e-Conservation Magazine • 20

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the online magazine No. 20, July 2011


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http://tru-vue.com/museums/econ


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inde

4 The Worthiness of AssociationBy Rui Bordalo

Telling Stories

By Daniel Cull

Cleaning the Dirt off Money in Conservation Ethics and Economics

By Christabel Blackman

Preserving our Urban Heritage: The Heritage Conversion Model

By Barry W. Mayhew

The Science and Art of Color

International Edelstein Color SymposiumReview by Mary Virginia Orna

NETHERITAGE Seminar: Increasing Europes Competitiveness

Through Cultural Heritage Research

Review by Jaap van der Burg

TECHNART 2011. Nondestructive and Microanalytical Techniques

in Art and Cultural Heritage

Review by Ana Bidarra and Ana Guilherme

UPCOMING EVENTS:

JulySeptember 2011

Reversibility and Minimal Intervention in the Gapfilling Process

of Archaeological Glass

By Betlem Martnez, Trinidad Pases and Mar ia Amparo Peir

Methods of Analysis Used in Ceramics as an Effective Procedurein the Conservation of Terracotta Sculptures

By Carmen Bermdez Snchez, Giuseppe Cultrone and Luca Rueda Quero

Destruction: the Impact of Catastrophic Events on Architecture

Safeguarding the Memory of Ruins by Photography

By Maria Bostenaru

Documentation of Contemporary Art: The Case Study of a Private

Collection

By Sofia Gomes

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56

36

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21

40

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ARTICLES

CASE STUDY

EVENTS

NEWS

& VIEWS

EDITORIAL

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editoria

The Worthiness of Association

Most of us are members of at least one professional association. There are several reasons why wechoose to be part of one. We may seek professional recognition and prestige by belonging to areputable organization. We may be interested in benefits such as socializing, information and education. Membership fees are a keystone for associations, but in fact, they do not exist to serve us because we pay. They exist to protect common interests and our membership helps and enables them todo that. The fees we pay may be seen as an investment that brings short and longterm outcomes. Inthe shortterm we benefit from their discounts and free publications, attend their events, etc., andwhile most members are attracted by these drawcards, it is the longterm benefits that really matterto the profession. In truth, what associations do for us is to bring us recognition by governmentalbodies and the society in general, to help in passing national laws that protect our profession andcultural heritage, to establish criteria for accessing the profession, to elaborate standards at nation

al and international levels that represent our interests and not those of associated professionssuch as architects or builders, for example.

But lets not confuse associations of professionals with professional associations. By default, associations of professional conservatorrestorers develop their work on a volunteer basis since the number ofmembers in each region or country usually cannot permit the maintenance of fulltime employees. Therefore, and despite keen efforts, most work will be slow and results will take time to be come about. Still,these efforts have a very important role in the defence of our profession and even in its very definition.

The worst we can possibly do is to be silent, to be invisible. Nobody cares about us when they dontknow we are out there. If we are invisible, we do not matter. That is especially the case with regards

to government policy makers; we must let them know that we are here, that we matter and that theyhave to act taking us into account. For that purpose, we need a voice, and associations are that voice.

For example, Spain has several training programmes in conservationrestoration: six Escuelas Superiores providing bachelorequivalent degrees and five universities providing both bachelor andmaster degrees. However, a recent law was passed by the central government in which only the trainingofEscuelas is officially recognized, relegating the master and PhD levels to universities. Furthermore,conservationrestoration in the Escuelas was grouped with arts programs such as music, dance, ceramics,design, etc., which shows how little the jurists know about our f ield. We are still too of ten labelled inthe arts and crafts package! Despite its size, Spain has relatively few working associations, none at national level, which may explain why conservators are still not taken into account, as they should be.

Also, in the other side of Europe, the Danish School of Conservation was recently merged with otherschools of Fine Arts, Architecture and Design. During the merge, conservation could have been relegated to a secondary position if it hadnt been for the many voices that recognised its importance,and helped to put it in its deserved position.

More than ever it is important to have a voice. Being a member of our associations and using ourmembership in the right way is the basis of that voice. Of course there are some associations that aredormant, ineffective or living in the past but in fact it is our duty as members to give them a shoveand to demand more of them. It is we who make the association, not the association that makes us.

Rui BordaloEditorinChief

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Such negotiations must necessarily be about more

than simply the details of stories, it must question

the very meaning and nature of heritage andtherefore also the very idea of conservation itself

is open to renegotiation and redefinition [4].

As I reflected upon the nature of storytelling, I

became more convinced of its worth to our profes

sion, as we crawl out of our dusty basements and

into our glass windowed laboratories, putting con

servation into the public eye, we f ind ourselves

appearing on TV screens, computer monitors andin the pages of newspapers, and everywhere telling

our stories. These were my initial thoughts when

I started to consider the relationship between con

servation and storytelling. But Id like to end on

a question; if asked today what tale of conserva

tion would you tell?

Notes:

1. Spitfire by Chris Wood, from the album Hand

made life, on RUF Records, 2009.

2. M. Schnurer and L. K. Hahn, "Accessible Arti

fact for community discussion about anarchy and

education", in R. Amster, A. DeLeon, L. A. Fernan

dez, A. J. Nocella II, and D. Shannon (eds.), Con

temporary Anarchist Studies: an introductory anthol

ogy of anarchy in the academy, Routledge, London

and New York, 2009, p. 147

3. N. Simon, The Participatory Museum, Museum

2.0, Santa Cruz, 2010

4. E. Waterton, L. Smith, and G. Campbell, "The

Utility of Discourse Analysis to Heritage Studies:The Burra Charter and Social Inclusion", Inter

national Journal of Heritage Studies, 12(4), July

2006, p. 351True Story shop in Washington, D.C., USA. Photo by NCinDC(some rights reserved).

DANIEL CULLConservator

The Musical Instrument Museum

Daniel Cull is from the West Country of the British

Isles. He trained at the Institute of Archaeology,

University College London, where he received a

BSc in Archaeology, MA in Principles of conser

vation, and an MSc in Conservation for Archae

ology and Museums. He was later awarded an

Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship at the National

Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian

Institution, Washington, DC. He currently works

as a conservator at the Musical Instrument Museum and as a collaborator with econservation

magazine.

Website: http://dancull.wordpress.com

Contact: [email protected]

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By Christabel Blackman

VIEWS

CLEANING THE DIRT OFF MONEY IN CONSERVATION ETHICSAND ECONOMICS

Budget is an essential factor in any project no mat

ter how great or small; indeed without it restoration

would cease to exist as an activity. However, the

values which we most consider to be important in

conservation decision making, such as the historic,

artistic, symbolic or scientific values, have a diffi

cultjob at being included in the accountability of

conservation projects which are analysed and pro

cessed according to economical values. Irreconcil

able differences exist between the disparate value

systems in the worlds of conservation and econom

ics. At the same time however, a meeting point is

both inevitable and necessary. The problems arise

when we seekto find a correlation between these

very distinct yetindispensable values.

Money; that dreaded and complex thing! But with

out it, we, the conservators, cannot start work. Or

perhaps I should say, without the idea of receiving

it, when our jobs have been completed and ap

proved of according to the particular tastes of who

ever is paying. How often have conservators had

it suggested to them that they should be exercising

their profession purely for the honourof working

with certain objects; that labour should be for thelove of art, driven byfaith,etc.Ihavebeentoldso

many times that God will pay me for my work that

Im sure He is busily upgrading to a Gold Card just

for that very purpose.

The truth is that many conservators actually labour

under the guises of work experience, apprentice

ships, volunteering or just plain altruism. Perhaps

we do this because we feel that the values that

exist in the f ield of restoration and those conjured

up by their objects are far more noble than the

mundanely tangible and beguiling values that are

associated with money. Meritocratic values in cul

tural conservation exist in another sphere; that is,outside of the cash flow box. In fact most conser

vators will confess that their choice of profession

was vocational. Who ever heard of a wealthy con

servator? Conservation is considered as an activity

without a lucrative end, any spin off gain being a

mere secondary side effect.

When conservation decisions are made, the impor

tance of the economical factor is not always apparentor even included in the reasoning process. Yet,

paradoxically, it is a major determining factor in

the to be or not to be procedure. Funnily enough,

Economics is not considered as a necessary subject

in recommended syllabus of comprehensive courses

in professional conservation training. It is barely

mentioned in any Code of Ethics. It is such a neg

ated aspect of conservation that it is seldom even

heard of that a conservator has selected a partic

ular lining material, chosen a certain varnish or

opted for a specific solvent because of its price. It

Quentin Metsys, The Moneylender and his Wife (1514);lucidity is imperitive in the language of currency to dialogue

aboutconservation budgets.

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seems that conservation decisions are always jus

tified in other spheres. So much conservation be

haviour is apparently driven by other elements that

are not monetary, that perhaps we should stop for

a moment and look at why this incommensurable

dichotomy exists.

Conservation is about caring for objects, but not

just for any old object. We conserve objects that

are important forcertainpeople, becausethat par

ticular social group has assigned a meaning (or a

series of meanings) to that object. We tend to as

sign intangible values to tangible objects; in conservation we refer to them as metanarrative1 or

symbolic2 values.

These symbolic or ethical values represent what we

most value and esteem in our lives and are immeas

urable, like the aforementioned honour, love and

faith. However, these intangible values are diff i

cult to compare to other value systems for they

lack common denominators. The are not interchangeable or transferable and whats more, as

assigned values in conservation objects they are

also subjective and variable because the cultural

worth of the conservation object obeys a value

system which the stakeholders define and bestow

upon it. The object may have a plethoraof meanings;

the importance of different features of the object

changing according to social dictum. This shifting

oscillation of values in different coexisting fields

along with the lack of this common stomping

ground is what creates a diff icult area for dia

logue, understanding or negotiations in the field

of conservation. It is what makes decision making

a complex terrain to encompass.

As our twentyfirst culture swings its pendulum towards theming, neomannerism or contemporary

decontextualization, values will inevitably shift,

triggered by popularization, rejection or recycling

of iconic symbols. Theming culture may simply re

hash oldideas and images; the new imitation, sou

venir or performance taking preference over the

original, and even rendering that original concept

or object useless and of no apparent worth. New

tendencies eventually affect the subjective valueof specific heritage, magnifying the worth of cer

tain objects or else pushing it towards the vague

shelves of oblivion.

However, this does not mean that changes in

values are permanent, it simply illustrates that

cultural values are subjective. They change. Like

allelse, nothing is permanent.

If the sustainable symbolic value of a conserva

tion object is already a difficult terrain to define

The queue for the Vatican museum: A percentage from massive ticket revenues should be invested in conservation, maintenance

and research. Photo by David Iliff (some rights reserved).

1 S. Michalski, "Sharing Responsibility for ConservationDecisions", in W.E. Krumbein, et al. (eds), Durability andChange: The Science, Responsibility, and Cost of SustainingCultural Heritage, John Wiley and Sons, 1994.

2 S. MuozVias, Contemporary Theory of Conservation, Elsevier ButterworthHeinemann, Oxford, 2005.

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with precision, then how is it possible to enter

these comparisons into a completely different

value system; that of monetary value? Economical

and ethical values exist in completely different

spheres, and it is a perplexing challenge to find any

common ground. The ethical is often called uponto justify the economical and visa versa. The bot

tom line is that they are values that cannot be in

terchanged; nor can they be transposed or trans

ferred with convivial success. Indeed objects that

have a heavyweight assigned value are often re

ferred to as priceless; they cannot even enter in

to economical worth systems.

The difficult bridge to cross is that which attemptsto convert the intangible meaning of an object in

to a tangible value, especially an economical one.

It is a terrain that has no common denominator,

for direct transactions. However, it is an area that

affects our conservation budgets. We would not

put a price on a longed for peaceful afternoon nap

or a happy outing with friends, but we are often

obliged to put value on symbolic heritage objects.

Courbets painting Les Demoiselles au bord de laSeine harnesses in values which are not definable

in materialistic terms. It is not the combination

of the paint, gesso ground, canvas, stretcher or

varnishes that we esteem in this object, as similar

materials arranged in a different composition will

make a different object with a different meaning

and value.

Conservation projects are often sponsored or financed according to the projected worth of the ob

ject involved. For this reason more famous art

works are more likely to capture big budgets. The

Art and Money: the incommensurable dichotomy. Gustave Courbet, Demoiselles au bord de la Seine (1856):more than just paint on canvas.


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Sistine Chapel will have economical precedence over

a more neglected and deteriorated polychromed

temple in Nepal from the same era. Passing judge

ments of cultural worth and conserving according

to massive popularity is not a viable rule of thumb,

nor is the idea of using heritage as an economical

whipping horse an acceptable solution. It is near

impossible to place true economical value on the

state of conservation needs of objects that haveother important values assigned to them. Their

value is subjective, it depends on their cultural, so

cial, historical, scientific or artistic values, and

these are the values that are taken into account

on the decision makers table in the field of con

servation, it is just that Mr. Economics is the rul

ing director.

The search for a common denominator inthese dis

tinct value scales (cultural and economical) has led

to the traditional concepts of analysis in economics

to be transferred to the cultural terrain. Throsby

defined the term cultural capital as an outline to

this principle. However, this manner of transposingvaluesbetween thecultural and economical spheres

does not adequately define or include all the vari

ous aspects of cultural goods. If economicalvalues

are assigned according to supply and demand or

production and are based on thepreceptof scarcity,

thencould we just rustleup a few moreMonaLisas

because the queues are too long, or perhaps adda

fewmuch needed metres to theWall of Sorrow? How

about a couple more holy shrouds, pharaohs tombs

or Eiffel towers?

Perhaps a consoling thought is that at the end of

the day practically all decisions are made within

the limitations of restr ictive parameters, albeit

physical limitations (not every workshop has ac

cess to all possible equipment), skill and compet

ency limitation (there may be techniques or knowl

edge that have not been accessed), economical

limitations (interventions have to adjust to budget)and most importantly value limitations (that are

dictated by the interested parties or stakeholders

who define the objects values). Of course many

other ethical questions are involved in the deci

sion making process, however no matter what they

are, whatever the budget limitation is will greatly

determine the restoration process.

Economics, Ethics and Conservation is perhapsthe subject that needs to be pushed onto agendas,

university syllabus, and towards focal points where

it is taken under the multidisciplinary wing of our

profession. It has occasionally been a publicly dis

cussed subject such as the Getty conferences or

the recent international meetings in Brussels.

However, we need to take out a more permanent

adoption of its implications in conservation. As

conservators we need to learn the appropriate

skills to be able to communicate and dialogue

with lucidity in the negotiating procedures that

14th century documentation proves that the amount of gold

used in the fabrication of an artworkwas a stipulated proportion of the amount paid. Why are conservation budgets disproportionate to cultural revenue?

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lead up to the allocation and formulation of bud

gets. Economics is a decisive factor in the decision

making process and must be considered as such.

Perhaps we need to glance towards other fields of

the Arts to seek a metaphor that better adapts to

our needs and contemplate the idea of conserva

tion projects as though it were a contemporary

dance piece, which considers equally as important

the harmonious passages as the conflicts and ten

sions, which incorporates coordinated multiple

participation and individual action, which equally

includes the discreet with the protagonist, andwhich allows us to have a more ample and com

plete vision of the whole oeuvre.

Coexistence of values is what counts in the f ield

of restoration correlations instead of directly

transferable relations. Together with proportional

participation of representatives of the different

affected parties in conservation projects and the

dialogue between them. In this idea we will findthe key to solve the intransferability of distinctive

ethical and economical values in Conservation.

Further Reading

E. Avrami, R. Mason, and M. de la Torre, Values and

Heritage Conservation. Research Report, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, 2000, URL

R. Mason (ed.), Economics and Heritage Conserva

tion: A Meeting Organized by the Getty Conservati

on Institute, December 1998, J. Paul Getty Trust,

Los Angeles, 1999, URL

A. Klamer, The Value of Culture: on the Relationship

between Economics and Arts, Amsterdam University

Press, Amsterdam, 1996

S. MuozVias, Contemporary Theory of Conserva

tion, Elsevier ButterworthHeinemann, Oxford,

2005

J. A. Smith, Myths, Philanthropy, and Culture: New

Data and Trends. What Do Economics Have to Do

with Culture, in ASSEMBLY 2002: Asking the Right

Questions, Getty Institute, San Diego, California

2002, URL [pdf]

D. Throsby, Economics and Culture, Cambridge

University Press, Cambridge, 2001

D. Throsby, "Cultural capital" and "Cultural

sustainability", in R. Towse (ed.), A Handbook

of Cultural Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing,

London, 2003

CHRISTABEL BLACKMAN

ConservatorrestorerContact: [email protected]

Christabel Blackman is a senior fine art conser

vator and works from her own private studio. She

holds a Masters Degree in Conservation and Res

toration of Cultural Heritage and a Diploma in

Restoration of Easel Painting. She has worked in

conservation since 1979 and is both an Australian

and Spanish citizen.

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Do you need an online presence?

Do you feel its time to update to 'digital conservation'?

Do you have a website that looks like built in the last century?

www.Yconservation.com

Visit our website

Yconservation is a collaborative project designed especially for individuals

and small businesses in the cultural heritage field. We create online solutions

that provide you with what you need, combining design, functionality and

ease of use. We offer HIGH QUALITY and LOW COST SOLUTIONS for your

business or project.

GRAPHIC AND WEB DESIGN SERVICES FOR CONSERVATION
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Former single family homes converted to 4 or 5 unit

condominiums.

PRESERVING OUR URBAN HERITAGE:THE HERITAGE CONVERSION MODEL

Having an academic background in urban geogra

phy and being a long time student of the urban

landscape, I experience feelings of sadness and

frustrationeach time I see a bulldozer or a wrecking

ball demolishing what was once a stately home,

a structure that several decades ago had been a

showcase on the urban landscape. Sadly, many

of these grande dames have fallen victim to what

some would call progress. Their demise as single

family dwellings can be attributed to a number of

factors. They are generally high cost maintenance

buildings, are costly to heat and their owners have

had to bear escalating property taxes. These neg

ative factors, plus the fact they are often situated

on relatively large lots, make them attractive tar

gets for developers who can often purchase themrelatively cheaply and then apply for a rezoning

that would allow a higher density development.

If approved, a once architectural gem is often

replaced with a mundane, architecturally unimag

inative condominium or town house complex.

Fortunately, there aresome enlightened municipal

politicians who appreciate the value in preserv

ing this component of our architectural heritage.An example is the City of Victoria, British Colum

bia which in the 1990s introduced a program de

signed to preserve these icons. The concept is

generally referred to as Heritage or Character

Conversions.

In 1998, the City of Victoria initiated a tax incen

tive program to assist in the conversion of down

town heritage buildings for residential use. The

program was expanded in 2003 to include the up

grading of heritage buildings for nonresidential

(commercial) uses. In order to qualify for assist

ance, building owners must meet a set of criteria

established by the city. Once approved, the pro

ject is then monitored and administered on thecitys behalf by a volunteer organization called

the Victoria Heritage Foundation. When the ap

proved conversion project is completed, a bronze

plaque identifying the structure as a heritage

structure is affixed to the exterior. The specific

incentive available can be as much as a total ex

emption from municipal and school taxes for up

to ten years. During the past several years, the

overall program has been administered under thecapable direction of Senior Heritage Planner

Steve Barber.

Beginning about 2003, a few local developers

began initiating a new approach to meeting the

demand for residential housing. What is also sig

nificant, they did it without theaidof government

grants or incentives. The concept was relatively

simple. If a large older residence, with perhaps

4000 square feet or more, could be purchased at

the right pr ice, it could be converted into four

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or five condominium units and thereby produce

an attractive return on investment.

The heritage conversion process involves making

relatively minor improvements and upgrades such

as installing new gutters and downspouts, a newroof, thermopane windows and fresh paint but

ensuring that the essential character of the struc

tures exterior is retained.

The interiors, however, are significantly altered

to meet the demands of 21stcentury urbanites.

Onecommonly finds such features as granite coun

tertops, stainless steel appliances, engineered

wood flooring, pot lights and other modern amenities. In many cases, however, such original inte

rior features as wainscotting, stone fireplaces,

decorative arches and stained glass windows are

retained. In most cases, seismic upgrades and up

dated electrical and plumbing systems are required

in order to meet the existing building code.

The conversion of heritage buildings to multiunit

residential housing is by no means unique to the

City of Victoria. Some American cities have made

an effort to encourage the retention of some of

their architectural treasures. The process has been

given some degree of importance for several years

in the neighbouring city of Vancouver but with a

slight variation. Yale Town was originally a

rather run down area of warehouses on the peri

phery of the citys central business district but hasundergone a dramatic transformation during the

past decade. Many of these once dour looking

buildings have been gutted and converted into

condominiums andlofts, some of whichhave price

tags in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 range. These

units are very popular with young professionals

and yuppies.

This phenomenon is by no means unique to NorthAmerican cities. Many sinologists, architects and

urban geographers are familiar with Shikumen

architecture in Shanghai. Many of these distinct

architectural gems have been razed and replaced

with modern structures. Others, however, have

been saved and many are now being refurbished

so the exterior designs are retained but the in

teriors are upgraded to meet 21stcentury de

mands and values. Some of these structures have

been restored for residential housing but most are

now occupied by commercial enterprises.

Side by side conversions in Victoria's Fairfield district.

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The Developers Perspective

The principal challenge encountered by the pro

spective developer in undertakingtheseconversion

projects involves simple economics. Conversion

construction costs are fairlyconstant, assuming the

structural integrity of the building is intact. Theexperienced developer also has an intimate know

ledge of the local real estate market and can esti

mate fairly closely what the units are likely to sell for

when the project is completed six to nine months

in the future. These variables are then applied to

calculate the maximum price the developer can

afford to pay for the building.

The Buyers Perspective

Oneof therelevant questions one mightaskrelates

to why someone would prefer a heritage conver

sion to a newly built condominium. Part ofthe

answer, I suspected, might be found in the words

characterand charm. In contemporary residential

buildings, one rarely finds such features as 10 or 12

foot ceilings, leaded and stained glass windows,

oak panelling, wainscotting and builtin book

cases, common features in many of the more fash

ionable homes built during the firstthree dec

adesofthe20th century.Another significant factor

is probably related to location. Many, if notmost

of these older residences, are located in wellestablished, highly desirable neighbourhoods. In

addition, many are also located close to the cent

ral business district, which is a significant con

venience for those who work downtown.

Prior to the end of World War II, the more affluent

urban dwellers usually chose to live near the city

center. An individual might covet living in one of

these neighbourhoods but the cost of a single

family dwelling may be prohibitive. The heritage

conversion condominium can often provide the

solution to this problem. To ascertain the answer

to this question, a small informal survey was con

ducted.Questionnaires were mailed to 30 residents

who had purchased conversion units during the

previous 12 to 18 months in an effort to answer

the following questions: what motivated them

to make the decision to buy?; did they have any

regrets?; and what were the positive and negative aspects of their decision?. Eighteen owners

returned completed questionnaires.

The received responses conformed closely to my

expectations. In almost every case the respond

ents mentioned the words characteror charm.

More than half the respondents referred to the

fact that they liked the location because of its

proximity to the downtown area, the ocean andthecitys largest park.Of the18homeowners there

was only one negative comment and it related to

a drainage problem that had occurred more than

a year after the unit had been purchased. The

developer had been reluctant to accept respons

ibility for the problem but after the threat of legal

action, the developer decided it was in his best

interest to solve the problem.

Converting older, large single family dwellings

that have historical significance into multiunit

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A classic Victoria mansion converted to 8 luxur y

condominiums.


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condominiums achieves two important objectives.

Not only does the heritage conversion model pro

vide new, often much needed affordable housing

but it also preserves many of the architectural

gems that would otherwise fall victim to the

wrecking ball and to what some would refer to as

progress.

Unfortunately, we have lost many of our residential

gems to the wrecking ball but many still remain as

part of the North American urban landscape. Cities

across the United States and Canada should ad

dress a very important question: do you wanttoretain these important components of your archi

tecturalheritage or will you succumb to the pres

sure from developers whose principal interest is

profit maximization?

My fervent hope is that the elected officials in

many of our cities will adopt the approach taken

by the City of Victoria.

The News section is bringing uptodate

information on cultural heritage topics such as

onsite conservation projects reports, reviews

of conferences, lectures or workshops and any

other kind of appropriate announcements.

If you are involved in interesting projects and

you want to share your experience with

everybody else, please send us your news

or announcements.

For more details, such as deadlines andpublication guidelines, please visit

www.econservationline.com

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16 econservation

BARRY MAYHEWConsultant

Website: http://www.barrymayhew.com


Barry Mayhew, PhD is President of Summit Consulting Services, a Victoria, B. C. based company

providing marketing services for entrepreneurs

and small business enterprises. Barry was born in

Vancouver, B. C. As an undergraduate at UBC he

majored in geography and sociology with a minor

in economics. Subsequently he relocated to the

U.S. where he completed his M.A. in Geography

and a doctorate in Strategic Planning. His eclectic

interests are reflected in his more than 20 arti

cles thathave appeared in professional journals

and popular magazines.
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What do you think of when you see a symposium

entitled The Science and Art of Color? My imme

diate reaction was that if this was going to be a

conference organized by Zvi Koren, Director of the

Edelstein Center for the Analysis of Ancient Arti

facts, that it would be an extraordinary event a

thinkingoutofthebox event that would embraceevery aspect of color from both of the disciplines in

the title, and much more. I was not disappointed.

The avowed focus of this international interdis

ciplinary symposium was to highlight the synergy

that exists between art and science through the

unifying element of color by convening experts

scientists, artists and designers, historians and

modern visionaries to discuss the science andart of color. The symposium was planned to present

research, applications, and ideas in the study and

uses of color in art, design, art conservation and

restoration, history, archaeology, religion, psy

chology, philosophy, symbolism, architecture,

chemistry, physics, geology, and engineering.

From the very beginning, with the invitational

poster, I knew that it would be exciting. First of all,

it was being held in Israel at the upandcoming

Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, a

school that has reinvented itself from the conven

tional wisdom that equated it with New Yorks

Fashion Institute of Technology Israel Branch

to an institution of higher learning that promotes

passionate interest in every branch of human

knowledge because it sees every discipline as re

lated to its mission of linking the technology ofthe left brain with the artistic bent of the right

brain. And how could this be other for a school of

Engineering that has as its President a world

renowned philosopher, Yuli Tamir?

Before describing the program of this oneday

symposium, let me say a word about the genius of

its structure. Obviously, a oneday conference is

seen as targeting inhabitants of the host countrysince noone would travel a great distance for only

a 24hour session, no matter how attractive. But

although this was in theory a oneday conference,

the preconference and postconference activities

were arranged in such a way that someone coming

from a distance would realize that what was being

offered was Israel in a Nutshell. And for someone

who would be a firsttime visitor to this beautiful

and historic land, not only was the program ap

pealing, but so was very modest set of fees. Re

gistrants automatically were entitled to a full day

THE SCIENCE AND ART OF COLORINTERNATIONAL EDELSTEIN COLOR SYMPOSIUM

February 2728, 2011

RamatGan, Israel

Organised by:

Shenkar College of Engineering and Design

Review by Mary Virginia Orna

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preconference treat: a guided tour of the Israel

Museum in Jerusalem, a visit and substantial lunch

at an intown kibbutz, an oral presentation of the

posters on exhibit, and a magnificent fashion show

put on by Shenkar College students.

This latter evening event was stunning and im

pressive. The students had studied the design of

womens and mens clothing as it was documented

over a period of five centuries, had designed their

own patterns from this research, and had then

made and modeled the clothing, all done with

verve and style, to the background music of theperiod. Needless to say, they received a standing

ovation, and the hope of each of the conferees

that all the students received a welldeserved A

in their course.

The following day, the symposium itself took place,

and then the following three days consisted of all

day optional study tours at a very reasonable price

to three top Israel destinations: Jerusalem (Mountof Olives and the Old City; Yad Vashem and the New

City); the Desert (Qumran, Masada, and the Dead

Sea); the Galilee (Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee,

Yardenit, Bethsaida). It is no wonder that this one

day conference drew over 200 conferees from two

dozen countries with a sizeable delegation from

the United States, and attendees from such di

verse countries as Norway, Ethiopia, Azerbaijan,

Nigeria, South Afr ica, Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria,Romania, Poland, and almost every country in

Western Europe.

The program itself was launched by the keynote

address delivered by John Hyman, Professor of

Aesthetics in the Faculty of Philosophy of The

Queens College, Oxford. Hymans discourse set

the tone for the entire conference because it was

based on Galileos skepticism about the existence

of colors outside the sensate body, and of Des

cartes skepticism about their existence outside

the human mind, giving rise to the myth that phy

sical objects are not really colored perhaps utiliz

ing thedistinctionmade by Thomistic philosophers

that the color of an object was viewed as an ac

cident that did not inhere in the substance of

the object itself. But when color is wedded to de

sign concepts that can convey name recognition

via branding and logos, we know we have left theworld of philosophy for the world of mass market

ing as illustrated almost lyrically by Dan Reisinger

in his Laureate (of the Israel Prize for Design)

Address Colors in the Soul of a Designer. Rei

singers talk closed the circle opened by Hyman

since the formers whole objective was to liberate

color from the object so that color itself becomes

the subject. One can see this clearly in Figure 1,

Reisingers design answer to an otherwise inauspicious space dominated by structural columns.

My own paper, Artists Pigments in Illuminated

Medieval Manuscripts: Uncovering Forgeries and

Tracing Artistic Influences, emphasized the tech

nical aspect of chemical analysis of colored sub

stances with a view to learning more about the

objects in this case, medieval manuscripts in

which they arepresent. Regina Hofmannde Keijzer

of theUniversity of Applied Arts, Vienna, described

the basic research that her group has done over

Installation by Dan Reisinger at the Ashdod Museum of Art,

Israel. Photo by Dan Reisinger.


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the period from 2002 to the present on prehis

toric dyeing techniques in her paper Prehistoric

Textiles from the Salt Mine of Hallstatt in Austria

Dyestuff Analysis, Experiments and Inspiration

for Contemporary Applications. The undisputed

climax of the mornings talks was Zvi C. KorensTekhelet: Announcing the Discovery of the First

Authentic BiblicalBlue Tekhelet from Ancient Is

rael after a Millennium and a Half of Disappear

ance. Tekhelet was the ancient bluehued dye

used to color the ritual tassels, or tzitzit, on Jewish

prayer shawls, but knowledge of how to produce

it was lost some time after 70 CE, when the Jews

were exiled from what is now Israel.

Korens spectacular discovery happened when

textiles excavated from Masada and stored at the

Hebrew University in Jerusalem came to his atten

tion, and among those textiles he was able to

identify the first known physical sample of thisdye. He was also able to lay to rest all the theories

about the actual color of the dye: according to

Koren, the dye is the color of the blue sky, but not

the cerulean blue one would normally suppose:

tekhelet is the color of the sky at midnight!

Its when you are all alone at night that you reach

out to God, and that is what tekhelet reminds you

of, he said. A halfpage article, Rediscovered,

Ancient Color is Reclaiming Israeli Interest, an

nouncing the discovery appeared in the New YorkTimes, p. 7A, simultaneously with the date of the

conference, 28 February 2011.Figure 2 is a photo

graph of Koren making the announcement. More

information on the discovery can be found at the

symposium website, http://edelsteincenter.com/

colorsymposium.

The symposium continued in the afternoon with

a Keynote Address by Harry Rand, Senior Curatorof Cultural History, at the National Museum of

American History Smithsonian Institution, The

Dialogue between Recent Color Technologies and

Style. This visionary lecture looked at some older

technologies used by artists to try to discern a

pattern by which one could extrapolate the way in

which modern art might encounter new techno

logies in the future. His analysis aff irmed that the

whole joyful dialogue between materials and ideasis continuing, as it always has, with surprising im

plications.

A series of exciting papers followed: Matthijs de

Keijzer of the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agen

cy in his talk Early Synthetic Organic Lake Pig

ments Used by Vincent van Gogh at the End of his

Lifetime in the South of France, documented how

van Goghs use of newlysynthesized organic pig

ments presents fading problems to modern cu

rators. Silvia Rozenberg, Curator ofClassical Ar

Dr. Zvi C. Koren annoncing his discovery of the bluehued dyeTekhelet.

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chaeology at the Israel Museum, in her paper en

titled The Role of Color in King Herods Palace at

Jericho, contended that the frescoes that adornedthis palace carried political significance in that

they may have been Herods way of expressing

Roman support for his rule. Thorsten Bauer, Di

rector and CoFounder of URBANSCREEN, Bremen,

in his truly outr paper, Varicolored Spatial Nar

ration: Illuminating the Urban Architectural Land

scape, illustrated how he clothed architectural

structures with light utilizing a procedure of cus

tommade projection called Lumentecture. But

since one picture is worth a thousand words, we

defer to www.urbanscreen.com where you will see

a spectacular show.

Michael Levin, of the Shenkar College Department

of Multidisciplinary Art, followed with his dis

course, From the Blue House in Marrakesh to the

White City, in which he cited the important role

that color plays in modern architecture, not only

in the white city, i.e., Tel Aviv, and in Marrakesh,but also in residential district and museum design

such as found in Berlin and Frankfurt. The last

oral presentation was perhaps the most whimsical.

In it, Ilana Joselowitz, Israeli Design Consultant,

unveiled Victorias Secret by putting womens

undergarments front and center in Inside Out:

The Language of Color in Womens Intimate Appar

el A Contemporary and Historical Perspective.

In a talk that had many of us laughing out loud atthe absurdity of what women were constrained,

literally and figuratively, to wear in order to ad

here to the garment canons of the day, Joselow

itz peppered her talk with evocative images that

made every woman in the audience glad to be liv

ing in the 20th century rather than the 19th and

earlier!

The symposium had as its closing session an ele

gant winetasting of choice Israeli wines with

commentaries by Avi Feldstein of Segal Wines,

expert winemaker, vintner and pioneer of Ga

lilee wines. As one might expect, the title of the

session was The Colors of Wines: Agraman and

More.

A word must also be said about the variety and

breadth of the 22 poster presentations from

Russian mosaics, Japanese and Azerbaijani pot

tery, Persian carpets, and Turkish archaeological

excavations to purple in haematology and ancient

and contemporary art, to color inspirations in the

world of dance and theater all were available for

questions and discussions by the conferees for agood part of the symposium.

One would hope that such richness and depth will

not only be commemorated, but also dissemin

ated, and perhaps repeated with new insights,

methods, and materials in the years to come.

Kudos to Koren for a magnificent show!

MARY VIRGINIA ORNA

Chemist


She is presently Professor of Chemistry at the Col

lege of New Rochelle. She received her educationfirst at Chestnut Hill College and her graduate

studies were done at Fordham University in ana

lytical chemistry. She has lectured and published

widely in the areas of color chemistry and archae

ological chemistry. Her many publications have

appeared in Color Research and Application, Stud

ies in Conservation, Analytical Chemistry, Micro

chemical Journal, and American Chemical Society

monographs among others. She has also authored

numerous book chapters and encyclopedia arti

cles, three books and coedited eight others.

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Review by Jaap van der Burg

March 24, 2011, Brussels, Belgium

Organised by:NETHERITAGE

INCREASING EUROPES COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH CULTURAL

HERITAGE RESEARCH

NETHERITAGE Seminar

On March 24th, the EUproject NETHERITAGE hosted

the seminar Increasing Europes Competitiveness

Through Cultural Heritage Research in Brussels,

Belgium. NETHERITAGE is the European Network

on Research Programme Applied to the Protection

of Tangible Cultural Heritage. The project is funded

by the European Commission with 2 million with

in its 7th framework programme (FP7) aiming to

promote a better coordination between Europeannational research funding.

According to official documentation, the object

ives of NETHERITAGE are:

To provide an integrated picture of the state of

the art of cultural heritage research in the Euro

pean Member States at the European level;

To overcome the lack of a coordinated research

structure in this specific and multidisciplinary sec

tor withProgrammes fostering integration between

the arthistoryconservationmaintenanceres

toration areas and the architecturalchemical

physicsengineering areas;

To limit fragmentation within, and among, na

tional research programmes by identifying com

mon strategic prior ities for research and cultural

heritage programmes;

To create effective actions to stimulate the

exploitation of research results, and underpin co

operation between researchers and cultural her

itage institutions for the application of identified

solutions;

Tackle problems due to insufficient and dispersed

funding, in terms of local level and size of funding,

compared to other research sectors;

Favour exchange between national programmes

and European work programmes, in order to avoid

a single topdown approach.

This seminar was one of its planned outputs. A to

talof 177 participants with the most varied back

grounds attended while several examples of the

various initiatives within this network were presented. A wide variety of institutions, universities

and private companies explained their work and

the benefit they had from this Network.

It is not the objective of this review to present in

detail each presentation but to mention the gen

eral aspects and following discussions that struck

me as most important.

This oneday seminar was organised in four de

dicated sessions with a total of 16 presentations.

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While the first ones aimed at introducing and

reviewing the main results of this network, the

others covered topics from Cultural Heritage aseconomic factor to applied research and funding.

The fourth and last session consisted of a discus

sion panel dedicated Towards a more integrative

approach in cultural heritage research.

To me, themost important ideas that emerged dur

ing this meeting were:

Cultural Heritage is NOT renewable by nature.

Research networks are necessary, but the science

will have to be applicable and used. From all the

presentations,only two focused on theactual trans

lation of research to use in the field.

Cultural Heritage must be part of FP8, the 8th

Framework Programme;

There are not many existing devices for applications to funds for topics as specific as Cultural Her

itage. Projects must be focused on study and know

ledge primarily andcan include Cultural Heritage.

Education must not be forgotten. Research is ad

mirable and needed but it stems from and must

lead to education. This translation from and to

wards education was missing from the presenta

tions.

The presentations indicated that the Network

was focused on nonmovable heritage. Hope was

expressed that in the follow up of the Network,

movable heritage would be more visible.

The administrative regulations and requirements

wereso time consuming that small and medium en

terprises (including oneman conservatorrestorer)

had difficulties in complying. Their expertise was

sorely missed.

Above all, the need to communicate between the

different fields within our own landscape of Cul

tural Heritage was confirmed. Despite the manyinitiatives, websites and discussion forums, the

tendency to talk to and with people you know

is human. This, combined with the fact that for

everybody their own profession is the one and

most important, leads to many open discussions

amongst likeminded.

As we have not evolved yet to the super human

beings who can be both extremely scientific and

extremely experienced in the hands on work atthe same time, we will have to find another way

to keep communication from the scientist to the

floor open.

One way of assisting this dialogue is through the

EU funded projects. As long as the EU sets up fund

ing in which it is only possible for small and solo

enterprises to participate after spending huge

amounts of (otherwise billable hours) on paperwork this will not happen.

Let us all hopethatFP8 will haveprojects nicely and

accessibly wrapped, without too much red tape.

The Network Programme will end in 2011. Further

information on NETHERITAGE can be found on the

website, www.heritageportal.eu.

JAAP VAN DER BURG

Conservatorrestorer


Jaap van der Burg is a conservatorrestorer spe

cialised in preventive conservation since 1984.

He was one of two founders of Helicon Conser

vation Support B.V. in Alpen aan den Rijn (The

Netherlands).

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econservationeconservation 25

underneath. Recent measurements suggested that

the mural might be concealed behind a brick wall.

This study used neutron back scattering to detect

hydrogen that were used in Leonardos materials.

The results revealed a high presenceof hydrogenous

materials, likely comparable with what Leonardo

should have used.

Later, a presentation on a Noninvasive study of

a van Gogh watercolour with integrated spectro

scopy imaging techniques was given by Daniela

Comelli, from the Politecnico di Milano (Italy).

Techniques such as fluorescence lifetime imagingmicroscopy (FLIM), multispectral fluorescence

imaging (MSFI) and multispectral reflectance

imaging were applied insitu and revealed the

presence of different inorganic pigments, allow

ing their interpretation and use by van Gogh.

Yusuke Murayama, from the University of Kyoto

(Japan), presented the Application of Bayesian

image superresolution to spectral image estimation. This study showed a more practical spectral

imaging technique that estimates not only the

spectral region but also the spatial region of spec

tral images at the same time. Also, the spectral

reflectance (related with colour information) can

complement information of space frequency.

Another contributionwasgiven by Anabelle Krinar,

from the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), aboutFrederic of Villach, his painting technique and

materials applied in his wall paintings. This study

was performed first in situ to observe the painting

structure and procedures from incisions to colour

modelling. Basedon these results, small samples of

mortars and pigments were extracted for further

analysis with optical microscopy, SEMEDS, FTIR

and XRD. The results showed that his technique

was a fresco, reason why the murals are still in

good state of preservation. Several pigments

were identified, such as azurite and malachite.

The last contribution before lunch break was given

by Georg Dietz, from BAM (Berlin, Germany), on

The Egmont master phenomena aspects of

material studies. Nondestructive analyses per

formed on the drawings by the Master of the Eg

mont Albums showed that several groups of data

were retrieved, revealing the possibility of dealing

with more than just one person's contribution.

The afternoon session started with Sandra Koch,

from the University of Applied Sciences Emden/

Leer (Emden, Germany), speaking about Laser

induced breakdown spectroscopy applied to archaeological iron samples.Here, LIBS wasapplied

to a vast amount of cultural heritage samples,

revealing their elemental composition. This is of

great importance to identify the origin and tech

nological skills of historic craftsmen and artisans.

Modern steel samples can easily be distinguished

from the historic ones by their specific doping

metals. The analysis revealed that the major

component (Fe) was accompanied by differentminor elements such as manganese, calcium,

magnesium and copper.

Francesco Grazzi, from National Research Council

(Italy), gave a talk about the Characterization of

Japanese armour components through neutron

diffraction and imaging. A quantitative determi

nation of the phases and of the mechanical treat

ments has been determined on all investigatedsamples. Neutron imaging is able to provide de

tailed information on the construction process of

metal artefacts.

Angelo Agostino, from the University of Torino

(Italy), spoke about the Analysis of ancient Ja

panese Tsubae by nondestructive techniques.

Data analysis with XRF revealed that different al

loys were used in the fabrication of the metalwork.

Gold was found to be used as minor component of

the Copperbased alloys. Withneutron diffraction,


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Onsite analysis of glass and jade artefacts from Guangxiprovince (China), by Dr Kriengkamol Tantrakarn from TokyoUniversity of Science (Japan).

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The yellow pigment in Portuguese 17th century Majolicaazulejos, by Vnia Muralha.

the phase distribution, strain level and grain size

ofthe metal phases were quantified.

Lars Lhl, from the Technical University of Berlin

(Germany), presented the last contribution before

the coffee break with 3D MicroXANES (XRay

Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy). He proved

that this technique is an excellent tool to determine nondestructively the degree and depth of

corrosion processes of cultural heritage objects

with light matrices and high Z marker elements.

After the coffee break, the session started with

Onsite analysis of glass and jade artefacts from

Guangxi province (China) given by Kriengkamol

Tantrakarn, from Tokyo University of Science (Ja

pan). The raw materials of the investigated archaeological glass objects were identified by XRF and

XRD. From the major compositions, the glass sam

ples could be separated into two major groups:

potassiumsilicaglass and leadbarium glass.

Then, Judith Zldfldi, from the University of

Tbingen (Germany), gave a contribution about

Gemstones in the royal tomb of Qarna (Syria).

The raw materials of the investigated pieces have

been identified by XRF, XRD, Raman and addi

tionally by PIXE and PGAA. One of the quartz

varieties was identified: rock crystal, amethyst,

chalcedony, jasper, agate and cornelian. Differ

ences not only from the typological point of view

but also in respect to the principal raw materials

were identified.

A new experimental setup to study early stages

of atmospheric corrosion on metals by PMIRRASwas given by Rita Wiesinger, from the Institute of

Science andTechnolgy in Art, Academy of Fine Arts

(Vienna, Austria). Polarization Modulation was

successfully applied to the already existing IRRAS/

QCM (Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy

and Quartz Crystal Microbalance) setup for highly

sensitive insitu investigations of atmospheric

corrosion processes. The results have shown that

this method allows to obtain infrared spectra ofsurface f ilms or species on metallic substrates

with an excellent signal/noise ratio.

Marta Ursescu, from National Complex of Museums

'Moldova' (Romania), gave us an overview of X

Ray photoelectron spectroscopy application in the

determination of Fe2+/Fe3+ ratio on the surface

of irongall ink treated papers. The information

provided by this technique concerning the oxida

tion state of iron ions allowed a quantitative as

sessment of the corrosive potential of iron gall


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ink deposited on the surface of the paper. The ra

tio of Fe2+/Fe3+ may be affected by changes pro

duced in inks components prior to and during thethermal degradation of paperink assembly.

The first day of the conference finished with a

contribution by Robert Lehmann, from the Leibniz

University of Hannover (Germany) with Accurate

highres lead isotope ratio maps of Germany for pro

veniencestudies. Theexamination of a large num

ber of ores and slags allowed generating highly

resolved isotope maps that made possible to

determine the origin of hundred ofartefacts.

The second day started with invited speaker An

tnio Candeias, from the University of vora (Por

tugal), who presented On the use of integrated

methodologies for the study and safeguard of

cultural heritage conceptions and misconcep

tions. He focused on specific case studies of pro

jects they have undertaken as a collaborative ap

proach, resulting on a successful characterization ofhistoric building materials, easel paintings, his

torical textiles, archaeological artefacts and jew

ellery. For such studies, techniques such as Raman,

in situ XRF, FTIR, PIXE, LCMS, GCMS and ICP MS

wereused in theframeworkof their investigation.

Maria Isabel Prudncio, from Nuclear and Technol

ogical Institute (Portugal), gave a talk on Neut

ron tomography for the assessment of consolidant impregnation efficiency in Portuguese glazed

tiles (16th17th centuries). In this work, NT is

applied to visualize the inner structure of glazed

tiles and to explore the potential to assess con

servation products inside the samples. The inner

visualization of glazed tiles by NT allowed evalu

ation of impregnation, demonstrating effective

consolidantflow in the porous tile.

Then, Sophie Dallongeville, from the University of

Lille (France), presented her study on Proteins

in paintings: investigation on their chemical mo

difications during making and ageing. This work

showed for the first time that proteins containedin painting binding medium are damaged by dif

ferent compounds or by restoration treatments.

They were able to identify and localize modifica

tions, showing which amino acids are involved in

the oxidation reactions.

Katharina Wiegner, from BAM, gave us an insight

on Determination of formic and acetic acids in

air or display cases. It was shown that formic and

acetic acids are often initiators of damage ofcultural heritage objects, such as glass and metal cor

rosion or changing and fading of colours. Modern

display cases with small air exchange rates can

cause higher concentrations of formic and acetic

acids if any source is installed in the display case.

Then, a Development of a screening method for

semivolatile organic compounds in museum show

cases was presented by Birte Mull (BAM). It was

confirmed by CTE (micro chamber) experimentsthat the selected polymer is a suitable absorbent

for air sampling of the selected SVOCs (semivolat

ile organic compounds).

After the coffee break, Matija Strlic, from Univer

sity College London (UK), talked about NIR/MVA:

from uninspiring spectra to damage visualisation.

Imaging with Near Infrared spectroscopy (NIR)

and multivariate data analysis (MVA) has been developed. Images from pH and degree of polymer

ization of an iron gall ink inscription were pro

duced, enabling the users to visualise damaged

areas of an object.

Later, Anna Schnemann, from the State Academy

of Art and Design (Stuttgart, Germany), gave a

contribution on A combined FTIRATR and Raman

spectroscopic mapping approach to the study of

the painting technique of Hans Holbein, the elder.

For the investigation of interactions between pig


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stratigraphy, where it is clear the presence of tra

ditional gilding with three distinct layers. EDS res

ults revealed the elements within the gold alloy

(gold, silver and copper). Further crosssection

scans were performed at BAMline at BESSY with a

lateral resolution of 1 m, revealing the dominant

elements in each layer of the pieces.

The last talk before the coffee break was given by

Valentina Trunova, from the Russian Academy of

Science (Russia), about Material studies on hair

from ancient burials (Mongolia). The results ob

tained with XRF at the Siberian Centre of Synchrotron Radiation proved the abnormal content of

heavy metals (iron, copper, arsenic, mercury) in

human and horse hair. The abnormal content of

copper can only be explained by the cultural tra

ditions of this society.

The first talk of the af ternoon session was given by

Timo Wolff, from the Technical University of Berlin

(Germany), about Review of XRay methods inthe study of the dead sea scrolls. The question of

the provenance and origin of the scrolls was one

of the main objectives of that research. Especially

the chlorine/bromine concentration ratio, which

can reach as low as 30 in the area of the Dead Sea,

was a good indicator for classification. A large

number of samples were investigated with a mo

bile XRF setup. Based on the fundamental para

meter quantification the chlorine/bromine ratiocould be estimated. Moreover, the distribution of

the elements into the sample depth cannot be

examined with an integral method like XRF. For

the analysis of the bromine distribution and of the

composition of debris layers on top and on bot

tom of the fragments, 3D XRF measurements

were carried out.

Ina Reiche, from the Laboratoire du Centre de Re

cherche et de Restauration des Muses de France

(CNRS), gave a talk about Confocal MicroXRF

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Radiation Facility (Grenoble, France), entitled

Non destructive chemical analysis of artefacts on

synchrotrons: when micro met spectro. Within the

last decade, synchrotronbased techniques have

been used to an increasing extent in field of cul

tural heritage science. These methods offer a com

bination of attributes particularly well suited for

the analysis of works of art. The Xrays noninva

sive character and high penetration depth are real

assets, in particular for tomography analyses. This

talk didnt cover the entire range of synchrotron

based techniques applied to cultural heritage, but

was focused on two particular synchrotron capabilities instead: microscopy and spectroscopy.

Recent applications of microXAS (Xray Absorp

tion Structure) and microFTIR in art conservation

(ancient glasses and paintings), performed at the

ID21 beamline, at the ESRF have been presented.

XRF scanning investigation of parchment palimp

sest was the subject of the next talk, given by

Leif Glaser, from HASYLAB (Hamburg, Germany).XRF mapping (performed at the beamline L of

DORIS at DESY) was used to enhance the contrast

of upper and lower writing concentrating not only

on the dominant iron signal but also on the impu

rities of the iron vitriol used in the manufacture of

the iron gall ink. Elemental maps for iron, calcium,

lead and zinc have been recorded for various trace

elements in regions of visible and erased writing.

The excitation energy was varied to maximize thecontrast of some trace elements and to determine

the effect that different excitation energies have

on the readability contrast of a XRFelemental map.

Afterwards, A multi analytical approach to the

study of gold leaf from a Baroque altarpiece was

presented by Ana Bidarra, from the University of

Aveiro (Portugal). The Optical Microscopy and SEM

techniques provided an accurate insight about the

physicalaspects of the gold and gilding technique,

namely its thickness (less than 2 m), texture and
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analysis of successive paint layers in Louvre re

naissance paintings. The results obtained on the

crosssections were compared to depth profilesmeasured at several points of the paintings close

to the sampled zones. This showed the analytical

capabilities of the setup for revealing nondestruc

tively successive paint layers on original paintings

and allowed the discussion of the significance of

a completely noninvasive approach for paint ana

lysis with 3D MicroXRF.

Chimu culture ceramics studied by XRF was the

title of the talk given by Carlos Appoloni, from the

University of Londrina (Brazil). It was possible to

identify the presence of 16 chemical elements, by

a portable XRF system, with different relative in

tensities. The statistical analysis by PCA and HCA

determined similarities and correlations between

the samples. The PCA analysis showed high cor

relations between aluminium, silicon, calcium,

potassium, titanium, and iron.

The next talk was given by Izumi Nakai, from Tokyo

University of Science (Japan), about glass trade

between Asian countries and Japan as revealed by

portable XRF analysis of glass beads. The chemi

cal compositions of glasses were classified into

one of the following three types: Na2OCaOSiO2,

Na2OAl2O3CaOSiO2 or K2OSiO2. All the analysed

glass beads excavated from Osugi Kofun, belong

ing to the period from the 1st

to the 3rd

centuriesAD, were potashsilica glass. As a general know

ledge, the glass production from raw materials in

Japan started in late 7th century AD and this was

a lead glass. So the analysed glasses were either

imported from surrounding Asian countries or loc

ally made from the imported raw materials.

The last talk of the second day was given by Gio

vanni Cavallo, from the Institute of Materials and

Constructions (Switzerland), about Black earths:

origin, composition and use in different pictorial

techniques. The study was performed with XRF

and XRD. The analysis of ancient and modern

sources identified the early descriptive terms forblack earths and allowed to differentiate two types

of black earth: the black chalk and the black shale.

Tests performed to assess their stability in differ

ent pictorial techniques showed that the best res

ults in terms of hiding and colouring power were

obtained with Bolcas finest fraction (Bolca, Italy

exploitation site).

The third day started with a session dedicated to

Organic Spectroscopy.

During 19901995, the Dutch painter van Heemert

used commercial paints in his work, applied in

thin or impasto layers directly from the tube and

worked with a palette knife or brush. However,

after a period of about 6 to 8 years, the pink col

our of the paintings became sticky and started to

run. Jaap Boon, from AMOLF, (Netherlands), pre

sented his research focused on the explanation ofthis phenomenon and how to control it. As the

paintings are very sensitive to medium and high

humidity environments, the option is to keep them

bonedry which will stop the degradation but pro

bably only temporarily and even so it is not the

ideal preservation condition for a painting. This

presentation opened the third day under the ge

neral theme of Organic spectroscopy.

The second presentation by Maite Maguregui, from

University of the Basque Country (Spain), spoke

on the Characterisation of bioimpacts on a highly

deteriorated wall painting from Marcus Lucretius

House in Pompeii (Italy). The visual observation

of the painting indicated that the colonisation

(brown patinas) were mainly focused on the green

pigment Pompeian or Egyptian blue, yellow

ochre and possible green earths. Observation of

the colonised areas under the optical microscope

revealed the presence of a bryopside moss and

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Raman measurements identified the presence of

weddellite in crystals in the filoids of the moss.

The session ended with two presentations fromAdmir Mai, from the Max Planck Institute (Ger

many) and Francesca Toja, from Politecnico di Mi

lano (Italy). The first one focused on the use of Ra

man spectroscopy in the assessment of collagen

damage in ancient manuscripts, particularly the

case of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the second one

in the use of combined techniques to evaluate the

condition of complex polymeric objects, namely

through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

(FTIR), spectrofluorescence and innovative image

techniques including hyperspectral reflectance,

UVFluorescence Imaging and Fluorescence Life

time Imaging (FLIM).

After the coffee break, the morning and the af

ternoon sessions were on Combined methods in

paintings and pigments part III and IV. Part III

brought four studies on manuscripts from the 6th

to the 16th century. The first one, by Maurizio Aceto from the University of Eastern Piedmont (Italy),

focused on the characterisation of two Byzantine

manuscripts and revealed the use of a very rich

palette with gold, cinnabar and ultramarine blue

a surprising information since this pigment can

only be found in Western manuscripts three cen

turies after this period. Another interesting fea

ture is the lack of green colorants: to obtain green

hues, byzantine miniature paintings used a mixtureof indigo and orpiment, also known as vergaut.

The second presentation, by FranoisPhilippe

Hocquet from the Universit de Lige (Belgium),

was on the analysis of a 16th century manuscript

entitled Historia general de las cosas de nueva

Espaa, written by Spanish Franciscan mission

ary Bernardino Ribera de Sahagn on the oral and

cultural traditions of the native people from New

Spain (Mexico). The goal of this study was to de

velop a new methodology leading to a better com

prehension of the work and materials in order to

define the best approach to its restoration and

conservation.

The following presentation was on a 15th century

Spanish parchment and the use of noninvasive

pigment identification with XRD and XRF techni

ques, by Adrian Duran, from Centre de Recherche

et de Restauration des Muses de France. After,

Marta Manso from the University of Lisbon (Por

tugal), presented the ongoing investigation on

the Manuelin charters. In the beginning of the

16th century, King Manuel I of Portugal promoted

a large restructure of the historic graphic memory

of the kingdom; within this restructure, charters

produced since the 12th century were copied to

renewed codices and illuminated with precious or

naments. The use of several nondestructive and

microsampling techniques revealed the presence

of iron gall and vermillion based inks and gum as a

binder. The pigmentswere malachite, azurite, white

and red lead, vermillion, yellow and red ochre andcarbon black. Gildings were obtained by applying

gold in leafs or powder on an organic layer.

The final presentations were on the study of a ja

panning in a Pascal Taskin harpsichord (1782) and

in the study of a Spanish gothic wooden sculpture,

by Raquel Estrompa and Maria Luisa Franquelo

from the New University of Lisbon (Portugal) and

the University of Seville (Spain), respectively.

The afternoon had four presentations with distinct

themes. The first one, by Vnia Muralha from the

New University of Lisbon (Portugal), was on the

yellow pigment in Portuguese 17th century tiles,

namely the understanding of the production tech

niques at the time, the pigment synthesis and its

modification during the firing of the glaze.

Maria Luisa De Giorgi, from the University of Salen

to (Italy), spoke on the Temperature effects on

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the alteration of yellow ochres in wall paintings

in the Vesuvian area. It was a very interesting

presentation focused on the alteration that oc

curred due to the heat flow during the eruptionof the Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD that led to colour

changes of the ochres from bright yellow to dark

red. The study concluded that the stable modifi

cation of the colour was related to the complete

transformation of goethite into hematite at high

temperature (400 C), regardless of the heating

and cooling profile.

Alessandro Re, from the University of Torino (Italy),brought a study on the provenance of lapis lazuli

used in objects of the Collezione Medicea, an

attempt to found some markers to distinguish the

mineral origin.

Clay vs. terracotta: Baroque statues under inves

tigation by Agns Le Gac, from the New University

of Lisbon (Portugal), was the final presentation

of the day. The material investigation suggested

that the clay was acquired in a single batch and

that the assembly of the figures was originally

done with a limebased mortar. The low shrinkage

and good conservation reveal a controlled pro

cess during drying and firing.

Poster Session II concluded the third day sessions,

with more than 40 posters being presented by the

authors. The day ended with a boat tour with gala

dinner along the Spree River.

The fourth and last day was only dedicated to the

instrumental techniques. Giuseppe Spoto, from

the University of Catania (Italy), presented an ap

proach to theuseof a MatrixAssisted LaserDesorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry in atmospheric

pressure (APMALDIMS) in the analysis ofseveral

organicdyes and pigments. This method represents

a new tool for the in situ spatially resolved micro

destructive analysis of the organic components.

Alex Brambilla, from Politecnico di Milano (Italy),

presented a study with a new prototype of a Raman

system capable of performing pointtopoint spec

tral mapping of a surface at a long distance range

(2030 cm).

Poster session.

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Marek Hehse from BAM, spoke about the applic

ations of a new technique to the study ofpigments

and inks; this technique consists in the instru

mental integration of Raman and Laser Induced

Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) intoa single instru

ment, allowing the molecular and elementalmicro

analysis in the samespot. This combination provides

a depth profiling and a complete layer analysis on

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It was a comprehensive approach to the use of

LaserInduced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in

several studies in the past 15 years, demonstrating

the capacities and limitations of this technique in

the analysis and characterization of cultural her

itage objects such as pottery, glass, metal, stone,

and pigments and also minerals, soil and fossils.

The final presentations, all dedicated to the instru

mental techniques, started with Roberto Padoan,

from the National Archives of the Netherlands, and

the use of Quantitative Hyperspectral Imaging

(QHSI) in the analysis and monitoring of archivaldocuments. This technique provides a very de

tailed and highly reproducible spectral data and

the study has been investigating its potential in

retrieving historical information from archival

documents and assessing their conservation con

dition in an objective way. The results of the arti

ficial ageing experiments demonstrated that QHSI

can be used for condition monitoring of historical

documents andcurrent research addresses thefurther improvement of the equipment sensitivity and

its combination with other imaging and nonima

ging techniques. The final presentations,on Xray

spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Xray flu

orescence, were made by some of the sponsors.

Considering the purpose of this conference to

bridge science and cultural heritage it must be

said that a broad range of applications was noticed along the sessions. From the scientific point

of view, the talks, which were focused on the tech

nical development and applicability to the Cultural

Heritage in general, were very well succeeded. It

is of extreme importance to know thecapabilitiesof

each experimental technique and which reliable

results one is able to obtain for a specific purpose.

In addition, and in our personal opinion, research

performed without having a strong multidiscip

linary team is risky to carry on, due to a possible

lack of knowledge in a certain field ofexpertise.

It is also important to denote that a multidiscip

linary investigation induces a continuous im

provement on theexperimental capabilities of the

techniques used. Objects related to cultural herit

age are a challenge forthescientific groups. There

fore, and in terms of actuality, science and cultural

heritage will keep having a strong connection.

Also, it must be highlighted the much broader

representation of conservatorrestorers, both

as speakers and as delegates, when compared to

TECHNART 2009. Most of the presentations were

focused in tangible applications or developmentsof thetechniques,revealing clear in situ or labora

tory applications in the study of cultural herit

age. TECHNART 2013 will be held in Amsterdam

(Netherlands).

ANA BIDARRA

Conservatorrestorer


Ana Bidarra has a Degree in ConservationResto

ration and a Master Degree in GeoSciences on

white structured pigments for restoration. Cur

rently she is a PhD candidate researching the com

positional and technological aspects of gold leaf

from Portuguese baroque altarpieces. She works as

conservatorrestorer in private practice since 1999.

ANA GUILHERME

Conservationscientist


Ana Guilherme has a Degree in Physics Engineering

and Master Degree in Chemistry applied to Cultural

Heritage. Currently she is a PhD student in Physics

with the theme Spectroscopic techniques for the

characterization of glazed ceramics: a contribu

tion for the Faience from Coimbra classification.

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ev

ents

The events in this section are linked to

theoriginal homepage of the organisers

or to the calendar of events athttp://www.conservationevents.com.

Click on "Read more..." to find out

details about each event.

Understanding and Caring forBookbindings

Date: July 19 Read more...

Place: London, UK

This training day will help librarians and arch

ivists understand the types of bindingsin their

collections and will provideguidance on hand

ling and describing bindings and on appropri

ate conservation techniques. Participants will

be given an overview of the history of Western

bookbindings,with examples drawn from British

Library collections.

Forever is a Long Time:an Introduction to Preservationof Digital Collections

Date: July 25 Read more...

Place: Los Angeles, California

The event is organised by the Los Angeles Pre

servation Network (LAPNet), network thata

e-Conservation Magazine • 20

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