell collapse is prevented. The color of the samples, before and after consolidation, has been monitored to assess the impact of the treatment on the visual aspect of the foam. AAAS distribution in the thickness of the samples has been investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Silicon Magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (29Si MAS NMR) has been used to confirm AAAS polymerization and to evaluate its average polymer chain length. 29Si MAS NMR has also been used to investigate the behavior of AAAS polymers in time by analyzing four years old reinforced samples. The results highlighted the stability of the poly-AAAS chains after four years of natural aging.

Physicochemical properties of microcrystalline nitrocellulose from Alfa grass fibres and its thermal stability

The conventional cellulose nitrate (NC), used in many applications such as coating agent, main charge of propellant, museum artefacts, biofilter material, solid-phase immobilization supports for proteins, was mainly prepared from wood or cotton. The conventional NC presents many drawbacks such as low density, high friability and low combustion temperature. One approach to improve these shortcomings is the modification of the structure of the NC precursor (cellulose). In this work, microcrystalline cellulose nitrate was successfully produced from an inexpensive and easily renewable source which is Alfa grass. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicates some modifications in the peak positions and intensities, suggesting that a significant difference between conventional and microcrystalline cellulose nitrate samples exists. According to X-ray diffraction results, microcrystalline cellulose nitrate samples were more crystalline than the conventional cellulose nitrate samples, where the increase of the crystallinity is 22 %. The morphology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, showing a compact structure and a rough surface. In comparison with the commercial nitrocellulose material, the microcrystalline cellulose nitrate particles have good thermal stability, low viscosity, high nitrogen content and important quantity of gas released. Besides on these results, Alfa microcrystalline cellulose nitrate showed tremendous potential use as a propellant and gas generator component or other high value-added applications.

Tortoiseshell or Polymer? Spectroscopic Analysis to Redefine a Purported Tortoiseshell Box with Gold Decorations as a Plastic Box with Brass.

The study and preservation of museum collections requires complete knowledge and understanding of constituent materials that can be natural, synthetic, or semi-synthetic polymers. In former times, objects were incorporated in museum collections and classified solely by their appearance. New studies, prompted by severe degradation processes or conservation-restoration actions, help shed light on the materiality of objects that can contradict the original information or assumptions. The selected case study presented here is of a box dating from the beginning of the 20th century that belongs to the Portuguese National Ancient Art Museum. Museum curators classified it as a tortoiseshell box decorated with gold applications solely on the basis of visual inspection and the information provided by the donor. This box has visible signs of degradation with white veils, initially assumed to be the result of biological degradation of a proteinaceous matrix. This paper presents the methodological rationale behind this study and proposes a totally non-invasive methodology for the identification of polymeric materials in museum artifacts. The analysis of surface leachates using (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) complemented by in situ attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) allowed for full characterization of the object s substratum. The NMR technique unequivocally identified a great number of additives and ATR FT-IR provided information about the polymer structure and while also confirming the presence of additives. The pressure applied during ATR FT-IR spectroscopy did not cause any physical change in the structure of the material at the level of the surface (e.g., color, texture, brightness, etc.). In this study, variable pressure scanning electron microscopy (VP-SEM-EDS) was also used to obtain the elemental composition of the metallic decorations. Additionally, microbiologic and enzymatic assays were performed in order to identify the possible biofilm composition and understand the role of microorganisms in the biodeterioration process. Using these methodologies, the box was correctly identified as being made of cellulose acetate plastic with brass decorations and the white film was identified as being composed mainly of polymer exudates, namely sulphonamides and triphenyl phosphate.

The pleasure of the holder: media art, museum collections and paper money

When the artist Julian Rosefeldt exhibits video projections of cast Graeco-Roman sculptures, exhibition-goers experience a crisis in resemblance and equivalence between a gallery installation and museum artefacts. On the face of it media magic seems to supersede, even eliminate, the experiential force of collection-holding. This article compares media and artefactual exhibiting practices by combining semiotic analysis, art theory and Georg Simmel's sociology of money. In the late 18th century, as European museums began to display plaster reproductions of classical sculpture and historic architectural details, economists worried that paper money would sever the representational force of monetary signifiers from the intrinsic value of the bullion they signify. Perhaps Rosefeldt defers promises like a banknote? Perhaps museums postpone the 'pleasure of the holder' like a bank reserve? In both cases, this article argues, the technologies of reproduction and repetition (old and new) tell us a great deal about the semantics of objects.

The Emerging Role of Community Museums in Uganda: The Need for Capacity Building Among Managers

Community museums in Uganda are initiatives by individuals, families or groups who have collected artefacts, oral history, and other elements of the local culture. The museums have made an effort to link past and future through their collections, which are accessible to schools, researchers, local residents and foreign tourists. Community museums play an important role in preserving and presenting the diversity of Uganda's cultural heritage and provide spaces for appreciating different cultures; they are cultural repositories, some with well‐documented literature on culture and other socio‐anthropological aspects. They represent a strong will among individuals, families and communities to preserve and promote their cultures without external support. However, not much has been done to recognise their importance in the development of Uganda.Community museums are still perceived by Ugandans as representing a largely irrelevant past and their role is seen as quite peripheral to the current national and local priorities: as such, they are rarely given visibility and are poorly frequented. The government of Uganda is not sufficiently aware of their existence and does not support them. Tour operators give attention to animal tourism and ignore the human dimension, which is manifested in community museums. The capacity of museum caretakers to efficiently and professionally run community museums is still wanting: they lack a proper network and museum artefacts are not well documented, presented and preserved. Integrating modern computer technologies in museum management is still a major challenge.This paper aims to highlight the efforts and importance of community museums in Uganda and their efforts to raise their profile both locally and internationally.

Wet-process feasible candlelight OLED

Candlelight-based, blue-hazard free lighting sources are friendly to the human eye, physiology, museum artifacts, ecosystems, the environment, and the night sky.

An Ontology Based Framework for Retrieval of Museum Artifacts

This paper proposes ontology based conceptual framework for storage and retrieval of Digitized Museum Artifacts. The proposed framework uses ontology structure for automatic image annotation. It supports semantic retrieval by combining ontological concepts, visual and textual features automatically extracted from images and their textual descriptions. The Ontology-driven analysis module automatically generates annotation for domain objects. This paper also reports a new dataset designed for its evaluation. The dataset consists of images displayed in various galleries of Allahabad museum along with their textual description. We have collected 1200 images and extracted their visual and textual features for the purpose of retrieval.

Textiles of Change: How Arpilleras can Expand Traditional Definitions of Records

In the 1970s, Chilean women began creating textiles known as arpilleras (from the Spanish word for burlap) as a way of documenting their lives and experiences. Under the Pinochet regime (1973-1990), arpilleras depicting the difficult, often violent, experiences of Chilean women began to gain global recognition. Through an internship with the Tower Museum archives in Derry~Londonderry in Northern Ireland, I worked with a collection of arpilleras that had been donated by Roberta Bacic, a Chilean lecturer currently living in Northern Ireland who has focused her research on arpilleras. Considered to be both museum artifacts and archival records, these textile works challenge classical professional distinctions drawn between the two categories. Situating their dual categorizations within a combined museum and archival setting allows us to rethink the ways in which traditional definitions of archival records may not only exclude women's voices but also fail to consider how gendered activities and expressions might play a role in records’ formation.

The national consciousness of Vilnius intellectuals between two rebellions: rhetorical exposures

Vilniaus intelektualų tautinei savivokai nušviesti pasirinktas laikotarpis tarp 1831 ir 1863 m. sukilimų, kai pirmojo sukilimo represijų įkarštis jau buvo praėjęs, o antrojo sukilimo atgarsiai dar nebuvo labai smarkūs. Straipsnyje aiškinamasi lietuvių kalbos padėtis ir lietuvio suvoktis, kaip ją suprato tuo laikotarpiu uždaryto Vilniaus universiteto patalpose darbavęsi Laikinosios archeologijos komisijos (toliau – VLAK) ir Vilniaus senienų muziejaus (toliau – VSM) bendradarbiai ar jų rėmėjai. Kartu su pagonybe Lietuva jau senokai buvo praradusi savo kalbą, ji buvo išlikusi tik liaudyje, o dėl unijos su Lenkija buvo visuotinai pereita prie lenkų kalbos. Gal ir paradoksalu, bet lenkiškai kalbėję ir rašę VLAK nariai jautėsi esantys lietuviai ir į lietuvių kalbą žiūrėjo ne kaip į muziejinį eksponatą, o kaip į gyvą, kuria tebekalba etniniai lietuviai. Jie pripažino, kad lietuvių kalba yra ne tik valstiečių, bet ir istorinės Lietuvos valdovų bei didikų kalba, Vytauto kalba, kad Lietuvos kunigaikščių vardai yra grynai lietuviški, t. y. kilę iš lietuvių kalbos. Dar daugiau: jie pažangiai vertino tuo metu pasirodančius pirmuosius intelektualų darbus lietuvių kalba. Aiškinantis tautinę, LDK pilietinę, savivoką, neigiant mitus apie tariamą Vilniaus intelektualų lenkiškumą, gausiai remiamasi jų pačių tekstais, tad per straipsnio autorės vertimus jiems suteikiama galimybė prabilti lietuviškai. Iš jų retorinio palikimo (laiškų, proginių sveikinimų kalbų, daugiausia eiliuotų tekstų) matyti lietuviškos tapatybės ir šaknų jutimas, meilė „šventajai Lietuvai, gimtinei žemei“, rūpestis kaupti ir saugoti lituanistinį palikimą, leisti lietuviškas knygas.

Poaching Museum Collections using Digital 3D Technologies

This paper investigates the creative engagement with digital 3D models of museum artefacts and gives insight into new uses of museum collections enabled by digital scanning, editing and 3D printing technologies. Digital 3D models of museum artefacts are malleable and increasingly easy to use. Additionally, freely available 3D software has made 3D scanning, editing and manufacturing possible for non-specialists. These technologies allow users to create new artworks through the creation and transformation of digital replicas of museum artefacts. Examples of creative works, taken from two case studies that involve the creative use of digital reproductions of museum artefacts are presented in this paper. These projects are illustrative of a larger trend: the digital ‘poaching’ of heritage artefacts. This paper examines how digital 3D technologies can foster creative forms of museum engagement, democratise access to museum collections and engage users with personal forms of museum experience.

Curation practices and extraction methods in relation to starch grain yields from ground stone artifacts

Starch grain analysis has become a routine investigative approach to studies of economic plant use during prehistory. As interest in ancient starch has rapidly escalated, however, the various ways ground stone tools (and adhering residues) have been curated into museum collections and the efficacy of extraction have been largely undocumented. The study presented here examined three treatment scenarios reflecting curation practices and extraction methods that could affect starch grain recovery. Treatment 1 is where adhering residues were washed and conserved at the time of excavation and no other extraction technique was performed. Treatment 2 involves stones that were cleaned during curation and residual sediments and starch grains were later extracted with a brush. Treatment 3 involves stones cleaned during curation and residual sediments and grains were later extracted by sonicator. Starch grains from all three treatments were isolated using a heavy liquid separation method. Treatment 1 produced the highest counts of starch grains overall. Treatments 2 and 3 also yielded grains from cleaned stones, but the counts were much lower. Given that all treatment scenarios were effective to varying degrees, it is clear that cleaning, passage of time and storage do not negate museum artifacts as sources of starch grains for dietary analysis.

Non-invasive methodology for the identification of plastic pieces in museum environment — a novel approach

The preservation of modern and contemporary art and costume collections in museums requires a complete understanding of their constituent materials which are often synthetic or semi-synthetic polymers. An extraordinary amount of quality information can be gained from instrumental techniques, but some of them have the disadvantage of being destructive.This paper presents a new totally integrated non-invasive methodology, for the identification of polymers and their additives, on plastic artefacts in museums. NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and in-situ FTIR-ATR (attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy) combination allowed the full characterization of the structure of these materials and correct identification of each one. The NMR technique applied to leached surface exudates identified unequivocally a great number of additives, exceeding the Py–GC–MS analysis of micro-fragments in number and efficiency. Additionally, in-situ FTIR-ATR provided exactly the same information of the destructive μ-FTIR about the polymer structure and confirmed the presence of some additives.Eight costume pieces (cosmetic boxes and purses), dating to the beginning of the 20th century and belonging to the Portuguese National Museum of Costume and Fashion, were correctly identified with this new integrated methodology, as being made of plastics derived from cellulose acetate or cellulose nitrate polymers, contradicting the initial information that these pieces were made of Bakelite. The identification of a surprisingly large number of different additives forms an added value of this methodology and opens a perspective of a quick and better characterization of plastic artefacts in museum environments.

Double Displacement: Indigenous Australians and Artefacts of the Wet Tropics

The history of dispossession of Indigenous Australians as a result of government policies has been well documented. Going beyond this established literature, this paper explores connections between the displacement of Aboriginal people of the rainforest region of North Queensland to reserves and the ethnographic trade in museum artefacts. I provide an analysis of how Aboriginal people and some of their material products were historically sent along different trajectories. The paper sheds light on debates about the political and economic aspects of a history of displacement, circulation, and emplacement that continues to produce inequalities today.

Intuitive Exploration of Volumetric Data Using Dynamic Galleries.

In this work we present a volume exploration method designed to be used by novice users and visitors to science centers and museums. The volumetric digitalization of artifacts in museums is of rapidly increasing interest as enhanced user experience through interactive data visualization can be achieved. This is, however, a challenging task since the vast majority of visitors are not familiar with the concepts commonly used in data exploration, such as mapping of visual properties from values in the data domain using transfer functions. Interacting in the data domain is an effective way to filter away undesired information but it is difficult to predict where the values lie in the spatial domain. In this work we make extensive use of dynamic previews instantly generated as the user explores the data domain. The previews allow the user to predict what effect changes in the data domain will have on the rendered image without being aware that visual parameters are set in the data domain. Each preview represents a subrange of the data domain where overview and details are given on demand through zooming and panning. The method has been designed with touch interfaces as the target platform for interaction. We provide a qualitative evaluation performed with visitors to a science center to show the utility of the approach.

Ireland on a Plate: Curating the 2011 State Banquet for Queen Elizabeth II

Ireland on a Plate: Curating the 2011 State Banquet for Queen Elizabeth II