e-Conservation Magazine • 21

e­conservationthe online magazine No. 21, September 2011

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4 On continual learning

By Rui Bordalo

Restoration, Reality, and Life Behind the ‘Velvet Rope’

By Daniel Cull

Business Management Education in the Conservation Community

By Sarah Lowengard

New Approaches on Book and Paper Conservation‐Restoration

Review by Penelope Banou

NESAT XI ‐ Conference of the Northern European Symposium

of Ancient Textiles

Review by Annette Paetz gen. Schieck and Sylvia Mitschke

Outdoor Wall Paintings, Material and Techniques

Review by Mirjam Jullien and Johanna Nessow

Preservation of Archaeological Remains in Situ (PARIS 4)

Review by Mike Corfield and Jim Williams

University Training of Restoration within the European

Educational Context

Review by Luboš Machačko

Characterization of Natural and Synthetic Dyes Employed in the

Manufacture of Chinese Garment Pieces by LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF

By Estrella Sanz Rodríguez, Angela Arteaga Rodríguez, María Antonia García and

Rodríguez Carmen Cámara

An Innovative Stretcher for Canvas Paintings

By Osama M. El‐Feky

Deterioration and Rates of Weathering of the Monumental Rock

Inscriptions at Wadi Hammamat, Egypt

By Hesham Abbas Kmally

Sustainability in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage through

Education Training in Wood Conservation and Restoration in Malta

By Ninette Sammut

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ARTICLES

EDUCATION

NEWS & VIEWS

EDITORIAL

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lOn continual learning

I have recently noticed a tendency in young conservators who, after working in the field for severalyears, are going back to study. And this, not necessarily to get a more advanced course in their area,which they already master, but to get a second degree in a related field to help expand their area ofprofessional expertise. Studying chemistry, for example, will help conservators not only tounderstand the intricacies of deterioration of works of art but will also allow them conservators to doresearch and to get involved in the scientific sphere of the field.

These are by no means isolated cases. More and more people are going back to school at some stage oftheir lives to pursue a second degree or some other type of advanced training. Many people stopstudying after they leave college, however they may find that the skills that they originally learnedmay not be valid for the rest of their lives. The need to update skills or acquire new ones is now moreforceful than ever.

Like doctors, conservators become specialists by keeping up‐to‐date with the latest innovations,materials and technologies. After all, conservation is an ever‐evolving field. We learn everyday, fromour work, which generates instructive experience which then accumulates over the years; we learn byattending conferences, by going to professional meetings; we learn by simply reading an article. Butthat is not systematic training and is hardly enough to acquire new skills. Here is where lifelonglearning comes into the picture.

Lifelong learning is a comprehensive concept of continual learning throughout a lifetime. It’s quitestraightforward yet has been promoted differently from country to country. While in Anglo‐Saxoncountries this is a widespread concept, in south European countries it may be seen as a weakness.Indeed, after practicing for many years we become specialists in our field. So, one may think, if I amalready a specialist, why do I need to do more courses? Won't that actually be a sign that I doubt myself?When in fact, it’s quite the opposite. No wonder that in countries where there are accreditationschemes in conservation, lifelong learning is considered as an important criterion to be accepted andrecognized as specialists.

Proper learning demands an experienced tutor who can deliver the knowledge that you seek in thebest way. Depending on your particular case and your objectives, you may have a wide range ofpossibilities, from simply attending a short course to going back to college to get a postgraduate ormasters degree. Nowadays, you can even do this online.

It’s wonderful to hunger for more knowledge or skills, but sometimes we simply get trapped in ourdaily routines, concerned by meeting deadlines or overly focused on our work. We may think thattaking a course is just too much of a hassle; indeed, it is hard work and requires strong motivation.Going back to school at a mid career stage is not the same as in our youth; the main difference beingthat we must probably work while we study. It’s rather like taking on a second job. Despite this, theadvantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages. These are temporary circumstances that willchange you for the better: from performing your job under a completely different perspective up tolanding a new job, there’s a whole range of possibilities. At the end of the day it will inevitably enrich us.

Rui BordaloEditor‐in‐Chief

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RESTORATION, REALITY, AND LIFE BEHIND THE ‘VELVET ROPE’

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a

contestant on a reality television show? What

does it feel like being stared at as you live out

your day‐to‐day life? I don’t have to wonder about

such things as I am one of a growing number of

conservators who work in a conservation studio

that is visible to museum goers. In recent years

there has been a steady growth in the number of

museums, and other cultural institutions, that

have incorporated ways of seeing ‘behind the

scenes’ in their buildings. The conservation pro‐

fession has, by and large, been supportive of

this development, as it hoped that by welcoming

the 'public gaze' into the conservation studio

this will help demystify conservation and raise

public awareness about the profession. To be

honest, I wasn’t sure about the concept at first,

I felt sure that I couldn’t possibly do tricky tech‐

nical work with an audience watching, but quite

to the contrary I’ve found that the opacity of glass

is very much a function of the mind.

One argument that has been raised against view‐

able studios is the extent to which they straddle

a strange line between a working studio and a

performance space. Much like popular reality

television what the audience sees is only a certain

aspect of reality, there remains other aspects

unseen. This argument, quite rightly, points out

that although a greater number of people get to

observe conservation through such spaces, they

only get to see a limited interpretation of con‐

servation; that of interventive treatments and

the use of ‘scientific’ looking equipment, which

"No scripts, no cue cards. It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life."

Christof in 'The Truman Show' [1]

By Daniel Cull

of course stands in stark contrast

to the prevailing importance of the

approach of preventive conserva‐

tion both in contemporary theory

and practice. Fishbowl conserva‐

tion is generally observed to be a

technically skilled, somewhat sci‐

entific, profession that is focused

purely on ‘fixing’ things. For me

this critique became more interest‐

ing when considered in light of my

own interactions with the viewing

public.

In my experience these interactions

fall into one of three categories.

1) ‘What are you doing?’ 2) ‘What is

my object worth?’ 3) ‘Do you need

any help?’ The first category could

be considered to be the most inten‐

ded by conservation outreach, as it

is these sort of interactions in which

Fishbowl conservationis generally observed

to be a technicallyskilled, somewhat

scientific, professionthat is focused purely

on ‘fixing’ things.

e‐conservatione‐conservation

conservation itself is directly discussed and it is

through such interactions that the massive bene‐

fit of viewable studios is made abundantly clear.

The second category visitors have presumed, in‐

correctly but quite understandably, that conser‐

vators do appraisals. The third category is, to me,

the most intriguing. It seems that psychologic‐

ally the visibility of the studio, coupled with the

impossibility of accessing the space due to the

glass wall, acts in much the same way as a ‘velvet

rope’ at a bar or club; giving an air of exclusivity

to the inside, and creating a desire to be a part

of whatever it is that’s going on in there.

In line with the work of the Demos think tank who

discussed the importance of, and necessity for,

volunteerism within the heritage sector, I would

argue that conservation outreach should aim to

facilitate people's “active relationships” [2] with

their cultural heritage. I wonder whether the

conservation that the audience gets a glimpse

into, in which access is limited to the visual, is

actually encouraging such an active relationship?

Or is it, as I suspect, encouraging a desire to be

Conservation behind the glass. Photo by DebMomOf3 (Some rights reserved).

a part of an exclusive group behind the metapho‐

rical velvet rope? As those of us who work in such

visible studios continue to develop our outreach

approaches I wonder if we could incorporate some

of the lessons of the groundbreaking publication

Saving Stuff: How to Care for and Preserve Your Col‐

lectibles, Heirlooms, and Other Prized Possessions [3].

The main lesson that I took from the book being

the usefulness and applicability of conservation

ideas and methods for members of the public to

interact with their own material culture; an idea

that runs counter to the somewhat absurd as‐

sumption that it would be dangerous for people to

‘do conservation’ on their own stuff. As cultural

conservation becomes increasingly well‐known

to the general public, one aspect of our outreach

could be to mirror approaches taken within envir‐

onmental conservation to find ways to empower

people to care for their own cultural heritage as

they do their natural heritage. This would truly

be to begin to break down the barriers between

the public, our heritage(s), and professional

conservation(s).

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DANIEL CULLConservatorThe 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 Mu‐

seum and as a collaborator with e‐conservation

magazine.

Website: http://dancull.wordpress.com

Contact: [email protected]

Notes:

1. The Truman Show, Paramount Pictures/ Scott

Rudin Productions, 1998

2. S. Jones and J. Holden, It's a Material World:

Caring For the Public Realm, Demos, London,

2008

3. D. Williams and L. Jaggar, Saving Stuff: How to

Care for and Preserve Your Collectibles, Heirlooms,

and Other Prized Possessions, Fireside, New York,

2005

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The News section is bringing up‐to‐date

information on cultural heritage topics such as

on‐site 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 and

publication guidelines, please visit

www.e‐conservationline.com

By Sarah Lowengard

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN THE CONSERVATIONCOMMUNITY

All working conservators need to understand the

basics of business management.

At first glance, this statement seems to address

predictions for the future of the conservation

discipline. As the ratio of conservation program

graduates to institutional job openings grows, and

downsizing initiatives (including salary freezes)

within those same institutions take effect, we will

see significant increases in the proportion of in‐

dependently‐employed conservation and preser‐

vation professionals1. Faced with the likelihood

of future self‐employment in an independent

practice or moonlighting from an institutional

job, it seems reasonable to call for new or emerg‐

ing conservators to learn business basics.

This prediction may or may not come true but its

assumption that business management skills are

critical only to conservators who own or plan to

own an independent practice is false. My experi‐

ence as a course leader in the FAIC Online Educa‐

tion business management program and as a busi‐

ness adviser have proved to me that familiarity

with the language and norms of modern business

are important to all practicing conservators,

wherever they are employed. Opportunities to

learn these skills within the community are few

and those that exist are usually undersubscribed.

The result is an ignorance that prevents the dis‐

ciplines of conservation from full integration as

a professional practice within the educational‐

cultural institutions of which they are a part.

When conservators do seek business training,

they tend to focus on actionable advice — the re‐

gistrations to file, the insurance to purchase, the

taxes to collect and pay — rather than underlying

theories or transferable skills. For owners of micro‐

businesses, especially the one or two person op‐

erations with no discrete business goals, taking

time to learn about good business management

seems arcane, irrelevant or more appropriate to

larger firms. In my teaching and consulting ex‐

perience, discussions of such issues as defining a

business model, analyzing financial data and

communications planning always end quickly and

prematurely.

Instead, personal experience — deadbeat clients,

the breakdown of a business partnership, lack of

work — drives advanced training. Independent

conservators who recognize no problems seldom

seek information. Faced with a crisis, conserva‐

tors again seek a quick fix rather than context or

analysis. The extent of this piecemeal attitude

toward the business of running a business was

brought home to me early in February 2009, when

I organized an online meeting for independent

conservators to discuss responses to the then new

financial crisis. The meeting was well attended,

1 These projections, although widely accepted, are almostentirely anecdotal. The paucity of adequate statistical,economic or even sociological studies of the art conservationcommunity makes it difficult to describe the state of thediscipline or predict its future with certainty. The absence ofstudies is, in itself, a function of the lack of understandingof business management skills I discuss here. I should alsonote that the basis of my own anecdotal experience is almostexclusively Anglophone and largely U.S.‐based.

VIEWS

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VIEWS

and many participants voiced concerns. Should

they lower fees or offer discounts? Should they

look for supplemental work outside of conserva‐

tion or plan to live on reserves? Then a few parti‐

cipants remembered that that the post‐holiday

period is always slow. Perhaps a new action plan

was not necessary. The tenor of the meeting

changed and it adjourned with general agreement

that more time was needed to study the questions.

Despite my entreaties, participants were not in‐

terested in analysis or planning. I scheduled two

follow‐up meetings. There was no interest.

As Christabel Blackman recently noted in this

magazine2, conservation training emphasizes the

cultural value of objects over any economic value

they might have. As a means to that end, conser‐

vators are taught to perform the assessment and

treatment of objects, but not the business‐based

issues surrounding the acquisition of work. Yet if

conservators — individual or institutional — could

clarify the structures supporting the work they

do, they would increase control over both the

performance and the work path. The result would

have a positive effect on the quality of work in the

short and long terms; in essence, the cultural and

economic bottom line.

The perception of business education as actionable

advice rather skills that define and simplify a path

of action, means institutionally‐based conserva‐

tors see no relevance to this knowledge for their

careers. Yet changes within institutions make this

stance increasingly less tenable.

In the past thirty years, cultural institutions

have moved away from the special place they

once inhabited, where a lack of interest on prin‐

ciple in administrative theories and techniques

was expected. The institutions for which conser‐

vators work, either as employees or as indepen‐

dent contractors, now judge themselves and are

judged by the public using the same terms as

businesses outside of the cultural sector. They

look to short and long range goals, marketing

plans and measurable outcomes to establish in‐

stitutional quality and success3. Participants or

principals in an institutional department operate

within a microcosm of the larger business struc‐

ture of that organization. Understanding the way

cultural sector directors perceive the value of

their organization may establish more clearly the

position of the conservation or preservation de‐

partment, and skills and talents of its individu‐

als, within the institutional community. Is the

organization driven by services to members, so

that a collection is most important when it en‐

hances that service? Was the preservation de‐

partment established because accreditation

depended on it but the administration does not

understand how the department adds value to

the institution as a whole? What does “a real

marriage of science and art” mean to a marketing

department? Awareness of business approaches

2 C. Blackman, "Cleaning the Dirt off Money in Conserva‐tion: Ethics and Economics", e‐conservation magazine 20,2011, pp. 7‐11, URL3 See, e.g., Mark Walheimer, “What is the Business of Mu‐seums?” post to LinkedIn American Association of Museumsdiscussion group, http://lnkd.in/uQFYB9 (accessed 25August 2011).

An individual or group mayreject those norms,

but that should be a decisionbased on information

and not an outcomeof ignorance.

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permits conservators to better advocate on their

own behalf within an institution and to the public

at large.

A well‐designed program to teach business man‐

agement skills to those who do the specialized

work of the cultural sector would translate and

explain the basic concepts under which 21st cen‐

tury businesses operate. It would indicate how a

business derives value from its products or servi‐

ces and show conservators how to participate in

a well‐organized and well‐run business, both

relevant to any working environment.

Understanding the parameters of business mana‐

gement, its standards and expectations, permits

both independent and institutional practitioners

to make choices about their own professional life

based on a broader and more accurate context

for the work they do. An individual or group may

reject those norms, but that should be a decision

based on information and not an outcome of

ignorance.

SARAH LOWENGARDEducator and Writer

Contact: [email protected]

Website: www.researchandwriting.net

Sarah Lowengard has created and lead business

courses for the FAIC Online Education Business

Management for Art Conservation program since

2004. An adviser to independent practitioners

for more than for more 20 years, she currently

manages three distinct business ventures, includ‐

ing an independent art conservation practice

founded in 1978.

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REVIEWS

The conference "New Approaches in Book and

Paper Conservation‐Restoration in Europe" took

place in Austria, Horn, from 9th to 11th of May

2011. It was the first conference of the newly

founded European Research Centre for Book and

Paper Conservation‐Restoration (Horn), organ‐

ised under the supervision of Dr. Patricia Engel,

aiming to bring together conservators, librarians

and archivists, collection managers and many

more professionals in the field of book and paper

conservation‐restoration who are engaged with

the care, safeguarding and preservation of our

book and paper‐based cultural heritage.

Recognised professionals of the conservation

community, such as Joseph Schirò (Heritage

Malta, Malta), René Larsen, (Konservatorskolen,

Copenhagen, Denmark), Elissveta Moussakova

(St. Cyril and Methodius National Library, Sofia,

Bulgaria) and István Kecskeméti (National

Archives, Helsinki, Finland) participated in the

conference board.

Around 50 speakers from 25 different countries

(18 European and 7 other countries) participated

to the conference, which was developed in three

tight scheduled days. The topics of the conference

presented a diversity of approaching the conser‐

vation and preservation issues of cultural material

in libraries and archives, involving ethical and

aesthetical considerations, introducing new

equipment, materials and ideas.

In the morning session of the first day, the matters

of the fundamental principles and ethics in con‐

servation‐restoration, the reflection of aesthetics

in art restoration and the theoretical and practical

content in the training programs for conservators

were discussed. The presentations started with

Ursula Schädler Saub (Germany) arguing about

the “Theoretical Fundaments in the Conservation

and Restoration of Books: How Helpful are the

Theories of Alois Riegl and Cesare Brandi for the

Practice?”, followed by Weronika Liszewska (Po‐

land) with “Aesthetics and Standards in Paper

and Book Conservation–Restoration” and Maria

Casanova (Portugal) with “What Do We Need?

NEW APPROACHES ON BOOK AND PAPERCONSERVATION‐RESTORATION

9‐11 May 2011Horn, Austria

Organised by:European Research Centre for Book and Paper

Conservation‐Restoration

Review by Penelope Banou

1 Information about the European Research Centre forBook and Paper Conservation‐Restoration, the aims andscopes, tasks, vision and strategy for research, educationalprogrammes, co‐operations and publications can be foundin the official website of the Centre.

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REVIEWS

Education, Ethics, New Values or a Different Per‐

ception for the Profession! Revisiting Book Con‐

servation Theory and Practices in the First Portu‐

guese Paper Conservation Laboratory”.

After the coffee‐break, the presentation of Inge‐

borg Ullrich (Germany) “Expiry Date: Unknown –

The Experimental Use of Material in the Artist’s

Book and Installation Art” (presentation in Ger‐

man with simultaneous English translation) provi‐

ded a purely creative and aesthetic perspective.

Manfred Mayer and Erich Renhart (Austria) fol‐

lowed with “Searching for Traces”, presenting the

use of “Novec Fire Protection Fluid” in reading

faded or indistinct text, providing its technical

details and properties and advantages of its use.

The session ended with Nicholas Pickwoad (United

Kingdom) setting the question “Library or Mu‐

seum? The Future of Rare Book Collections and its

Consequences for Conservation and Access” in a

critical perspective.

The afternoon session included topics on the

study of types of 19th century paper concerning

quality and provenance and the investigation of

the effect of light and conservation treatments on

paper. These topics were covered by the presenta‐

tions of Penelope Banou (Greece) with “Archival

Records of the New Independent Greek State (mid

19th c.). Where History, Paper Technology and

Preservation Meet”, Petra Vávrová (Czech Repu‐

blic) discussing about the “Damage of Paper Due

to Visible Light Sources Irradiation and Post‐Ra‐

diation Effects after 2 Years of Storage in Dark‐

ness” and Spiros Zervos (Greece) arguing on the

results of his research with “Investigating the

Causes of Paper Strength Loss after Aqueous

Treatments”.

Salvador Muñoz‐Viñas (Spain), in his presentation

“A New Approach to Flattening and Lining Paper:

the Pleural System”, discussed the applications

and benefits of his invention (a vacuum table

Panel of speakers during the discussion at the end of a session.

REVIEWS

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that provides controlled, uniform drying of large

objects), while Manfred Schreiner (Austria) intro‐

duced the audience to “Documentation of Water‐

marks in Paper by X‐ray Radiography” in compari‐

son with other methods used for the same purpo‐

se. The presentations “Copying presses” discuss‐

ing the different types and variations by Josepf

Schiro (Malta), and “Wax Tablets in Polish Collec‐

tion – the State of Preservation and Restoration

Issues” by Elzbieta Jablonska (Poland) concluded

the first day.

A variety of topics characterized the second day

of the conference. The first presentation was given

by René Larsen (Denmark) who stressed the neces‐

sity of the “Scientific Approach in Conservation

and Restoration of Leather and Parchment Objects

in Archives and Libraries” in order to determine

the proper treatment arrangements. The next

presentation was made by Myriam Krutzsch (Ger‐

many) who discussed the conservation of ancient

leather fragments in “Is there a Chance to Rescue

Egyptian Texts on Leather?”. Later, Igor Kozjak

(Croatia) argued on “The Influence of Hydrolytic

and UV Treatment on Properties of Leather Used

in Book Conservation”.

The presentations of Zsuzsa Tóth (Hungary), “Res‐

toration of a Unique Hungarian Medieval Codex

based on Results of Recent International Research

and on a New Restoration Technique”, and Gayane

Eliazyan (Armenia), “Preservation and Restoration

of the Matenadaran Manuscripts”, responded to

practical conservation topics. In accordance, the

case study of a splendidly illuminated manuscript

and its conservation and preservation issues invol‐

ved was discussed by Theresa Zammit Lupi (Malta)

in “The Grand Master L’Isle Adam Manuscript,

Volume 8: a Particular Example of Degradation

and Pre‐treatment Testing”, where the removal

of historical extended additions was in question.

The majority of the second day’s presentations

were oriented to the approaches of conservation‐

restoration of collections, in respect of the original

structure (forms), materials, date, origin, histor‐

ical context, art and aesthetics, such as those of

Karin Scheper (Netherlands), who presented “Is‐

lamic Manuscript Structures. A Refinement of

Knowledge about Islamic Book Constructions and

the Implications for Preservation or Conservation

Treatments”, Rumyana Decheva (Bulgaria) with

“Preserving the Original Structure of the Medieval

Codex During Conservation”, Jedert Vodopivec

(Slovenia) with “Census and Analysis of Slovene

Medieval Codices” and Małgorzata Pronobis‐Ga‐

jdzis and Jolanta Czuczko (Poland) with “The

19th Century Book – Underestimated Beauty”.

The concern for developing the conservation dis‐

cipline and framework through systems and prin‐

ciples was discussed in the presentations “The

Romanian National Library National Centre for

Pathology and Restoration of Documents (NCPRD)

– Perspectives and Development Needs” by Mari‐

ana Lucia Nesfantu (Romania), “For a New Policy

for the Preservation of Documents” by Eduard

Zaloshnja (Albania), and “Results of the National

Program – a Complex System of Conservation in

A view of the conference hall.

14 e‐conservation

Siberia” by Irina Guzner (Russia). The needs of

each collection and the benefits of the recom‐

mended approach were argued respectively.

The necessity for research, evaluation and assess‐

ment for the conservation and preservation para‐

meters was also emphasised in the presentations

of Reni Marcheva‐Kanova (Bulgaria), “Need of

research in the Everyday work of the Librarian

and the Archivist Preservation of the Library and

Archive Collections – Care by Different Specialists”,

Maja Krtalić (Croatia), “Possibilities, Perspectives

and Obstacles in Book and Paper Conservation‐

Restoration Research: Example of Croatia” and

Ekaterina Andreyeva (Russia), “Safe Keeping As‐

sessment of Ancient Slave Manuscripts”.

Alternative solutions were recommended by Ab‐

dur Rasheed (India) in his presentation about

“Recent Trends in Book and Paper Conservation”

suggesting, e.g., the use of natural products

such as plants and seeds for insect control, while

Rodica Mariana Ion (Romania) discussed the use

of “Nanomaterials for Chemical and Biological

Restoration of Old Books”. Finally, István Kecs‐

keméti (Finland) discussed about “Managing

Archival Collections for Digitisation: Experience

from Two Projects of 1.55 and 2.07 Million €” a

matter that concerns the archival collections

community.

The morning session of the third day started with

Jörg Krüger (Germany) presentation on the res‐

ults of the experimental work on “Cleaning of

Soiled Paper Model Samples Using Short and Ul‐

trashort Laser Pulses”, while Florian Kleber (Aus‐

tria) proceeded with “Technical Approaches to

Manuscript Analysis and Reconstruction” report‐

ing a project involving interdisciplinary collabor‐

ation for the documentation, investigation and

edition of unique importance medieval Slavonic

manuscripts.

The investigation of the crucial problem of mould

activity and treatment were the topics of the fol‐

lowing presentations by Flavia Pinzari (Italy),

“The Contribution of Microbiological Research in

the Field of Book and Paper Conservation” and

John Havermans (Netherlands), “New Insights

on Disinfection of Archival and Library Materials

Using Gamma Radiation” proposing lower intens‐

ity in its application. The presentations by Erna

Pilch Karrer (Austria) and Dirk Andreas Lichtblau

(Germany) discussed the need and use of Surve‐

NIR in “Needs for Paper Research: Now We All Need

to Buy SurveNIRs” and “SurveNIR – the Non‐De‐

structive Evaluation of Material Conditions in

Conservation, the Actual and the Potential Use”

respectively.

The paper of Marina Bicchieri, Michaela Monti,

Giovanna Piantanida and Armida Sodo (Italy),

“Applied Research and Critical Approach: the

Proper Way to Deal with “Real” Library Heritage”

was kindly announced by Flavia Pinzari.

The discussion over the application of new or al‐

ternative materials, combinations or variations

in form and properties to serve the needs and

purposes of conservation and preservation out‐

line the topics of the final session with the con‐

tributions of Halina Rosa (Poland) on “Study on

the Adaptation of Biocellulose Nano Fibres to

Restoration of Historical Paper, Parchment and

Textiles”, Samantha Sheesley (USA), “Practical

Applications of Lascaux Acrylic Dispersions in

Paper Conservation”, Iza Zajac (Poland), “Seal‐

ant & Adhesive Remover, agent by WEICON. Dur‐

ing the Conservation Process of “Lindley’s Plans”,

Mehmet Konuklar (Turkey), “A New Method for

Conservation of Paper Works of Art: Triple Mix‐

ture of Methyl Cellulose, Carboxymethyl Cellu‐

lose and Nano‐Micro Calcium Hydroxide Particles”

and Yuri I. Aristov (Russia) with “ARTIC – A New

Family of Humidity Buffers for Libraries and

Archives”.

REVIEWS

All the aforementioned presentations contributed

to a very successful conference that gave the op‐

portunity to the speakers to present their research

and approaches to conservation and preservation

today, as well as the needs, the problems, the

agony, the troubling issues and the various as‐

pects that influence or determine their efforts.

The contributions in the conference were already

available during the meeting in a publication en‐

titled “New Approaches to Book and Paper Conser‐

vation Restoration”, edited by Patricia Engel,

Joseph Schirò, René Larsen, Elissaveta Moussa‐

kova and Istvan Kecskeméti, and published by

Verlag Berger. Further information on the book

and the list of authors, articles and respective

abstracts can be found in the Center web address.

In the conference closure, experts on European

funding programmes presented and recommen‐

ded eligible ways of application and possibilities

for co‐operations within the upcoming EU’s 7th

framework program for research. The discussion

over the limited funding opportunities (packages)

related to conservation research projects, resulted

in the decision for the formulation of a common

statement to respond to the EU Green Paper on

the Common Strategic Research Framework for

Research and Innovation. In the following days,

this document was delivered to the EU Commis‐

sion (see on the official web site of the European

Research Centre).

The sessions were completed with the discussion

over the conclusions and results of the conference,

focusing on the research topics that the partici‐

pants of the book and paper conservation com‐

munity were mostly interested in. The decision on

the urgent topics of research leaded to the arran‐

gement of several subject discussion groups and

sessions respectively. The conference was conclu‐

ded with the wish of putting forward an accredit‐

ation of material for conservation which would be

gradually implemented by the Research Centre.

The successful outcome of this conference is not

only due to the excellent organisation, the inter‐

esting topics, the professional presentations, in

The lobby of the conference hall.

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15e‐conservation

PENELOPE BANOUConservator

Contact: [email protected]

Penelope Banou graduated from the Department

of Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art

in the TEI of Athens (1996) and specialized in the

conservation of works of art on paper after her

postgraduate studies, Master of Arts in Conserva‐

tion of Fine Art at the Northumbria University in

UK (1998). Ever since, her professional activities

include participation in preservation and conser‐

vation projects of works of art on paper and archi‐

val material collections belonging to public and

private collections, while she is involved in edu‐

cation (lecturer in the Department of Conserva‐

tion, T.E.I of Athens) and research programs with

several publications. She belongs to the perman‐

ent staff of the Conservation Department of the

General State Archives in Athens since 2008.

the majority, and the proper publication, but also

to the benefits of witnessing an interdisciplinary

approach of conservation, varying in concept,

perception, and principles where scientific, cul‐

tural and financial parameters stood on a differ‐

ent basis. This also highlighted the need for the

creation of a solid platform for a common lan‐

guage, ethics, attitude and approach, consolid‐

ating research and education.

Finally, the hospitality of the organisers, the

vivid atmosphere during the breaks of the con‐

ference and the evening events delighted the

participants. This already started to show from

the organised welcome meeting, over a warm

soup, the first evening. The heavy schedule of

the conference was decompressed with a ban‐

quet with speeches from local politicians and a

representative of Net Heritage, Barbara Swiat‐

kowska, and a light dinner in the Vereinhaus the

first evening, the special piano and song recital

in the library of the Kunsthaus with the valuable

books and editions, the conducted tour in the fa‐

cilities of the European Research centre, followed

by wine and light snacks, in the second evening.

Everything was nicely organised, without exag‐

gerations, under the sharp eye and guidance of

Patricia Engel, who seemed to have everything

running like a clock. Horn, as the location of the

event provided a special character to the confer‐

ence and supplemented to its success. It was a

delightful, tranquil town in lower Austria, where

everything was in a walking distance in the quite

streets of Horn, green and blossomed with the

smell of lilac trees on the air.

Most of the participants were pleased with the

concept and outcome of the conference, really

supportive to the efforts and tasks of the Research

centre and agreed to the idea of repeating this

meeting in two years time.

Photos by Spyros Zervos, Patricia Engel and Maria

Giannikou.

REVIEWS

16 e‐conservation

Review byAnnette Paetz gen. Schieckand Sylvia Mitschke

9‐13 May 2011, Esslingen, Germany

NESAT XI ‐ CONFERENCE OF THE NORTHERN EUROPEANSYMPOSIUM OF ANCIENT TEXTILES

Starting off in 1981 as a meeting of a handful of

textile archaeologists, historians, natural scien‐

tists, conservators, craftsmen and autodidacts

NESAT became one of the major textile research

forums worldwide, meeting every three years at

varying places. The eleventh meeting was held in

Esslingen, Germany, at the “Landesamt für Denk‐

malpflege”, on May 9 to 13, 2011, under the aegis

of Dr. Johanna Banck‐Burgess.

Due to several large programmes, textile research

has entered a phase of great attention. In order

to manage the increasing number of interested

scholars, the coordinators decided to limit the

number of attendants to 140 in order to maintain

the traditional NESAT working atmosphere. The

group of participants was truly international, origi‐

nating from 26 nations from all over the world.

Representatives came from Austria, Belgium,

Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Ger‐

many, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,

Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania,

Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Slo‐

vakia, and beyond Europe from Iceland, Israel,

New Zealand and the USA.

The records of the conference are striking: within

four days, 37 papers were given (for abstracts

see www.nesat.org), a poster presentation was

held and two excursions have been arranged in

parallel.

For the first time in NESAT history the organising

committee initiated a “special theme day”, being

the first day of the conference. This day was dedi‐

cated to methodology in textile archaeology

today introducing specific approaches on histor‐

ical sources of various kinds. The first lectures

dealt with classical archaeological and philologi‐

cal sources as representatives of the humanities,

followed by principles of documenting archaeo‐

logical finds and contexts, by methods of fibre

and dye analyses, and isotopic investigations as

representative techniques in natural sciences.

Audience during lectures. Photo by Lisa Masen, LAD.

Nordeuropäisches Symposium für archäologische TextilienNorth European Symposium for Archaeological Textiles

Organised by:Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, EsslingenArchäologische Denkmalpflege, Textilarchäologie

REVIEWS

17e‐conservation

The final section of the first day dealt with a se‐

lection of four current research projects in textile

archaeology, dealing with Bronze Age textiles

(HERA), the reconstruction of garments of a 17th

century bog body (Gunnister Man Project), the

Poprad‐Matejovce grave chamber, and Roman

textiles in Austria (both DressID).

From the second day on, the papers were present‐

ed grouped after three sessions starting with a

section of six presentations introducing individual

projects that combine archaeological research

and methods of natural sciences, virtualisation

and experiment. Virtual documentations served

as media in a better understanding of Neolithic

textiles, dyeing experiments provided deeper

insights into 3000 years old Hallstatt‐textiles,

fibre investigations will in future be employed on

Pre‐Roman textiles from Italy, archaeological wool

was investigated in terms of proteomics, the ma‐

terial of Danish textiles has been analysed accord‐

ing to its strontium isotopic composition in order

to trace its provenance, and comparison of light

stable isotopic compositions of textiles deriving

from an experimental burial in comparison to me‐

dieval archaeological textiles have been introduced.

The second and largest chapter included twelve

papers on latest textile finds focusing on Bronze

Age, medieval times to the 18th century. The find

contexts revealed great variety of cloth materials

and preservation conditions, and they allowed

great insights into burial customs, and habits of

dressing. Certain types of textile accessories were

introduced such as headgears and undergarments

that so far have been considered as an invention

of modern times. The sites presented geographi‐

cally range from Spain to Norway, including Ger‐

many, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Topics and

materials presented were ranging widely but the

scientific analytical methods remained an impor‐

tant focus even in this section. The first lecture

dealt with archaeobotanic studies in a Bronze Age

cave in Spain, followed by pollen analyses of a

medieval Catalan burial, investigations and visu‐

alisation of early medieval graves of Unterhach‐

ing (Germany), new investigations on samites

from the Oseberg ship, male clothing of a 9th cen‐

tury bog burial from Latvia, and remains of tex‐

tile production as well as baptising garments in

the Czech Republic. Furthermore figural embroi‐

deries of a Polish church collection have been in‐

troduced, as well as the investigations of the im‐

perial burial garments of Speyer (Germany),

embroidered silk headcovers from polish churches,

the invention of the bra in 15th century, as well as

precious silk textiles from the latrina of a wealthy

16th to 18th century house in Poland.

Participants in conversation. Photo by Carla Nuebold, LAD.Poster presentation. Photo by Annette Schieck, CES/REM.

REVIEWS

18 e‐conservation

The lectures of the third chapter then dealt with

investigations on textile production such as the

Talmud exegesis of 11th century Rabbi Shlomo

Yitzhaki, the treatment of sheep and sheep wool

textiles in early medieval East Friesia, approaches

to Pompeian dying industry, interpretation of

loom weights and spindle whorls as ritual objects

in ancient Etruria, and finally considerations on

textile tools and textile production in Roman

Pannonia. The editing works of the conference pa‐

pers have already been started, the proceedings will

be published by 2012 by VML Marie Leidorf GmbH.

Following the lecture session on Wednesday, the

poster session was started at the headquarters

of the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege at Esslingen.

An innovative and highly professional concept of

presentation has been chosen by the NESAT team:

all of the posters had to be handed in to the

committee and were then arranged in a common

layout, grouped after topics such as textile or

experimental archaeology, certain colour‐codes

were assigned. Again, the number of posters had

to be limited to 24. The posters will be accessible

on the NESAT XI website. The posters can also be

lended as an exhibition afterwards via the Lande‐

samt für Denkmalpflege in Esslingen.

Beyond the papers and posters, a choice out of

two excursions was offered to the participants,

one heading to “Schloss Ludwigsburg” to visit

the costume collection, and the second to the

“Keltenmuseum Eberdingen‐Hochdorf” to visit

the place where the famous chief of the Celts had

been buried.

We would like to congratulate Dr. Johanna

Banck‐Burgess, her team, and the “Landesamt

für Denkmalpflege” for preparing such an inter‐

esting, wide ranging, and inspiring conference.

The high quality of the given papers perfectly

underlined the eminent and noteworthy outcome

in modern textile archaeology. Especially the

newly introduced “special theme day” was a

great success, which hopefully leads to a new

NESAT tradition. We highly appreciated the atmos‐

phere that enabled the participants to listen,

gain knowledge, and to find the time of gather‐

ing and discussing along with the main pro‐

gramme. We are now looking forward to the

publication of the NESAT XI conference proceed‐

ings, and we are also looking forward to NESAT

XII which will be hosted by the Naturhistorisches

Museum Vienna at Hallstatt, conducted by Dr.

Karina Grömer.

Participants of NESAT XI. Photo by Karl Fisch, LAD.

REVIEWS

19e‐conservation

FREE

CONSERVATION

RESOURCES

Art Conservation Research

conservationresearch.blogspot.com

ANNETTE PAETZ GEN. SCHIECKClassical Archaeologist

Contact: annette.schieck@cez‐archaeometrie.de

Annette Schieck obtained a PhD in Classical Ar‐

chaeology on Late Roman Textiles in German Col‐

lections at Cologne University in 2002. In 2003

and 2005 she curated the exhibitions on Coptic

Textiles at the Deutsches Textilmuseum Krefeld

and Kolumba, Cologne. Since 2007 she is the pro‐

ject manager of the textile research and exhibi‐

tion project DressID at the Curt‐Engelhorn‐Stif‐

tung für die Reiss‐Engelhorn‐Museen, Mannheim.

SYLVIA MITSCHKEConservation‐scientist

Contact: sylvia.mitschke@cez‐archaeometrie.de

Sylvia Mitschke finished her studies at the Insti‐

tute of Conservation Sciences, Cologne University

of Applied Sciences in 2000. Since then she worked

as textile conservator and Scientist at Reiss‐Engel‐

horn‐Museums, Mannheim. Since 2007 she is a

PhD candidate at the University of Tübingen.

REVIEWS

Participants in conversation. Photo by Lisa Masen, LAD.

20 e‐conservation

This warm and sunny spring hosted the seminar

on “Outdoor wall paintings, materials and tech‐

niques”, organised by the Working Group for Wall

Paintings of ICOMOS Sweden. The seminar took

place on the 16th of May 2011 at the Orangery

of Finspång castle near Norrköping in eastern

Sweden.

It was at the Finspång castle where three years

ago the paintings on the exterior walls of the

building revealed their unexpected technique.

Not executed in fresco technique, as it was previ‐

ously supposed, they are in fact oil paintings on

plaster. This unusual technique for Sweden lead to

further investigations concerning outdoor expo‐

sed oil paintings. It seemed to be a unique case.

Therefore, the surprise was big when a painting

with a similar technique was discovered nearly

1700 km. This lead to an interesting exchange

and finally to this seminar about wall paintings,

with a special focus on oil paintings.

As a consequence of an uncommon conservation

problem and fruitful exchange, the event was ani‐

mated by spontaneity and curiosity. This good

energy brought together conservators from dif‐

ferent parts of Sweden, travelling up to five hours

to join the half day seminar.

OUTDOOR WALL PAINTINGS, MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUES

16 May 2011, Finspång, Sweden

Organised by:Working Group for Wall Paintings of

ICOMOS Sweden

Review by Mirjam Jullien and Johanna Nessow

REVIEWS

21e‐conservation

Anna Henningsson, representing the ICOMOS

Working Group for Wall Paintings, opened the

conference. She presented the speakers and the

topics of the afternoon. In her introduction she

also explained the challenge of the conservation

of the outdoor wall paintings at the Finnspång

castle and the background which lead to this

seminar.

Hélèn Svahn Garreau, an architectural conser‐

vator, presented "Art on the walls, from mediev‐

al painted stone portals and enhancements of

architectural forms to the late 1900s graffiti art”.

Taking the participants from medieval to contem‐

porary murals, she reminded us how different

artistic expressions and materials can be.

Bengt Häger, building curator and former head

of the National Heritage Board, talked about the

long and difficult conservation history of the out‐

door murals at Finnspång castle. He highlighted

the conservation efforts, which over several years

reached the goal of preserving the exterior mu‐

rals at the Orangery and at the Aurora Temple of

the park. He showed examples of how the paint‐

ings were technically secured. Their exposed lo‐

cation on a small stream and the strong Swedish

weather left severe damage. The presentation and

readability of the paintings were also an impor‐

tant aspect during the conservation campaign.

In the coffee break that followed, there was the

possibility to visit the paintings outside the Or‐

angery and at the Aurora Temple in the castle’s

park.

The seminar ended with the presentation of Mir‐

jam Jullien, "Mural paintings and the special

case of outdoor exposed oil paintings in Switzer‐

land", on which wall paintings executed in oil

technique around Basel, Switzerland were dis‐

cussed. For the seminar, she presented an over‐

view about the outdoor Swiss oil paintings as

well as results from Dr. Christian Heydrich’s

Visiting the oudtoor oil paintings of Finspång Castle during the coffe break.

REVIEWS

22 e‐conservation

(Basel, Switzerland) research projects in 1960‐

1970. Certainly far more common than expec‐

ted, they decorated various buildings in Switzer‐

land. Some few examples resisted time, history

and human intervention. Some paintings from

Basel, Schaffhausen and Berne have been fur‐

ther investigated, leaving us the testimony of

tumultuous conservations histories. They give

testimony of early maintenance efforts, but also

of destruction, over painting, repainting and re‐

construction.

Mirjam Jullien emphasised the problem that

there remain more questions than answers in

this domain and that it will be important to learn

more about the techniques and conservation

possibilities. But she also underlined the impor‐

tant research work performed by Dr. Christian

Heydrich on the Town Hall of Basel. This probably

unique work in its completeness about oil wall

paintings was published in 1987. Since then it

seems that not much has been published. Hope‐

fully, talking about these paintings will also help

to discover other examples not known or, for the

moment, not identified as being painted in such

a technique. It shall also lead to protect them

more and give them more chances to persist into

the future.

With this last overview, the seminar came to an

end and many had a long way back home. The

coffee break had offered the possibility for the

visitors to observe the outdoor paintings and ex‐

change their conservation experiences. In this

way, the seminar also participated in the spread

of knowledge in general and particularly on a

very little discussed subject. Hopefully, it will be

the beginning of a more often discussed topic

leading to more research and development of

conservation methods adapted to the particular

situation of outdoor exposed oil paintings.

JOHANNA NESSOWConservator‐restorer

Contact: [email protected]

Johanna Nessow has a BA in Conservation from

Gotheborg University, Sweden. Currently she

works for the conservation science company DIS‐

ENT AB in Stockholm.

MIRJAM JULLIENConservator‐restorer

Contact: info@art‐cons.ch

Website: www.art‐cons.ch

Mirjam Jullien got here first experiences as con‐

servator for canvas at the C.I.R.T Châteaurenard,

France. In 2005 she graduated from the Univer‐

sity of Applied Sciences and Arts in Bern, Switzer‐

land. Specialized in architectural surfaces, she

worked in various national and international con‐

servation projects. Currently she realises projects

in Switzerland with her own company and is wor‐

king on the preparation of a research project fo‐

cused on outdoor exposed oil paintings.

Facade paintings of the Town Hall of Basel, Switzerland

REVIEWS

23e‐conservation

The fourth of the conferences on the Preservation

of Archaeological Remains In Situ (PARIS) was

held in Copenhagen from 23rd to 27th May. Previ‐

ous conferences have been held in London (1996

and 2001) and Amsterdam (2006). The conferenc‐

es are particularly focussed on the survival of ar‐

chaeological evidence (artefacts, environmental

evidence, stratigraphic and contextual informa‐

tion as well as structural remains) when the envi‐

ronment of sites are affected by anthropogenic or

natural changes. Past conferences have focussed

on the nature of the ground environment, how

archaeological evidence changes through time

and what the impact is of short and long term

changes. Much of the earlier discussion was fo‐

cussed on wetland environments and saturated

urban deposits, partly because that was where a

great deal of the observations of change had

been undertaken and also because the impacts

of change were most readily seen in desiccated

wetland soils. There was also a predominantly

northern European bias in the papers presented.

The fourth conference showed a marked broad‐

ening of contributions, both geographically and

in the subject matter. The bias towards Europe

remained, with strong representation from Den‐

mark, the Netherlands, Norway and the United

Kingdom and lesser contingents from Eire, Swe‐

den, Finland, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy,

Portugal, Croatia and Azerbaijan. Single parti‐

cipants were from Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and

the USA, while the southern hemisphere was rep‐

resented by Australia and New Zealand. PARIS

has become global!

The programme covered a wide range of topics

and was split between four themes:

‐ Degradation of archaeological remains

‐ Monitoring and mitigation case studies

‐ Protocols standards and legislation

‐ Preserving archaeological remains in situ ‐ can

we document it works?

Theme 1, Degradation of archaeological remains

included twelve papers. Because of the difficul‐

ties involved in evaluating the results from in vivo

experiments, microcosms in which the range of

variables can be controlled are invaluable and we

were given presentations using this method to

assess the decay rates for wood and to evaluate

impacts on the physico‐chemical and microbio‐

logy of wetlands caused by leaching from wood

treated with copper‐arsenic‐chromium preservative.

These were described and included follow up

work in the field to validate the study.

Review by Mike Corfield and Jim Williams

23‐27 May 2011Copenhagen, Denmark

Organised by:Department of Conservation,National Museum of Denmark

PRESERVATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS IN SITU (PARIS)

REVIEWS

24 e‐conservation

Experimental work in the marine or fresh water

environment is challenging and this was evident

in papers discussing the impact of erosion and

protection of sites in Lake Constance and Zurich,

a poster presentation on the problems of protec‐

tion on the Gulf coast of Iran, and a major study

of the effects of reburial of metal objects under

seawater as a means of ensuring the survival of

many thousands of artefacts recovered from

shipwrecks at the island of Marstrand, Sweden.

The bioerosion of stone underwater is also an is‐

sue and we were shown how rapidly it can be de‐

graded by biological growth eroding the surface

and creating cavities to the extent that surface

detail is lost.

Evaluating the changes to burial conditions by

reference to the stratigraphic layers of corrosion

has been something that one of the reviewers

(MC) has long sought to see tested, so a paper on

this examining corrosion of ferrous artefacts from

an ironworking site in Normandy, France was very

welcome despite the risk of rapid change of cor‐

rosion species following excavation. Unsaturated

soils are notoriously varied and characterising

potential preservation without excavation is often

speculative so a paper reporting work to develop

methodologies for evaluating unsaturated soils

in Oslo was very welcome.

On a broader scale we heard a paper on the carbon

release arising from desiccation of wetlands and

the risk that archaeological excavations in wet‐

lands might be contributing to greenhouse gas

emissions. The impact of building over archae‐

ological sites was discussed and moves towards

the development of a risk assessment system for

archaeological sites were highlighted. Finally the

question was asked whether preservation can be

predicted from monitoring results, the question

we would all like to see the answer to.

Round‐table participants, from left to right: Jane Sidell, Mark Pollard, Hans Huisman, Jens Rytter, Vicky Richards, Mike Corfield,Henk Kars, Jim Williams, and standing at and by the podium, Henning Matthiesen and David Gregory, the conference co‐organisers.

REVIEWS

25e‐conservation

REVIEWS

26 e‐conservation

Overall, the papers in this first theme were excep‐

tionally broad in their subject matter and scope,

from small scale laboratory work to the large scale

analysis of an entire urban area. All provided dif‐

ferent methods of quantifying degradation rates

at these different scales, demonstrating that we

have now, collectively, developed a range of tools

suitable for assessing the state of preservation of

most common material. What is less clear, for the

most part, and was not tackled in many of the

papers in this session, are the rates at which de‐

gradation processes are taking place.

Theme 2, Monitoring and mitigation case studies

comprised seventeen papers and again we were

offered a rich mix of papers covering marine and

coastal sites, wetlands and unsaturated sites,

broad scale urban evaluation, and, breaking new

ground (perhaps an unfortunate metaphor for

this conference), studies of the preservation of

sites in the Greenland permafrost and at the other

extreme, in Abu Dhabi, and in addition to our

usual span of materials, mudbrick in China.

It is impossible to cover the details of each of the

papers, but suffice to say that there appeared to

be the recognition that monitoring had to answer

questions, and that only in exceptional circum‐

stances could monitoring be justified over very

long timescales. A report of the important work

at Bryggen, Bergen, Norway demonstrated how

post‐construction monitoring of the impact of

the uncontrolled construction of a hotel at the

World Heritage Site of the medieval waterfront

of Bergen enabled the implementation of post‐

development mitigation of the damages caused

to organic structural remains.

Two papers (one from session 4) showed how

monitoring could be used to devise strategies that

would enable historic towns such as Trondheim,

Norway and Nantwich, England to continue to

evolve to meet the needs of modern life. Interest‐

ingly, on many of the terrestrial sites presented

under this theme, monitoring was aimed at un‐

derstanding unsaturated, rather than fully water‐

logged deposits. Techniques ranged from the use

of TDR, in situ redox and oxygen probes, to soil

and water analysis. Although there was no one

common approach used, the detailed analysis of

soil and water chemistry (anion and cation con‐

centrations for example), before and throughout

monitoring seems to be one of the more reliable

ways of characterising these very challenging

burial environments.

Taking to the water again, we were shown the sad

destruction of the Stirling Castle, one of England’s

finest seventeenth century shipwrecks as it be‐

came increasingly exposed by the movement of

the great sandbank that had hitherto protected

it. It was a graphic example of the challenges in‐

volved in trying to protect entire ships and their

contents in the dynamic marine environment.

One of the other elements of the maritime envir‐

onment is wood borers and we were provided

with summary of work in the Baltic Sea, which is

increasing in salinity through the impact of cli‐

mate change as part of the EU project “WreckPro‐

tect” to develop protection strategies against

marine borers for underwater cultural heritage.

On the opposite side of the globe experimental

work to evaluate the options for protecting a

19th century wooden hulled ship south of Free‐

mantle, Western Australia were described. In an‐

other departure for PARIS we were shown how

efforts were being made to conserve the extens‐

ive submerged upstanding remains of Roman vil‐

las at Baia, Naples, Italy, and to make them

accessible to scuba divers.

Theme 3, Protocols standards and legislation at‐

tracted fewer papers with eight contributors.

There was a tendency in this session to drift rather

REVIEWS

Per Kristian Madsen, Director of the National Museum ofDenmark welcoming the delegates and opening theSymposium.

e‐conservation

Conference breaks provided ample opportunity to shareexperiences and exchange ideas.

e‐conservation 27

too far into straightforward cultural resource

management and this would be a danger for the

PARIS brand which has always tried to focus on

the importance of a sound scientific understand‐

ing to underpin the management of archaeolo‐

gical heritage. Nonetheless, the session did bring

in some new faces who will hopefully have bene‐

fited from the wider programme and who we hope

will return with examples of scientific studies of

the problems inherent in trying to preserve still‐

buried archaeological sites.

Some of the papers in this session reported on

efforts to establish sound management princi‐

pals to underpin their archaeological heritage.

The first paper described how the Norwegian Dir‐

ectorate for Cultural Heritage was using the work

it had funded at Bergen to develop a toolbox that

would enable it to apply the same standards so

that the right decisions can be made in future

cases, whilst another outlined the development

of a new governmental body to oversee the ar‐

chaeological heritage of the Flanders region of

Belgium. One paper was concerned with the po‐

tential for soils to be used as indicators of the

preservation potential of sites, using both the soil

itself and its inclusions of, for example, calcareous

shells to indicate the pH of the soil. The paper

argued for more prior assessment of the soils

themselves to influence the design of monitor‐

ing schemes, and perhaps this paper would have

been better placed with the previous theme on

monitoring.

Two projects were concerned with the conserva‐

tion of exposed sites, one a Roman settlement at

Ludbreg in Croatia, and the other a mosaic floor

in Turkey. A more seriously misplaced contribution

concerned the need for more coherent strategies

to ensure the proper curation and storage of the

many thousands of dendrochronological cores.

Interesting as these papers were, they were not

really in the spirit of the PARIS conferences and

would have perhaps have generated wider interest

at other venues.

Theme 4, Preserving archaeological remains in situ

‐ can we document it works? was perhaps the most

challenging of all the sessions. It was pointed out

that one of the first attempts to scientifically

monitor an archaeological site was only twenty

one years ago, and this site, the Rose Theatre in

London, has been continuously monitored since

then. This timescale is short by comparison with

the lifetime of most structures built over archae‐

ological remains and it is often hard to tell what

28 e‐conservation

REVIEWS

changes might take place before they can be re‐

examined. We were given a tour through sites in

London that had been first excavated up to 150

years previously, and when re‐excavated in recent

times were shown to be still in good condition.

However many of these were stone structures

or timber revetments close to the River Thames

where wood preservation has been shown to

be excellent.

The Rose Theatre itself is due to be re‐excavated

and there will be much interest in how effective

the reburial system has been, particularly as it

has become the benchmark for reburial at many

other sites. This was discussed in a paper which

also presented the preferred method for sealing

the site entirely so that the natural hydrology

alone maintains the site’s integrity. Equally in‐

teresting was the research into the impact of a

change in soil moisture content (SMC) that was

presented. It was suggested that a reduction in

SMC from 50% to 40% would to be likely to lead to

a 13% shrinkage in the important deposits of the

Rose Theatre. This is noteworthy as although other

projects have collected moisture data in the past,

few if any have used the data to any great effect.

The continuing information from the research at

Nydam Møse in Denmark was presented, and on a

shorter timescale, there were more results from

the reburial research at Marstrand (the RAAR pro‐

ject also discussed in session 1). The history of

monitoring peat extraction in England’s Somer‐

set Levels coupled with the peat wastage result‐

ing from land drainage was given together with

the hope that nature and archaeological conser‐

vation together with an aging farming community

may enable practical steps to be taken to begin the

long process of regenerating the peat, perhaps

driven also by the beneficial effect this would have

on carbon capture. Farming and drainage were also

critical elements in the management of the land‐

scape around the former island of Schokland. Re‐

sults of the monitoring that has been taking place

for 15 years since 1999 were presented and the

efficacy of the various tools used was discussed.

Finally, the evolution of monitoring over 30 years

in England was presented and an assessment of

the types of sites monitored, reasons from moni‐

toring and tools used was given. Recommenda‐

tions to help improve future monitoring projects

were presented. These included the need for more

assessment of the state of preservation of a site

before monitoring is considered; the need for a

proper project design to be developed at the out‐

set of the work; and finally that there should be

clarity about why monitoring is needed for a given

site and what can be done when monitoring data

suggest optimum conditions for survival are no

longer being maintained.

The conference finished with a round table discus‐

sion of the four themes lead by the session chairs.

It is hoped that a summary of the main discussion

points raised by the panel and audience will be

collated for the conference proceedings (from

audio recordings). Some of the points discussed

included the extent to which we can quantify de‐

gradation states and rates (states, yes, rates, in

some cases); the need for more ground‐truthing

of model and microcosm research to take place on

actual archaeological sites; the need for more

thought to go into designing monitoring schemes,

and for more assessment prior to monitoring; and

finally, a recognition that standards and protocols

can be useful in providing guidance to those

working in the discipline, but often need to be

re‐produced separately for each country due to

different legislation and burial environments.

Just before the discussion started, the session

was interrupted in order for a presentation to be

made to David Gregory and Henning Matthiesen,

e‐conservation 29

REVIEWS

Excursion to Roskilde in Viking ships.

the conference chairs. They were presented with an

award from the Sofie Elizabeth and Aage Rothen‐

bergs Scholarship in recognition of their research

in natural science at the National Museum. We

should also mention the other members of the

organising committee, Karen Brynjolf Pedersen

and Mads Chr. Christensen, who along with Hen‐

ning and David organised an extremely successful

and well run conference.

On the social side, there was an opening reception

in the entrance of the National Museum (the ven‐

ue for the conference) on the evening before the

conference began, a visit to on‐going excavations

in the city centre or a trip to see the ruins under

Christiansborg on the first evening, and the con‐

ference dinner in the Tivoli Gardens at the end of

the second day. The day after the conference itself

was over there was an excursion to Roskilde that

included a fleet of Viking ships filled with deleg‐

ates sailing in the bay, and a conducted tour of

the cathedral, and finally, on the fifth (or sixth)

day (depending when you had arrived), an infor‐

mal, guided tour of the National Museum’s con‐

servation department at Mølleådalen near Brede.

The conference proceedings will be published in a

special issue of Conservation and Management of

Archaeological Sites in late 2011 or early 2012.

MIKE CORFIELDConservator

Contact: [email protected]

Mike Corfield has been a conservator and conser‐

vation manager in Wiltshire, Wales and with Eng‐

lish Heritage. In 1991 he became responsible for

the hydrological monitoring programme at the

site of the Rose Theatre. Later, he carried out

projects to study the hydrology of sites to increase

understanding of hydrology and the preservation

of organic remains. With their support and like

minded colleagues the first Preservation of Ar‐

chaeological Remains in Situ conference was held

in 1996, and in 1998 recognising that archaeolo‐

gical resource managers recommending mitiga‐

tion strategies needed to be supported by sound

scientific advice and accordingly a team of nine

regional scientific advisers were appointed. Mike

was appointed English Heritage Chief Scientist in

1999, and since his retirement in 2002 he has re‐

tained his interest in site preservation as a con‐

sultant, carrying out projects for UNESCO in India

and Iran, and supporting academic research.

JIM WILLIAMSArchaeological scientist

Contact: jim.williams@english‐heritage.org.uk

Jim Williams is an archaeological scientist, inter‐

ested in preservation in situ issues, specifically

groundwater monitoring and construction impacts.

Jim is a co‐author of the English Heritage docu‐

ment Piling and Archaeology, and has contributed

papers on preservation in situ to a number of

European conferences, and been involved with an

EC project on pile re‐use (RUFUS). During 2009

Jim took a secondment to coordinate the devel‐

opment of a UK‐wide National Heritage Science

Strategy. He is currently the English Heritage

Science Advisor for the East Midlands, a role that

he has undertaken on and off for the last 9 years.

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e‐conservation 31

REVIEWS

Between 1st and 3rd June 2011 the international

colloquium “University training of restoration

within the European educational context” took

place at the Litomyšl castle, listed as UNESCO

World Heritage site. The colloquium was held at

the historical building of the former castle’s brew‐

ery, recently reconstructed and restored accord‐

ing to the project of well‐known Czech designer

Josef Pleskot for the organisation of meetings.

This special event was organised by the Faculty of

Restoration of Pardubice University in connection

with the results of a project developed to gather

more information concerning the means and con‐

tent of conservation‐restoration study programmes

at important European educational institutions.

This research was organised within the Project

“Restorers for European Practice” (CZ.1.07/2.2.00/

07‐0140) with funds from the operation programme

ESF “Education for Competitiveness”. The main

aim of the project is to improve the competitive‐

ness of the BA graduates from the Faculty of Res‐

toration on the job market. Innovation of Bache‐

lor study programmes at the Faculty helps to

achieve this goal.

Members of 12 European educational institutes

interested in conservation and restoration of

works of art, historical buildings and objects of

cultural heritage importance took part at the

colloquium to discuss recent trends in this field

or to deepen the cooperation within the European

educational system. Representatives of the inter‐

national organisations ENCoRE (European Network

for Conservation‐Restoration Education) and

E.C.C.O. (European Confederation of Conservator‐

restorers' Organisations) also took part in the

conference in order to inform participants about

the recent activities in the field of conservation‐

restoration programmes and about access to the

profession within the international scope.

A total of 20 lecturers from 7 European countries

participated in the colloquium. The main topics

of each seminar were: recent trends in university

restoration education, goals of education and

UNIVERSITY TRAINING OF RESTORATION WITHIN THE EUROPEANEDUCATIONAL CONTEXT

Review by Luboš Machačko

1‐3 June 2011

Litomyšl, Czech Republic

Organised by:Faculty of Restoration, University of Pardubice

Jan Šíblo, from the Faculty of Restoration of University ofPardubice.

renowened educational institutes interested in

conservation‐restoration were visited by members

of academic staff of the Faculty to compare their

study plans and to define possible fields of inno‐

vation within the Bachelor study plan of the Fac‐

ulty of Restoration.

The first presentation, “BA, MA – quo vadis?”, was

given by Tatjana Bayerová from the University of

Applied Arts in Vienna. In her presentation, she

first summarised the history and the system of

conservation‐restoration education at the Uni‐

versity and later she focused on the recent state

of the “Bologna system” in the universities from

German speaking countries. The second present‐

ation was made by Karina Zajadacz, who informed

the participants about the educational system of

conservation‐restoration at the Academy of Fine

Arts in Krakow.

The afternoon session started with the presenta‐

tion “Education in conservation in Malta – chal‐

lenges and opportunities” by Prof. JoAnn Cassar

REVIEWS

way of their achievement at each educational

institute, general qualification demands required

for restoration practice, and qualification demands

required from official institutes of care for histori‐

cal monuments.

The colloquium was started by the dean of the

Faculty of Restoration, Ing. Karol Bayer, followed

by the rector of University of Pardubice, Prof.

Ing. Miroslav Ludwig, CSc., who welcomed the

participants.

The morning of the first day was especially focused

on the results of the Project “Restorers for the

European Practice”, aimed to the innovation of the

Bachelor study plans at the Faculty of Restoration.

During the last school year, the Faculty managed

to organise specialised workshops within this pro‐

ject supervised by recognized external experts

qualified in conservation‐restoration theory and

practice. Then the academic staff of the Faculty

of Restoration presented their experience from

visits to selected European institutions. Several

A view of the conference auditorium.

32 e‐conservation

from the University of Malta. In her lecture, she

considered appeals and possibilities of conserva‐

tion‐restoration education in Malta. She introduced

their education system to the participants, MSc

courses in Conservation Technology for Masonry

Buildings, hands‐on courses offered by the Depart‐

ment of the Built Heritage, Faculty for the Built

Environment and warrant system for access the

profession.

Sandra Smith, Head of the Conservation Depart‐

ment of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London,

introduced the special educational course of

conservation‐restoration organised by the V&A

in “Filling the skill gap between training and

professional accreditation in the UK; work based

learning at the V&A”. The training programme

which is endorsed through the UK’s Qualifications

and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) de‐

velops conservators with high competence in a

specialist area of conservation (Upholstery, Tex‐

tiles, Furniture, Preventive, Metals; Ceramics,

Glass, Enamel or Sculpture conservation).

Octaviana Marincas, from the University of Arts

“Geroge Enescu” in Iaşi, Romania presented “In‐

tegrated Scientific Research into Romanian Edu‐

cational and Training Conservation Programmes”

where she spoke about the beginnings of conser‐

vation and care for historical monuments in Ro‐

mania. She briefly also explained the university

education system in this field and explained the

basic types of study programmes at University of

Iaşi to the participants.

After the coffee‐break, Prof. Christoph Herm from

the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts presented “Edu‐

cation in natural science in the Course in Art Tech‐

nology and Conservation of Works of Art at Dresden

Academy of Fine Arts”. In his lecture, he spoke

about the role of natural science in the conserva‐

tion‐restoration education at the Academy, he de‐

scribed topics of education in natural science and

briefly presented the University laboratory.

Prof. Ulrich Schießl, who unfortunately passed

away recently, developed the former topic by

presenting “Interdisciplinary Research on the

History of Architecture and Construction, the Deco‐

ration and Conservation of the West Choir of the

Naumburg Cathedral” as an example of the inte‐

gration of PhD studies within a special project of

restoration practice.

Next, in “Which Practice?” Prof. Wolfgang Baatz

from the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna and recent

president of ENCoRE, stressed in his lecture the

basic principles of the education system in the

field of conservation‐restoration as defined in

the international documents E.C.C.O., ENCoRE

and ICOM. Afterwards, Prof. Baatz concluded the

first day of lectures by presenting Barbara David‐

son’s lecture on “Competences for access to the

conservation‐restoration profession”. During the

presentation, he started by introducing briefly

the international organisation E.C.C.O. and conti‐

nued explaining the problems of the qualification

demands for access to the conservation‐restora‐

tion profession from the point of view of recent

and future legislative of the European Union.

Prof. Ulrich Schießl (1948‐2011), from the Dresden Academyof Fine Arts.

REVIEWS

33e‐conservation

The second day of the colloquium was opened by

Alena Selucká from the Technical Museum of Brno,

Czech Republic. In her presentation entitled “The

Methodical Conservation Centre of the Technical

Museum in Brno ‐ its role in training of conser‐

vators‐restorers”, she introduced the activity of

the Methodical Conservation Centre, which has

offered since 2003 the possibility of education in

the field of conservation‐restoration apart from

other various services for museums and galleries.

The following lecturer, Prof. Pavel Novák from the

Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in Prague,

Czech Republic introduced the education program

in conservation‐restoration at the ICT. In the se‐

cond part of his lecture he compared the study

programmes of universities and institutes which

offer education in conservation‐restoration in

the Czech Republic.

The presentations were concluded by Vít Jesenský

from the National Heritage Institute, Regional

department for Central Bohemia, Prague, who

discussed the specific factors influencing

conservation‐restoration and also about the edu‐

cation system of this field in the Czech Republic.

The discussion among the participants took place

in the afternoon and was supervised by Prof.

Wolfgang Baatz. The discussion was intended to

cover five main themes:

1. Structure of study at universities

2. Strategy, organisation – terms, courses, modules

3. Financial support of education system

4. Accreditation for restoration practice

5. Postgraduate programmes

During the discussion, most attention was given

to the study structure of the integration of the

Bologna system, the status quo at each institu‐

tion, the possibilities and limits of the system

and possible future development in the European

context. Another discussion theme of wide in‐

terest was how to ensure quality standards of

conservation‐restoration practice and ways of

accreditation the profession in each country.

The discussion resulted in a document signed by

the participants expressing their support to activi‐

ties concerning the international recognition of the

conservation‐restoration professional status as

it is developed in the EU by ENCoRE and E.C.C.O.:

The participants of the international colloquium in

Litomyšl fully support the principles of the Conser‐

vation‐Restoration education and access to the

Conservation‐Restoration profession as declared in

the ENCoRE Clarification paper from 2001 and in

“E.C.C.O. Professional Guidelines II” (Education

and Training, 2002) and “E.C.C.O. Professional

Guidelines III” (2004).

The participants further declare that their institu‐

tion´s Conservation‐Restoration training programs

aim to achieve the goals declared in the above men‐

tioned documents and that the Learning Outcomes

for these programs are informed by the competences

for professional practice as published in Compe‐

tences for Access to the Conservation‐Restoration

Profession (E.C.C.O. 2011).

Prof. Wolfgang Baatz, from the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna.

REVIEWS

34 e‐conservation

A summary of the conclusions reached during the

discussion is as follows:

1. Exists similarity among the represented educa‐

tion institutions concerning the goals, purpose,

way of achievement, problems, etc., which is in‐

fluenced by various regional and social conditions

and traditions which cause different attitudes and

solutions.

2. All the institutions have implemented the “Bo‐

logna system”.

3. The “Bologna System” was adopted in Germany

and Austria although there is no BA/MA division.

4. All the study programs are based on the same

three basic elements – natural science, humane

science and art skills. Only their rate differs be‐

tween the institutions.

5. Knowledge and art skills are examined during

an entrance examination at majority of schools.

6. Former conservation‐restoration practice is not

necessary, except for German schools where one‐

year of practice is required before the first term.

7. Almost all the BA graduates continue to study

for MA at their alma mater.

8. With rare exceptions all students graduate from

the institutions.

9. All the institutions declared a very good em‐

ployment rate of their graduates.

10. All the institutions reported an increasing

lower number of applicants.

11. The teaching material of specific subjects is

competence of the respective lecturers.

All the representatives declared their support

concerning the education systems and care for

historical and cultural monuments and expressed

the necessity to discuss this problem at interna‐

tional level in Europe.

During the third day of colloquium the participants

visited the historical town of Kutná Hora, having

the opportunity to know more about the town

history and its monuments as well as the restored

historical town centre with its most important

conserved and reconstructed sites: the Church of

the Virgin Mary and Ossuary in Sedlec near Kutná

Hora, and the Gothic Cathedral of St. Barbara,

which is listed as UNESCO World Heritage site.

The colloquium has met with wide interest of quali‐

fied public and its organisers believe that this event

is just one of the first steps towards dialogue about

recent education trends in the field of conserva‐

tion‐restoration and connected to the needs of

cultural heritage care at European scale.

LUBOŠ MACHAČKOConservator‐restorer

Contact: [email protected]

Luboš Machačko is a private conservator‐restorer

specialised in paintings conservation. Currently he

works at the Department of Chemical Technology at

the Faculty of Restoration, University of Pardubice.

Visit to St. Barbara Cathedral in Kutná Hora.

REVIEWS

35e‐conservation

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e‐conservation

CHARACTERIZATION OF NATURAL ANDSYNTHETIC DYES EMPLOYED IN THE

MANUFACTURE OF CHINESE GARMENT PIECESBY LC‐DAD AND LC‐DAD‐QTOF

ByEstrella Sanz Rodríguez,

Angela Arteaga Rodríguez,María Antonia García Rodríguez,

Carmen Cámara

Introduction

In all parts of the world, natural dyes have been

used since the oldest times until the end of the

19th century, when synthetic dyes became avail‐

able. The organic compounds responsible for the

colour in ancient dyestuffs were obtained from

plants, insects, shellfish and lichens [1] and in‐

cluded hundreds of dyes like cochineal, brazil‐

wood, madder, kermes, weld, young fustic, saffron,

indigo, orchil, Tyrian purple, etc. In 1740, indigo

carmine appeared as the first semi‐synthetic dye,

followed by picric acid in 1771. Aniline Purple (or

Perkin´s Mauve), considered to be the first really

synthetic dye, was accidentally discovered by

William H. Perkin in 1856 in an attempt to produce

artificial quinine. Since 1897, when 404 new dye‐

stuffs had been developed, the synthetic dyes

soon replaced most of the natural ones [2].

Due to the fact that the particular dyes employed

in each culture were related to locally available

dyeing technology, the identification of dyestuffs

present in historical textiles can contribute to

answer different questions linked with dyeing

techniques, time of manufacture and geographical

origin of a particular textile [1], offering impor‐

tant information for the establishment of their

historical‐artistic profile. Moreover, these ana‐

lyses can evidence past restoration processes and

provide keys for the application of an appropriate

treatment in modern interventions of restoration

or conservation.

Since each dye can be a mixture of various organic

compounds and a fibre can be dyed with several

of them, chromatographic techniques that are

able to separate very complex mixtures are the

most appropriate tools for this type of analysis.

In between all of them, high performance liquid

chromatography (HPLC) is by far the most com‐

monly used, because it enables the separation of

non‐volatile compounds such as the components

of dyestuffs [3]. A HPLC system can be coupled

to different detectors. Evidently, most of the dye

components are strong chromophores, therefore

UV‐Vis absorbance detectors, most commonly with

a diode array configuration (DAD) are suitable for

the demands of their analysis from plant extracts

or animal sources [4‐8]. The same applies for

analysis from other matrices such as modern dyed

materials [2,9] or archaeological textiles [10‐18].

Employing DAD, detection can be carried out over

the whole range of the UV and visible spectrum,

e‐conservation 39

In this work we present the results obtained for the characterization of dyes found in seven Chinese garment

pieces, which came from the Museum of Arts and Design in Madrid to Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute

(IPCE) for their restoration. They were dated to the times of the Qing Dynasty, between 1700 and 1900 AD.

The samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector (LC‐DAD) and

liquid chromatography tandem diode array quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐DAD‐QTOF).

Dyes identified in the pieces under study were clearly correlated with two important features, their oriental

origin and the date of manufacture, making them a particularly complex matrix. Thus, on one hand, the

natural dyes found, such as indigo, brazilwood, curcuma, Asian berberis yellow dye, pagoda tree and

safflower, are characteristic for Asia and the Middle East. On the other hand, these pieces date from the

transition period between the exclusive use of natural dyes and the widespread introduction of synthetic

ones during the late 19th century. Therefore, some early synthetic dyes such as Prussian blue, picric acid,

basic fuchsine and Victoria blue B were also detected.

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

hence the complete spectrum of all the compounds

subsequently eluting from the liquid chromato‐

graphy (LC) column can be obtained, which are

then characterised by their retention time on one

hand and by their corresponding UV‐Vis spectrum

on the other. Even though, this technique is not

very specific and different chemical compounds

may have rather similar spectra. This is the reason

for that the actual trend within the field of iden‐

tification of complex mixtures of dyestuffs goes

towards the use of higher discriminating techni‐

ques such as hyphenation of liquid chromato‐

graphy to detection by mass spectrometry (MS).

In fact, over the last years, most research tends

towards uniting and complementing all the infor‐

mation obtained by on‐line coupling of DAD and

different mass spectrometer configurations, such

as ion trap (IT), single quadrupole (Q) or time of

flight (TOF) [10, 12,19‐28]. The use of a hybrid

LC‐QTOF, a quadrupole‐time of flight instrument

such as the one employed in this study has, to

best of the author’s knowledge, not yet been em‐

ployed for the analysis of natural organic dye‐

stuff. This system allows the separation of the

compounds present in each sample and their

subsequent characterisation due to its powerful

analytical capabilities for detection and identi‐

fication. The TOF detector delivers the high mass

accuracy (1‐2 ppm MS) needed for positive iden‐

tifications with absolute confidence. This instru‐

ment also performs MS‐MS using a quadrupole, a

hexapole (collision cell) and a TOF portion to

produce spectra (2‐4 ppm MS‐MS). The MS‐MS

spectra combined with accurate mass can be

used to confirm ion identity and structure.

With respect to commonly used mass detectors,

such as single quadrupole, the high mass accur‐

acy that a QTOF provides reduces drastically the

possible formulas for a given compound. This

information allows confirming the presence of a

compound, helping to identify unknowns and to

reduce risk of spending effort on the wrong mole‐

cule. The MS‐ MS spectrum yields a fragmentation

pattern which is exclusive and unique for each

compound and it is used helping to identify and to

confirm unknowns via elucidation of their chemical

structure. Summarising, the QTOF detector is an ex‐

tremely powerful tool for compound identification.

The collection studied in this work consists of

seven Chinese garment pieces provided by the

Museum of Arts and Design of Madrid for conser‐

vation purposes to IPCE. There is not much histo‐

rical information available; all pieces were dated

between 1700 and 1900, corresponding to the

Qing Dynasty period and, most probably, came

to Spain from Manila when the Philippines was a

Spanish colony [29]. All pieces were produced

using the typical traditional Chinese techniques

and decoration patterns. Their state of preserva‐

tion is acceptable, except the backside of a pair of

trousers, which is heavily damaged. Mainly silk, but

also other types of fibres such as cotton, flax, hemp

or jute, were employed in their manufacture [30].

The objective of the present study was the iden‐

tification of the dyestuffs employed in the manu‐

facture of fragments from this collection using

LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF. This identification can

contribute to obtain relevant information for

their historical documentation and to extend

the knowledge of the dyeing technology used in

their production.

ExperimentalReagents and reference fibres

High‐purity deionised water (Milli‐Q Element

system, Millipore, USA), formic acid (HCOOH)

from Fluka (Sigma‐Aldrich, Steinheim, Germany)

and acetonitrile (ACN), from J.T. Baker (Deventer,

Netherlands) were used for preparation of the

40 e‐conservation

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZ et al.

mobile phase. Gradient grade methanol (MeOH)

from J.T. Baker (Deventer, Netherlands), formic

acid and dimethylformamide (DMF) from Panreac

(Barcelona, Spain) were employed for sample

preparation.

Extraction methods, chromatographic conditions

and instrumental parameters of the detectors

were previously optimised using reference fibres

dyed with several natural dyes, such as American

cochineal (Dactylopius coccus Costa), brazilwood

(Caesalpinia sp), madder (Rubia tinctorum L.),

weld (Reseda luteola L.), old fustic (Chlorophora

tinctoria), saffron (Crocus sativus L.), indigo (In‐

digofera sp.), Tyrian purple (Plicopurpura pansa

L.), alder bark (Alnus sp.) or sumac (Rhus spp.),

in between others.

Samples

Figures 1‐7 show photos of each piece under

study: a theatre costume, a nuptial tunic, a chi‐fu,

a belt, a jacket, a pair of trousers and child shoes.

The first step in the identification of a dyestuff

present in an historical textile is the sampling

procedure. This was carried out taking as few

amount of sample possible, but always keeping

the sample representative. To cover the different

colours discovered over every piece, a total

amount of 52 samples were taken. Subsequently,

these were examined under an optical microscope

to determine the macroscopic sample composition

and to detect impurities and fading phenomena.

Instrumentation

The samples were chemically analyzed employing

two rather different liquid chromatography sys‐

tems. First, a commonly used liquid chromato‐

graphy system coupled to diode array detector

(LC‐DAD) and, after, a liquid chromatography

coupled to diode array detector and mass spectro‐

e‐conservation 41

meter with a quadrupole‐time‐of–flight analyzers

(LC‐DAD‐QTOF).

System I (LC‐DAD)

The chromatographic system used consisted of a

model 600E Multisolvent delivery system (Waters

Chromatography, USA) equipped with a Luna C18(2)

HPLC column (150 x 2.1 mm id, 5 μm particle size)

and a guard cartridge system (Phenomenex, USA).

Samples were injected by a 717 auto sampler

(Waters Chromatography, USA). Separated compo‐

nents of dyestuffs were detected with a 996 DAD

detector, scanning from 200 nm to 600 nm at a

rate of 1 scan/second and with a resolution of

1.2 nm (Waters Chromatography, USA). The mobile

phase, delivered at 0.5 ml/min, consisted of 0.1%

trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in water (A) and aceto‐

Figure 1. Nuptial tunic from the “Oriental garment” collection ofthe Museum of Arts and Design (Madrid). Photo by Eduardo Seco.

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

42 e‐conservation

Figure 2. Theatre costume from the “Oriental garment” collection of the Museum of Arts and Design (Madrid).Photo by Teresa García.

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZ et al.

43e‐conservation

Figure 3. Chi‐fu from the “Oriental garment” collection ofthe Museum of Arts and Design (Madrid). Photo by EstherGaliana.

Figure 4. Jacket from the the “Oriental garment” collection ofthe Museum of Arts and Design (Madrid). Photo by EstherGaliana.

Figure 5. Belt from the “Oriental garment” collection of the Museum of Arts and Design (Madrid). Photo by Esther Galiana.

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

Figure 6. Pair of trousers from the “Oriental garment” collection of the Museum of Arts and Design (Madrid).Photo by Eduardo Seco.

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZ et al.

44 e‐conservation

nitrile (B). The gradient applied was the follow‐

ing: 10% B isocratic to 1 min, to 30% B (linear) at

30 min, to 100% B (linear) at 50 min. The column

temperature was maintained constant at 35 ºC.

System II (LC‐DAD‐QTOF)

All the modules of LC‐DAD‐QTOF instrument (auto‐

matic injector, pump, column oven, diode array

detector and mass spectrometer) were from Agi‐

lent Technologies (USA).

Chromatography

The liquid chromatography system used consisted

of a model 1200 Series equipped with a ZORBAX

Extend‐C18 Rapid Resolution High Throughput

(RRHT) column (50 x 2.1 mm i.d.; 1.8 μm particle

size). The mobile phase, pumped at 0.8 ml/min,

consisted of 0.1% formic acid in water (A) and

acetonitrile (B). The gradient applied was the

following: 10% B isocratic to 0.4 min, to 35% B

(linear) at 12 min, to 95% B (linear) at 18 min,

95% B isocratic to 21 min and to 10% B (linear) at

25 min. The column temperature was maintained

at 35 ºC by a model 1200 Series thermostatic

column compartment. Separated components

were detected with a 1200 Series diode array de‐

tector, scanning from 200 nm to 800 nm and the

chromatograms were recorded at 275 and 550 nm.

Mass spectrometry

Mass spectrometry was performed on a 6530 Ac‐

curate‐Mass QTOF operating in ESI positive and

negative modes. The ionisation source was a Jet

Stream Thermal Focusing technology which uses

super‐heated nitrogen (N2) to improve ion gene‐

ration and desolvation for greater signal and re‐

duced noise. The acquisition mode was Auto MS‐

MS to obtain the MS‐MS spectrum for each single

dye component. The precursor selection was sor‐

ting by abundance, being three the maximum

number of precursors per cycle. The mass spectro‐

meter operating conditions are summarised in

Table I. Data acquisition and processing were per‐

formed using MassHunter Workstation software.

Figure 7. Child shoes from the “Oriental garment” collection ofthe Museum of Arts and Design (Madrid).Photos by Eduardo Seco.

Source Parameters

Polarity Positive, Negative

Gas temp 300 ºC

Gas flow 8 L/min

Nebulizer 55 psi

Sheath gas temp 400 ºC

Sheath gas flow 12 L/min

Vcap 3500 V

Nozzle voltage 1000 V

Fragmentor 185 V

Skimmer1 65 V

Octopole RF peak 750 V

QTOF Parameters

Acquisition Mode Auto MS‐MS

MS Range 100‐1700 m/z

MS‐MS Range 50‐1700 m/z

MS and MS‐MS scan rate 3 spectra/s

Isolation Width MS‐MS Medium (~4 m/z)

Fixed Collision Energy 35 V

Table I. Mass spectrometer operation conditions.

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

45e‐conservation

Extraction procedure

In a first study, working with the LC‐DAD system,

we employed a previously optimised and published

extraction method [31], which can be resumed as

follows:

Extraction procedure I

Bulk samples were added to a conic glass vial

containing a (95:5, v/v) mixture of MeOH:HCOOH

and then heated for 30 minutes to 45‐50 ºC. Sub‐

sequently the solvent was evaporated under a N2

current. To the dry residue, a (1:1, v/v) mixture

of MeOH:DMF was added and the solution again

heat‐ed to about 100 ºC during 5 minutes, then

transferred to 0.2 μm Spin‐X nylon micro centri‐

fuge filters and centrifuged at 6000 rpm for 10

min. After evaporation of the filtrate to dryness

with N2, the residue was again dissolved in 50 μL

of a (1:1, v/v) MeOH:DMF mixture and shaked in

vortex for 1 minute. This extract was injected

onto the LC‐DAD system.

Later on, the method was further optimised [32],

basically regarding the first extraction medium,

and was employed with the second chromatogra‐

phic system, LC‐DAD‐QTOF.

Extraction procedure II

Samples were placed in a conic vial and treated

with 250 μL of a mixture of HCOOH:MeOH:H2O

(15:25:60, v/v/v) for 10 minutes at 50‐55 ºC. The

solvent was then evaporated under a N2 current.

A volume of 250 μL of the mixture MeOH:DMF (1:1,

v/v) was added to the dry residue and the mixture

was heated for 5 minutes at around 90 ºC. Then,

the solution was transferred to 0.2 μm nylon filters

Spin‐X (micro centrifuge filter) and centrifuged at

6000 rpm for 10 min. The filtrate was evaporated

to dryness under a N2 current and the residue was

dissolved in 5‐10 μL of MeOH:DMF (1:1, v/v) solu‐

tion. After shaking it in vortex for 1 min, the ex‐

tract was injected onto the LC‐DAD‐QTOF system.

Results and discussion

From observation under optical microscope it was

concluded that none of the samples were consti‐

tuted by a mixture of differently coloured fibres,

except for one orange‐red sample from a child

shoe, where the fibres were first yellow dyed and

afterwards superficially in red‐orange. It is worth

mentioning that an important decolouration

process was observed in this particular sample.

Results of the analysed samples using the system

I (LC‐DAD), are summarised in Table II. The com‐

pounds were identified based on matching their

retention time and UV‐Vis spectra.

In the brown samples, gallic acid, ellagic acid and

traces of flavonoids were detected, indicating the

use of tannins as dye (probably obtained from

galls and/or bark of oak species).

Indigotin, as main component, and indirubin

were detected in the blue samples and those col‐

ours deriving from blue, such as green or purple

(Figure 8(c)). The percentage of each component

was in concordance with the composition of in‐

digo (Indigofera sp.) or woad (Isatis tinctoria L.)

but due to the origin of these textiles, the dye

was most probably indigo obtained from some

Indigofera species.

Another type of indigo in dark blue, green and

purple samples containing indirubin, either pre‐

sent as a main component or at very high concen‐

tration, was found (Figure 8(d)).

When the ratio indigotin to indirubin in 17 sam‐

ples of different shades of blue, green and purple

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZ et al.

46 e‐conservation

is represented (Figure 8(e)), it is clearly shown

that two different types of indigo dyes were

present. Available literature refers in only two

occasions to an indirubin content of blue dye‐

stuff different from Indigofera or Isatis tinctoria.

Wouters and Rosario‐Chirinos [14] reported that

“in the early Peruvian samples, indirubin was of‐

ten more abundant than indigotin [...]” and con‐

cluded that “more studies will be needed to inter‐

pret the high indirubin amounts that were often

encountered [...]”. Equally, Cardon [33] reported,

about the dye composition of a plant from Asia,

Rum or Assam Indigo (Strobilanthes cusia): “Re‐

cently, the Japanese chemist Satoshi Ushida con‐

cluded that the rather high pH of Strobilanthes

juice may explain the production of high propor‐

tions of indirubin when dyeing with fresh leaves

at elevated temperatures”. About the dyeing and

colours obtained with this dye, Cardon reported

that “intensive blue‐black or dark blue colour was

obtained with this dye by repeated immersions in

a vat of osak indigo (Strobilanthes sp.)[…]”.

47e‐conservation

Colour Detected compounds Identified dyestuff(analyzed by)

Blue

indigotin, indirubin Indigo (Indigofera sp.)(LC‐DAD)

[4‐[[4‐Anilino‐1‐naphthyl][4‐(dimethylamino)phenyl]methylene]cyclohexa‐2,5‐dien‐

1‐ylidene]

Victoria blue B (Basic blue 26; C.I. 44045)(LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF)

iron (Fe), cyanide group (‐CN)1 Prussian blue2

unknown blue compound(λmax= 220 and > 600 nm)

Unknown blue dye(LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF)

Dark blue indirubin, indigotin Dark Indigo (Asian species ?)(LC‐DAD)

Red

carminic acid, dcII, dcVII Cochineal, probably American cochineal(Dactylopius coccus Costa) (LC‐DAD)

brasilin, Type C component Brazilwood, probablyCaesalpinia sappan L.) (LC‐DAD)

carthamin Safflower (Carthamos tinctorius L.)(LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF)

fuchsine, magenta II, new fuchsine Basic Fuchsine (Basic violet 14; C.I. 42510)(LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF)

unknown red compounds(λmax.= 279, 368, 482 nm)

Unknown red dye(LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF)

Yellow

curcumins I,II and III Curcuma (Curcuma longa L.)(LC‐DAD)

berberin, palmatin Asian berberies (Berberis sp. – Mahoniasp. – Phellodendron amurense) (LC‐DAD)

rutin (quercetin‐3‐O‐glucoside),quercetin

Chinese yellow berries (Sophora japonica L.)(LC‐DAD and LC‐DAD‐QTOF)

2,4,6‐trinitrophenol Picric acid(LC‐DAD)

Brown gallic acid, ellagic acid, flavonoids(trace level)

Tannins(LC‐DAD)

Table II. Summary of the dyestuffs found in the seven Chinese pieces of garment studied.

1 The identification was carried out by XRF (detection of iron) and FTIR (detection of cyanide group)[29]

2 The pigment (Fe4 [Fe(CN)6]3) was applied as paint layer to create a decoration in the chi‐fu

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

Figure 8. (a) UV‐Vis spectrum of indigotin; (b) UV‐Vis spectrum of indirubin; (c) DAD chromatogram at 275 nm of blue samplefrom theatre costume where indigotin (majority) and indirubin were detected; (d) DAD chromatogram at 275 nm of dark bluesample from a pair of trousers where indirubin (majority) and indigotin were detected; (e) relation of indigotin and indirubinin blue, green and purple samples with different shades (n= 17).

Figure 9. (a) DAD chromatogram obtained for a red sample from theatre costume and UV‐Vis spectra of the three main red com‐ponents detected; (b) Extract compound MS chromatograms; (c), (d) and (e) the accurate mass and the mass‐mass spectrumfor the fuchsine, magenta II and new fuchsine, respectively. Note: the ion precursor is marked with a little red rhomb over it andhas been fragmented in the collision cell to give the corresponding mass‐mass spectra.

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZ et al.

48 e‐conservation

The only chromatographic pattern where we found

amounts of indirubin very close or higher than

indigotin has been in the analysis of a product

called Ching‐Dai (Indigo Naturalis) or in Chinese

qing dai [34‐36]. Indigo naturalis is a dark blue

power used to treat several health problems in

Chinese and Taiwanese medicine and it is prepared

from leaves of plants such as Baphicacavthus cusia,

Polygonum tinctorium, Isatis indigotica, Indigofera

tinctoria and/or Strobilanthes cusia. Thus, we think

that the dark blue colour in the samples from the

Chinese garments was obtained from a dye pre‐

pared from such Asian species which, due to the

dyeing method employed or to the composition

of some of the plant used, contains a high amount

of indirubin. Moreover, a blue pigment used like

a paint layer in a decoration of the chi‐fu could

be identi‐fied as Prussian blue by FTIR and XRF

[30]. Two other blue dyes could not be identified

by LC‐DAD because they did not match any available

reference.

Regarding red samples, we found that they were

dyed with cochineal, brazilwood and possibly saf‐

flower, although the presence of the latter could

not be confirmed because a carthamin standard

was not available. Additionally, two red dyes could

not be identified.

Four different yellow dyes were found. Two of them

could be identified as curcuma and Asian berberis.

A third yellow containing rutin as a possible main

component, the principal component of Chinese

yellow berries (the Japanese pagoda tree, Sophora

japonica L.), but its identification was doubtful

because the UV‐Vis spectra of flavonoids are all

very similar. Furthermore, no corresponding refe‐

rence fibre was available (e.g. dyed with pagoda

tree), which would have allowed confirmation of

its specific retention time. The last yellow could

be identified as picric acid, one of the first semi‐

synthetic dyes based on matching its UV‐Vis spec‐

tra with data kindly provided by M. van Bommel.

Summarising, after the LC‐DAD analysis, dyes

such as tannins, indigo, cochineal, brazilwood,

curcuma, Asian berberis and picric acid could

be identified. The possible presence of safflower

and Chinese yellow berries could be detected and

four dyes, two blue and two red, remained un‐

identified.

In order to improve these results, samples con‐

taining doubtful and unidentified compounds

were subsequently analyzed using LC‐DAD‐QTOF.

These analyses allowed the confirmation of the

presence of carthamin and rutin via its accurate

mass and mass‐mass spectrum and consequently

the use of safflower and Asian berries dyes. The

use of safflower in the orange sample from a child

shoe explained the decolouration phenomena

observed due to the well‐known poor light fast‐

ness of this dye.

In the characterisation of one of the unknown

blue dyes, a mixture of blue components (accord‐

ing to their UV‐Vis spectra) was obtained. One of

the main compounds could now be identified as

the synthethic dye Victoria blue B, introduced in

1883 [37]. The identication was based on its UV‐

Vis spectrum, exact mass (m/z 470.2583; error

0.53 ppm), corresponding to the [M‐Cl]+ ion,

distinguishable from other Victoria Blue dyes [38]

and on its mass‐mass spectrum matching with its

chemical structure. However, the other blue dye

still remains unidentified because the entire

sample was used in the analysis on system I.

Equally, only one of the two unknown red dyes

could be identified. In this case, the analysis re‐

veals the presence of three main red components.

From the extracts MS chromatograms, three com‐

pounds were identified as fuchsine, magenta II

and new fuchsine, components of basic fuchsine

49e‐conservation

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

Piece Identified Dyes

Natural dyes:indigo, dark indigo, Asian berberis,

safflower and their mixtures

Natural dyes:indigo, Asian berberis, Chinese yellow berries,

brazilwood, tannins and their mixtures

Natural dyes:indigo, dark indigo, Chinese yellow berries,

tannins and their mixtures

Natural dyes:dark indigo

Natural dyes:indigo, dark indigo, Asian berberis, brazilwood, Chinese

yellow berries, their mixtures and mixed withSynthetic dyes:

picric acid and fuchsine; Prussian blue employed indecoration paint layer

Natural dyes:indigo, dark indigo, Asian berberis, brazilwood,

curcuma, cochineal their mixtures and mixed withSynthetic dyes:

picric acid, fuchsine and unknown red dye

Natural dyes:brazilwood, Asian berberis, curcuma,

safflower and their mixtures, not mixed withSynthetic dyes:

Fuchsine (sewing thread)Victoria blue B (typical Chinese bottom)

Dating

1700‐1900

1700‐1900

1700‐1900

1700‐1900

1856‐1900

1856‐1900?

1883‐1900?

Table III. Dyestuffs identified and dating for each piece studied.

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZ et al.

50 e‐conservation

dye, a synthetic dye which was introduced in 1856

[2]. All compounds were detected as [M+H]+ (m/z

302.1655, error ‐0.96 ppm; 316.1807, error 0.49

ppm and 330.165, error ‐0.02 ppm, respectively)

and were identified based on their accurate mass,

comparison with literature data [39], MS‐MS frag‐

mentation pattern according to their chemical

structure and UV‐Vis spectra (Figure 9).

Finally, Table III shows the dyestuffs identified

for each piece studied. These dyes were found

alone or mixed in different proportions to create

different shades, though colour degradation ef‐

fects also took place such as in the bands of the

chi‐fu.

Conclusions

Dyes identified in the pieces under study could be

clearly correlated to two important aspects: their

oriental origin and their date of manufacture,

because the pieces date from the transition peri‐

od between the exclusive use of natural dyes and

the widespread introduction of synthetic ones

during the late 19th century. Consequently, nat‐

ural dyes found, such as indigo, brazilwood, cur‐

cuma, Asian berberin yellow dye, Chinese yellow

berries and safflower, are characteristic for Asia

and the Middle East, but some early synthetic dyes

such as Prussian blue, picric acid, basic fuchsine

and Victoria Blue B were also detected. Knowing

the year of introduction of these synthetic dyes

helps to improve the initially wide range of uncer‐

tainty when dating the pieces, as shown in Table

III. Prussian blue was introduced in 1724‐1725,

picric acid in 1771, fuchsine in 1856 and Victoria

Blue B in 1883. Hence, for the shoes, belt, jacket

and pair of trousers, which were dyed employing

natural dyes only, the initial date range between

1700 and 1900 AD could not be narrowed. For the

chi‐fu and the theatre costume, natural dyes

were found mixed with some early synthetic dyes

(picric acid and fuchsine) and Prussian blue was

used to elaborate a paint layer decoration; in

particular the presence of fuchsine indicates a

fabrication date later than 1856. The case of nup‐

tial tunic is different because though synthetic

dyes were identified (fuchsine and Victoria blue

B), these were found in parts of the textile (inte‐

rior sewing thread and typical Chinese bottom,

respectively) which could be attributed to later

interventions dating from after 1856 AD for the

sewing thread and 1883 AD for the blue bottom.

Regarding the applied techniques, the LC‐DAD‐

QTOF system has demonstrated to be an excellent

tool for both, to confirm the presence of a com‐

pound and to provide a confident identification

of unknowns in a single analytical run without

the essential use of previous standard analysis

because this technique combines UV‐Vis data,

excellent mass accuracy and MS‐MS structural

information.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Spanish Ministry of Culture

and the Complutense University of Madrid for the

establishment of the agreement of collaboration,

in the frame of which the present study has been

developed. We would like to thank to the staff of

the Textiles Department of the IPCE for their col‐

laboration and valuable help and to the Museum

of Arts and Design in Madrid. We also would like

to say thank you to Maarten R. Van Bommel, Edith

Oberhumer and Maria Melo for always attending

our doubts and questions and for their valuable

input. Finally, we would like to thank Ana Roquero

for her important advice on dyed fibres belong‐

ing to the Reference Collection of IPCE and for her

collaboration and valuable help.

51e‐conservation

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

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de siete piezas de indumentaria oriental: trata‐

miento de conservación‐restauración y análisis

de mate‐riales constitutivos”, Publicaciones del

IPCE: Mono‐grafías, Investigación y Conservación

de obras de arte oriental del Museo de Artes Decor‐

ativas, Minis‐terio de Cultura, Madrid, 2010, pp.

43‐69, available at URL

[31] E. Sanz, A. Arteaga, M. A. García, M.A. Del

Egido and C. Cámara, “Identification of natural

dyes in historical Coptic textiles from the National

Archaeological Museum of Spain”, e‐conservation

magazine 15, 2010, pp. 32‐45, available at URL

[32] E. Sanz, A. Arteaga, M.A. García and C. Cá‐

mara, “Characterization of natural dyes from the

reference collection of American dyestuff of the

Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (IPCE)”, 28th

Meeting of Dyes in History and Archaeology

(DHA28), Poznan (Poland), 21‐24th October 2009

[33] D. Cardon, Natural Dyes: Sources, Tradition,

Technology and Science, Archetype, London, 2007

[34] Y.‐K. Lin, Y‐L. Leu, S.‐H. Yang, H.‐W. Chen,

C.‐T. Wang and J.‐H. Su Pang, “Anti‐psoriatic

effects of indigo naturalis on the proliferation

and differentiation of keratinocytes with indiru‐

bin as the active component”, Journal of Derma‐

tology Science 54, 2009, pp. 168‐174,

doi: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2009.02.007

[35] B. C. Liau T. T. Jong, M. R. Lee and S. S.

Chen, “LC‐APCI‐MS method for detection and

analysis of tryptanthrin, indigo, and indirubin in

Daqingye and Banlangen”, Journal of Pharma‐

ceutical and Biomedical Analysis 43(1), 2007, pp.

346‐351, doi: 10.1016/j.jpba.2006.06.029

[36] Yuan Shiun Chang, Yu Ling Ho, “Studies on

the Homonymic Chinese Crude Drug Species in

Taiwan. Evaluation of the Quality of Da‐Ching‐Yeh

and Ching‐Dai”, Analytical Sciences 17, 2011, pp.

a243‐a426, available at URL

[37] A. Bowes, S. Collins, S. Elliott, L.T. Harris, L.

Hazlett, E. Methé, M. Razak and P. Y. Subagiyo,

“Important Early Synthetic Dyes: Chemistry,

Constitution, Date, Properties”, M. W. Ballard

(ed.), Conservation Analytical Laboratory,

Smithsonian Institution, 1991, URL

[38] J. D. Brewer, K. A. Hagan and J. M. Egan,

“Forensic Analysis of Black Ballpoint Pen Inks

Using Capillary Electrophoresis”, Forensic Science

Communications 7(3), 2005, pp. 1‐10

[39] R. Köhling, “Colors of the world: fast separ‐

ation of dyes with Ascentis Express”, Reporter 38,

2009, pp. 3‐5, also available at URL [pdf]

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZ et al.

54 e‐conservation

ESTRELLA SANZ RODRÍGUEZConservation‐Scientist

Estrella Sanz Rodríguez (MSc, PhD) studied at the

Faculty of Chemistry in the Complutense University

of Madrid (UCM), graduating in 1996. She worked

for three years as an analytical scientist in the

Department of Analytical Chemistry, carrying out

research about the identification of organic and

inorganic materials in historical samples by high‐

performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)

coupled to ultraviolet detection, Raman spectros‐

copy and GC‐MS. From 2000 to 2003 she worked in

the Spectroscopy Research Assistance Centre of

the UCM. Subsequently she carried out her PhD

dedicated to the development of new methods for

arsenic species extraction from environmental

samples by HPLC and inductively coupled plasma

mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS). Presently she works

as UCM investigator in the Laboratories of the

Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (IPCE). Her

research interest include the development of

new extraction methods for natural dyes from

historical and archaeological textiles samples and

their analysis by liquid chromatography coupled

to array and mass detector (LC‐DAD‐MS).

ANGELA ARTEAGA RODRÍGUEZConservation‐Scientist

Angela Arteaga Rodríguez received her CINE‐5b

(1972) in Chemistry by the School of Industrial

Masters of Madrid. Since 1992 she develops her

professional work in the Area of Laboratories of

the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute (IPCE).

Her work consists in the analyses of natural dyes,

binding media from works of art by different tech‐

niques like FTIR, TLC and HPLC‐DAD. She has also

participated in several publications, congresses

and other professional meetings, both national

and international.

MARÍA ANTONIA GARCÍA RODRÍGUEZConservation‐Scientist

María Antonia García Rodríguez received her MSc

(1991) in Analytical Chemistry from the Complu‐

tense University of Madrid. From 1992 to 1997 she

developed her professional work in the Laboratory

of Doping Control in Madrid (The Sports Council,

CSD). In 1998 and 1999, she collaborated with the

Laboratory of Public Health of the Community of

Madrid. Between 2001 and 2005 she worked as

technical attendance in the study of instrumental

techniques applied to the Investigation and docu‐

mentation on artworks in restoration process in

the IPCE, where since 2006, she belongs to the

technical staff in the Area of Laboratories. Her

work consists in studies related to mural paintings

and archaeological material, as well as the analysis

of organic materials in other art objects.

CARMEN CÁMARAChemist

Carmen Cámara is a professor in Analytical Chem‐

istry at the Complutense University since 1992.

She is the leader of the Research Group of Trace

Determination and Speciation, belonging to the

Department of Analytical Chemistry. Her main

research interest is focused on the development

of new analytical methods for trace metal speci‐

ation, emergent contaminants, bioaccumulation

studies of trace metals and organic compounds in

zebra fish embryo, proteomics and other topics

related with a wide variety of samples. She has

coordinated more than six European and several

National projects. She has also participated in

more than 30 European projects. She has published

more than 250 papers in international journals,

was invited to held plenary lectures in the most

relevant international meetings related with her

activity and helds two patents.

CHARACTERIZATION OF DYES IN CHINESE GARMENTS

55e‐conservation

AN INNOVATIVESTRETCHER FOR

CANVAS PAINTINGS

By Osama M. El‐Feky

Introduction

In 2003, the author designed and executed a new

modern stretcher frame to control the rate of

canvas tension by using a screw system which

pushes a free wooden frame that the canvas is

fixed to [1] (Figure 1). In 2007 a new stretcher

frame made of transparent Plexiglass (10 mm)

was applied to the “Musicians” by Emile Bernard

(1895) oil on canvas that belongs to the Museum

of Fine Arts in Alexandria. This idea arose be‐

cause there is another painting on the back of the

painting's canvas support and using the Plexiglass

stretcher frame allows the observation of the rear

of the oil painting. Stainless steel nails were used

to fix the fabric edges on the Plexiglass stretcher

frame [2] (Figure 2).

Generally, stretcher frames have several disadvan‐

tages including many technical shortcomings; the

members of the old wedged stretchers are often

not chamfered, where the inner and the outer

edges are not rounded off. They are not grooved

on the miter and the grooves and/or tenons tend

to shrink these defects affect the appearance and

the state of preservation of the painting. If the

textile support is lying on members that have not

been chamfered, a pronounced wedged stretcher

crack can form. If the outer edges under the tex‐

tile support are not rounded off they endanger the

stretched edges. In post‐stretching, if the wedged

stretcher is not grooved on the miter, when the

frame is more powerfully enlarged, creases occur

in the corner area. If the tenon and the groove are

not precisely matched, or are altered as a result

of shrinkage, the members twist in the grooves

as the textile support is stretched, and creases

occur running from the corners into the painting

(Figure 3). Wrinkles may sometimes appear in the

canvas, and these may be caused by the fact that

the wedges driven into the corners of the stretchers

have come loose or fallen away altogether [3].

The wooden wedges of the traditional stretcher

frame can fall off by transporting the painting

from place to place leading to a loose canvas

support, so it will be necessary to re‐fix the keys

again and by continual repetition of this process,

the painting will be subjected to many creases

and deteriorations over time.

One of the most important deterioration factors of paintings on canvas is the inadequate fixation to a

stretcher frame. In addition, metallic nails are often used, causing corrosion and tears in canvas edges,

etc. Climatic changes will cause expansion or shrinkage, leading to a sagging or rippling canvas

resulting in the need for the painting to be re‐stretched. Paintings with a fragile stretcher need to be

stretched on a new one. The objective of this study aimed to invent a new stretcher frame avoiding the

drawbacks of the traditional ones, made of plexiglass which is a transparent material. This frame

consists of four sides with chamfered inner edges and mitered corners with slot and tenon joints that

can be expanded by using a control unit containing eight gears. The sides can be moved easily by

turning the gears, which aids the adjustment of the painting when it expands or contracts. Around the

new stretcher frame there are four plexiglass pieces which are covered by toothed rubber and eight

straps for fixing the oil painting to the frame1.

AN INNOVATIVE STRETCHER FOR CANVAS PAINTINGS

1 This invention was presented to the Egyptian Patent Of‐fice, a Performance‐Based Organization of the Governmentof the Egypt, and Academy of Scientific Research and Tech‐nology, Ministry of High Education and Scientific Researchunder the No. 192/2010 in 7‐2‐2010.

57e‐conservation

58 e‐conservation

occurs mainly in a direction tangential to the

growth rings. The shrinkage 5‐10% in the tangen‐

tial direction and 2‐6% in the radial direction [5],

resulting in many defects such as curving, warp‐

ing, twisting, cupping, splitting, and cracking;

these factors affect not only the supporting

structure but also the appearance and stability

of the oil painting itself.

The wood used in stretcher frames emit a low, but

still detectable, amount of vapors such as carbon

dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone,

chlorohydroxide and ammonia gas, depending on

either exogenic factors such as temperature, and

relative humidity or endogenic factor as wood

species, binder level, binder type, and production

conditions, etc. [6], and produces number of

OSAMA EL‐FEKY

Figure 1. A modern stretcher frame was designed and executedto control the rate of painting stretch by using screw system.

Figure 2. Applying a transparent stretcher frame on a doubleface oil painting.

Using a hammer on the wooden wedges of the

traditional stretcher frame is not an accurate

process to control the rate of the stretching of a

painting because it leads to many drawbacks on

the painting's layers such as cracking and/or

paint loss in cleavage parts, especially in the

case of paintings with weak adhesion. The old

stretcher frame cannot allow a satisfactory ad‐

justment to one side of a painting without the

adjustment of the others. On the other hand,

the wooden stretcher frame may be attacked by

fungi and insects that are capable of destroying

it wholly or in part (Figure 4), even spreading to

the oil painting support and to the upper layers.

Wood is a material that is highly susceptible to

atmospheric influences because of its hygro‐

scopic character, which leads to shrinkage and

swelling due to humidity fluctuation [4].

Shrinkage and swelling take place when mois‐

ture content decreases or increases, respect‐

ively; however the volume changes are never

equal in all directions. The dimensional change

59e‐conservation

volatile organic compounds, including aldehydes

and organic acids [7], such as formaldehyde,

acetic acid, formic acid, sulphuric acid, resulting

in corrosion, discoloration and deterioration

which are speeded up by high temperature and/

or high humidity levels [8, 9].

Sometimes drawings, signatures, or other impor‐

tant words are covered by the wooden stretcher

frame which hinders the accurate and precise

study by specialists or art students, which may

lead to the necessity to remove the stretcher

frame from the painting to allow a complete ob‐

servation and study of the back of the oil paint‐

ing then re‐fix it again to the stretcher frame,

this process leads to damaging the fragile oil

paintings. On the other hand, iron nails in the

wooden frame cause several harmful effects to

both the frame and the edges of the oil painting

such as corrosion, tears and cuts specially by re‐

peating the fixation process. Furthermore, using

the screw systems in the corners of the modern

stretcher frame requires thick sides resulting in

heavy weight addition. The plexiglass stretcher

frame made in 2007 was fixed in the corners, so

it is difficult to control the degree of stretching

of the oil painting due to the expansion or shrin‐

kage of the oil painting in hot or cold weathers.

The aim of this study is to invent a new stretcher

frame that avoids the drawbacks of traditional

frames. Its concern is to give a complete fixation

and precise adjustment in any part of the paint‐

ing when it expands or contracts, and to avoid

the harmful effects and strains on canvas which

result from the use of iron nails to fix the oil

painting on the frame. It aims to protect the oil

painting from various deterioration aspects such

as cuts, tears in canvas, cracking, separation and

falling off of painting layers. It strives to provide

a maximum degree of safety and protection to

the oil painting for the longest possible time.

Material and Laboratory Tests

The new stretcher frame is made of Plexiglass,

which are "poly acrylates, composed of poly‐

(methyl methacrylate)” [10]. It is a transparent

material and its chemical stability can be ensured

by the results of testing using a FT‐IR Nexus 670

infrared spectrometer, Nicolet (USA), before and

after artificial aging in a climatic chamber (60°C,

70% RH, 360 nm) for 400 hours constant. Also,

the transparency and yellowness resistance of

the material can be ensured by using Hunter lab

colorimeter Model D25 A‐2 before, during and

after the exposure to artificial aging.

Figure 3. Tears and cuts in the edges area of the painting dueto not chamfered wooden bars.

Figure 4. Fungal infection (left), and attack of insects (right) inthe wooden stretcher.

AN INNOVATIVE STRETCHER FOR CANVAS PAINTINGS

60 e‐conservation

Figure 5. The corners of the stretcher frame were mitered withslot and tenon joints to allow the free movement for sides ofthe frame.

Description of the new stretcher frame

The new stretcher frame (35x50 cm) was made at

the Academy of Scientific Research and Techno‐

logy, Ministry of High Education and Scientific

Research, Cairo, Egypt. It consists of four main

sides, each side has a 7 cm width, the internal

edges are chamfered by 5 mm to avoid direct

contact between the back of the painting and the

sides of the frame in the fixation process. The

corners were mitered with slot and tenon joints to

allow for free movement of the sides of the frame

(Figure 5). The internal surface of each side of the

frame has two teethed columns (4.5 cm) made of

Plexiglass, so that the complete frame contains

eight columns (Figure 6). A control unit was sup‐

plied to the frame, it consists of a small fixed

frame (18x33x0.5 cm), it contains eight gears

where each gear faces a teethed column, and

each gear can be turned using a constant haft

(Figure 7).

An innovative method was used to fix the oil

painting on to the stretcher frame without using

any metal nails. This method depends on prepar‐

ing 4 streaks of Plexiglass (2 cm height, 0.5 cm

thickness) surrounding the outer edges of the

frame in the same dimensions, so it will surround

all edges of the oil painting during the stretch‐

ing process. All outer edges of the frame and the

facing streaks are covered by a teething layer of

rubber to restrict and control the stretching pro‐

cess of the oil painting on the frame. A column

(12 cm length) was fixed in the middle of each

streak; its latter part was screwed (4 cm length)

into place. In the screwing part, two slices of

plexiglass were fixed by two nuts, the first slice

(Figure 8, element A) used to press on the inner

part of the frame side for preliminary fixation for

the edges of the oil painting on the frame. The

second slice (Figure 8, element B) was used to

press on the inner edge of the control unit to

Figure 6. Presence of two teethed columns in the internal sur‐face of each side of the frame, so the complete frame containeight column.

OSAMA EL‐FEKY

Figure 7. A control unit was supplied to the frame, it consists ofa small fixed frame, it contains eight gears where each gearfaces a teethed column, and each gear can be turned using aconstant haft.

61e‐conservation

Figure 10. Placing of the oil painting face down on a flat surfacefollowed by putting the new frame on the back of the painting.

avoid mobility of the edges of the frame after

fixation of the oil painting. Eight straps were

made of plexiglass with a rectangle shape without

long side (the long side has 9 cm length, while

the two short sides have 2 cm length). A screwed

gape was made in the short side of each band to

be suitable for the entry of the nail (Figure 9).

These straps were used to fix the edges of the oil

painting in the new frame, where the entry of the

Figure 8. The streak contains a column in the middle; the laterpart of the column was screwed. In the screwing part, two slicesof plexiglass were fixed by two nuts.

Figure 9. Schematic diagram of eight straps made of plexiglass,in a rectangle shape without long side. A screwed gape wasmade in the short side of each band to be suitable for theentry of the nail.

nails in the screwed gapes causes pressure on the

straps on the streaks surrounding the oil painting

in the frame resulting in tight stretching of the

oil painting securely on the frame.

Fixation process

Firstly the painting should be placed face down

on a flat surface. The new frame should be put in

the back of the oil painting where the inner chan‐

fered edges of the four sides facing the back of the

oil painting with upward haft of gears (Figure 10).

Then, the edges of the oil painting should be bent

on the outer edges of the frame (Figure 11). The

four streaks should next be fixed surrounding the

edges of the painting, then the teethed rubber

layer, which covers the outer edges of the frame

AN INNOVATIVE STRETCHER FOR CANVAS PAINTINGS

62 e‐conservation

Figure 11 (top). Bending of the edges of the oil painting on theouter edges of the frame.

Figure 12 (center). Putting the streaks surrounding theedges of the oil painting.

Figure 13 (bottom). Fixation of the first slice of the streak inthe inner edge of the frame.

OSAMA EL‐FEKY

and the facing streaks, should strictly stretch the

oil painting (Figure 12).

The first slice (A) of these streaks should be fixed

in the edges of the frame for preliminary fixation

of the paintings edges (Figure 13). Then the

eight straps should be fixed surrounding the

back edges of the frame. This process should be

carried out in all four edges of the frame, where

as each edge contains two fixed straps, one of

them is on the right and the other on the left

side (Figure 14).

The painting should be adjusted on to the new

frame and tightly stretched, using hafts of the

gears to move the teethed columns to push the

sides of the frame outwards (Figure 15). This

process is used to achieve complete control in

specific stretching on one side or more of the

frame without the need to remove the painting

from the frame.

In the final stage, the second slice (B) should be

fixed to the inner edge of the control unit to avoid

falling of the edges of the frame after fixation of

the painting; this process should be carried out

in all edges of the frame (Figures 16 and 17). The

conservator should take into consideration that

the slice (B) should be disentangled from the in‐

ner edges of the control unit before performing

the fixation of the oil painting on the frame using

the gears, and after finishing fixation process,

slice (B) should be fixed again.

63e‐conservation

Results and Discussion

Using this new frame, the oil painting can be

either vertically or horizontally stretched. This

frame is used to overcome the disadvantages of

the traditional frames and provides a maximum

degree of safety and protection of the painting

over the long term, giving a complete and accur‐

ate control in the stretching of the painting to

prevent its flaccidity in case of expansion or shrink‐

age with complete safety for the oil painting. The

control unit in the new stretcher frame is used for

the complete and precise adjustment in any part

in the oil painting as it expands or contracts, so

the oil painting can be accurately adjusted on

the frame to prevent tearing. It is considered as

a good method to enable specific adjustments,

without having to dismount the picture. This new

frame resists different biological infestations

either by insects or fungi, so that, it provides a

great protection for the oil painting over time. In

addition it has a greater resistance to several de‐

fects such as curving, warping, twisting, cupping,

splitting, and cracking. On the other hand, the

material of the new stretcher frame is chemically

stable as analyzed by FTIR (data not shown) and

therefore no interaction or defects are formed by

contact with the back of the oil painting, so that

no harmful effects occur. In addition its transpar‐

ency and resistance to the yellowness of aging

have been confirmed by extensive scientific tests.

Conclusions

Plexiglass is a transparent material allowing the

observation of drawings, signatures, or any other

important written words that may be found on

the back of the oil painting to be easily and ac‐

curately studied by specialists and art students

without the need to remove the oil painting from

its stretcher.

Figure 14. Fixation of the straps surrounding the back edges ofthe frame

Figure 15. Adjustment of the oil painting on the new frameusing hafts of the gears to move the teethed protrusions topush the sides of the frame to outside.

AN INNOVATIVE STRETCHER FOR CANVAS PAINTINGS

64 e‐conservation

Figure 16. Fixation of the second slice (B) to the inner edge ofthe control unit to avoid falling of the edges of the frame afterfixation of the oil painting.

OSAMA EL‐FEKY

The fixation process of the oil painting on the

new stretcher is a new method that does not de‐

pend on the use of metal nails, so no tears or

cuts take place at the fixation area in the paint‐

ing's canvas, even by repeating the fixation

method several times. It is an innovative meth‐

od to fix the oil painting onto the frame that

does not depend on the use of any metals thus

avoiding any corrosion in the edges or deterior‐

ation of different layer of the oil painting.

This new frame is a helpful method for paintings

conservators all over the world because it main‐

tains the stability of the painting allowing fixa‐

tion and re‐fixation of the canvas on the frame

without any tears or cuts in the edges of the

paintings. It also protects the oil painting from

cracking at the ground and paint layer levels

which leads to separation and loss of paint.

References

[1] O. M. El‐Feky, In the thought of restoration of

oil paintings, The Anglo‐Egyptian Bookshop,

Cairo, 2004, pp. 203‐205

[2] O. M. El‐Feky, “New Restoration Method for

a Doubled Oil Painting of Emile Bernard, 1895

A.D.”, The Fifth International Conference on

Science and Technology in Archaeology and Conser‐

vation, Granada ‐ Baeza, Spain, 7‐11 July 2007

[3] M. John and F. Mournce, The care of Antiques,

Arlington Book, London, 1980, pp. 89‐90

[4] A. J. Stamm, Wood and Cellulose Science,

Ronald Press, New York, 1964, p. 509

[5] J.C.F. Walker, B.G. Butterfield, T.A.G. Langrish,

J.M. Harris, and J.M. Uprichard, Primary Wood Pro‐

cessing, Chapman and Hall, London, 1993, p. 595Figure 17. The oil painting after fixation on the inventedstretcher frame.

65e‐conservation

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

e‐conservation magazine is open to submission

of articles on a wide range of relevant topics

for the cultural heritage sector.

Next deadlines for article submission are:

for Issue 22, November 2011 – submissions

due 30th September 2011

for Issue 23, February 2012 – submissions

due 15th December 2011

Nevertheless, you can always submit your

manuscript when it is ready. Between the

receival of the manuscript until the final

publication may pass up to 3 months

according with:

‐ the number of the manuscripts on hold,

submitted earlier by other authors

‐ the release date of the upcoming issue

‐ the pre‐allocated space in the magazine

to each section

Please check our publication guidelines

for more information.

[6] E. Roffael, “Volatile organic compounds and

formaldehyde in nature, wood and wood based

panels”, European Journal of Wood and Wood

Products 64(2), 2006, pp. 144‐149,

doi: 10.1007/s00107‐005‐0061‐0

[7] M. Ryhl‐Svendsen, “The PROPAINT Project:

Preliminary Results from Studying Gaseous Pollu‐

tants within Microclimate Frames”, Facing the

Challenges of Panel Paintings Conservation: Trends,

Treatments and Training, Getty Conservation

Institute, 2009

[8] A. Schieweck, and T. Salthammer, “Chemical

emissions and secondary reactions in museum

showcases”, 8th Indoor Air Quality 2008 Meeting,

Vienna, Austria, 17‐19 April 2008

[9] H. Phibbs, "Sealed frames for preservation",

Supplement to Picture Framing Magazine, 2002,

p. 14

[10] K. J. Saunders, Organic Polymer Chemistry,

Chapman and Hall, London, 1976, pp. 131‐133.

OSAMA M. EL‐FEKYConservator‐RestorerContact: [email protected]

Osama El‐Feky is a conservator‐restorer specia‐

lized in oil paintings. He has a Ba and MA in Con‐

servation from the Department of Conservation

and Restoration from the Faculty of Archaeology

of Cairo University, Egypt. In 2003 he obtained

his PhD from the same university with a thesis on

comparative evaluation of materials and methods

used for the conservation of oil paintings. He

currently works as Assistant Professor at the

Department of Conservation and Restoration of

Cairo University.

AN INNOVATIVE STRETCHER FOR CANVAS PAINTINGS

DETERIORATION ANDRATES OF WEATHERINGOF THE MONUMENTAL

ROCK INSCRIPTIONS ATWADI HAMMAMAT,

EGYPT

By Hesham Abbas Kmally

Introduction

In Wadi Hammamat there are outcrops for about

two kilometers of the Bekhen‐stone (conglomer‐

ates, silt stone and greywackes) that were quar‐

ried by the ancient Egyptians from the Predynas‐

tic times until the Roman period. These rocks,

called the Hammamat formation, are a thick se‐

quence of late Precambrian age distributed in the

Eastern Desert of Eygpt. The Wadi Hammamat

area can be found halfway of the road between

Qift and Qusier. This area contains hundreds of

hieroglyphic and hieratic rock inscriptions (Fig‐

ure 1), texts that represent royal and private

names varying in length from a single word to

several lines. Some inscriptions show a number

of cartouches of several kings of Egypt who sent

several military and quarrying expeditions to ex‐

tract greywacke rocks. These rocks were used to

make several statues, vessels, sarcophagi and

other ornamental structural elements from the

Predynastic time to the Roman period. Romans

built watchtowers on the tops of the mountains

to guard the road, wells and quarries (Figure 2).

The Hammamat quarry still contains remains of

ancient quarrymen's huts on the north side of

Qift–Qusier road, built with dark greywacke and

silt stone (Figure 3). The region also includes Bir

Hammamat, located in the Central Eastern Desert

of Egypt at Wadi Hammamat, which is a Roman

watering station serving traffic travelling along

the Qift‐Qusier road (Figure 4).

The Hammamat Group includes a thick sequence

of unmetamorphosed, clastic, coarse‐medium

and fine grained sediments of molasse facies

[1, 2].

The Hammamat sediments formed by alluvial fan

braided stream [3] and composed mainly of con‐

glomerate, greywacke, arkose, siltstone and

little of mudstone [4], are affected by a very low

grade regional metamorphism, characterised by

the presence of muscovite, sericite and chlorite

[5]. In time, the rock inscriptions were affected

by several types of deterioration, namely exfoli‐

ation, flakes, pits, joints, fissures, overloading,

thermal expansion, dissolution and salt efflores‐

cence. The Hammamat quarries have influence

by natural hazards, including torrential rains and

flash floods, salt efflorescence, mechanical and

chemical weathering. In most cases these hazards

DETERIORATION OF ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN EGYPT

e‐conservation 67

The famous ornamental stone known in antiquity as ''Bekhen‐stone'' comes from the Wadi Hammamat

area and it has been used for ornamental purposes since the ancient Egyptian times. The Wadi

Hammamat is one of the most ancient archaeological sites in Egypt because of the important rock

inscriptions scattered in the area, dating from before the earliest Egyptian dynasties to the late period.

These rock inscriptions suffered from serious damage due to natural weathering, pollution, salt

efflorescence and other physicochemical weathering. Field observations referred that hard cement

mortars were used for re‐pointing the greywacke rock inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat. The different rate

of expansion and contraction between the cement mortar and the greywacke rocks will eventually lead to

the separation of the two materials. This paper tries to clarify the main types of deterioration and

measure the chemical alteration and geological characteristics of the monumental greywacke rocks. In

order to achieve this, several studies were performed using a petrographic microscope, SEM micrographs,

X‐ray fluorescence and X‐ray diffraction analysis. The results have shown that the greywackes have a

moderate weathering and high content of ferromagnesian minerals.

and weathering agents work together influencing

or strengthening each other. Moisture and rains

are considered the primary factors of deteriora‐

tion of the rock inscriptions in the studied area.

The interaction between the stone and moisture

or rain results in the appearance of destructive

subsurface patterns such as flaking, crumbling

and cracking of the stone surface.

Granular disintegration represents the most im‐

portant weathering process as result from the

hydration and dehydration of salts and hydrolysis

processes. The intensive alteration of greywacke

rocks is very porous, individual mineral grains are

weakened and bonding between them is lost du‐

ring witting‐drying cycles of moisture and salt

crystallisation, ultimately causing flakes and gra‐

nular disintegration of the inscriptions [6, 7].

In arid or semi‐arid regions insolation weather‐

ing, the alternating warming and cooling of rock

surfaces through solar heating, is capable of

68 e‐conservation

HESHAM ABBAS KMALLY

Figure 1. Example of rock inscriptions from Wadi Hammamat.

Figure 2. Roman stone watchtowers on the top of hills.

e‐conservation 69

breaking up rock inscriptions through thermal

action [8]. Insolation weathering causes fracture

of the minerals on the rock surface while the

great temperature difference between the rock

layers causes exfoliation [9], making the grey‐

wacke rock to become weaker and more deform‐

able. The majority of the rock fragments and

different grains in the Hammamat sediments are

composed of several elements with different

chemical weathering. Thus, the major element

contents (wt%) in the sedimentary rocks were

used for calculating the rate of chemical altera‐

tion and paleo‐weathering conditions [10‐14].

Materials and methods

Fresh and weathered samples were collected from

the rock inscriptions at Wadi Hammamat. The

altered samples of siltstone and greywacke sur‐

faces were studied by polarizing microscopy (PL),

scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray fluo‐

rescence (XRF) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) to

determine their mineral composition, alteration

products, morphological and the degree of chemi‐

cal weathering. The major elements of greywacke

rocks were determined by XRF at the central labo‐

ratories of Egyptian Geological Survey, Cairo. Grey‐

wacke samples were coated with gold and examined

by SEM in the laboratories of the Scientific Mobark

City in Alexandria.

The present study tries to define the deterioration

features and describe the conservation state of

the rock inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat. A de‐

tailed petrographic study covering about 20 thin

sections was also performed.

Results and discussion

Field observation

Through a complete survey carried out by visual

observation and digital photography at Wadi

Hammamat quarries, we realised that there are

different deterioration processes with varying

degrees of weathering and decay features in the

studied area. According to Fassina, all sediment‐

ary, metamorphic and igneous rocks exposed to

a weathering agents deteriorate continually as a

result of physical and chemical processes [16].

Geologically, the Hammamat stone belong to the

sedimentary rocks and have several weakness

zones such as bedding, lamination, spherical and

oval nodules from soft material. These zones are

weaker than the rest of the rock, being more sus‐

Figure 3. Remains of workmen huts. Figure 4. Bir Hammamat, a Roman watering station fortravellers.

DETERIORATION OF ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN EGYPT

ceptible to weathering and erosion. Mechanically

or structurally, the Hammamat stone inscriptions

are predominantly dissected by many joint sets

of different attitudes and separated by weathering

processes as rectangular, angular and cuboidal

joint blocks (Figure 5A). The process of jointing

greatly increases the amount of surface space

exposed to weathering. These joints in the rock

allow the circulation of water and facilitate the

disintegration of minerals by hydrolysis processes,

leading to more mechanical and chemical weath‐

ering. Several small and large pieces of greywacke

are separated from the rock inscription walls due

to the combination of bedding planes and vertical

joints or inclined fractures (Figure 5B). It is also

worth mentioning that the fall down of greywacke

blocks lead to damage of many inscriptions.

Wadi Hammamat was subject to heavy rains in

1925, 1954, 1960, 1979, 1987, 1991 and 1996

with an average amount of rain fall of 40‐300x106

mm3 over the area [17]. Several flash floods were

also recorded in the Eastern Desert during the

last decades (1969, 1980, 1984, 1985 and 1994)

[18]. The rock slides in the area are attributed to

structural features and a period of very high rain‐

fall. The area has an arid desert climate, very high

moisture in the early morning, appearing as con‐

densation of water droplets on the surface of the

greywacke and siltstone. Rocks may deteriorated

and weaken by moisture and the action of water

may reduce the compressive strength of sandstone

up to 60% [19, 20]. The weathered rock inscrip‐

tion surfaces show a dark brown ferruginous layer

a few millimetres thick (Figure 5C) as a result of

chemical processes (water action) that change

ferrous iron to ferric iron in greywacke rocks.

Also, chemical weathering leads to dissolution of

calcite and clay nodules (Figure 5D) that create

many fractures and extension fissures connected

with the empty nodules (Figure 5E). The relative

humidity (RH average) of the Eastern Desert

ranges between 43% in summer to 48% in winter,

while the temperature ranges between 21°C and

41°C and increase from north to south [18]. The

temperature changes of the greywacke surface

are due to warming by the sun during the day

and cooling by night. The expansion and con‐

traction are important thermophysical factors

affecting their capacity to transform heat into

mechanical external energy (tensile and shear‐

ing stresses) leading to fractures and flakes in

greywacke rocks. Spalling and flaking were ob‐

served on the rock inscriptions as a result of the

thermophysical action (Figure 5F). Contour scal‐

ing phenomena was observed commonly in the

studied area as several lamellar parallel the grey‐

wacke surface as a result of thermophysical action

and salt crystallisation (Figure 5G).

Use of hard cement mortars for re‐pointinggreywacke rocks

This is probably the most common form of human‐

induced stone decay. Sedimentary rock walls need

to ‘breathe’ through porous to allow water to

easily evaporate from them. Most cement mortars

are harder, massive and less porous materials, so

any evaporation is concentrated in the face of

the rock rather than in the mortars filling joints,

fractures and cleavages of greywacke rocks. This

result in soluble salts crystallising in the surface

layers of the greywackes and not in the adjoining

mortar leading finally to flakes and crumbles of

the rock rather than the pointing (Figure 5H).

Interactions between the atmosphere and grey‐

wackes or adjoining mortars lead to the formation

of altered surface layers and producing damage

in the original greywackes structure. The appear‐

ance of salt efflorescence deposits over the rock

inscriptions is common as a result of the reaction

of Portland cement with the rock and/or atmo‐

sphere pollution (Figure 5I). The main cause of

damage of the cement mortars and their adjoining

70 e‐conservation

HESHAM ABBAS KMALLY

Figure 5 (left to right, up tp down). Deterioration aspects of Hammamat quarry.(A) Several joint sets produced cuboidal jointingblocks. (B) The vertical joints intersecting the bedding plane and inclined fractures lead to damage the rock inscriptions. (C) Thegreywacke rock surfaces appear as a dark brown ferruginous layer. (D) Dissolution of calcite and clay nodules leads to seriousloss of rock inscriptions. (E) Extension fissures developing on the rock inscriptions. (F) The mechanical spalling in the rock in‐scription. (G) Contour scaling on the greywacke surfaces as a result of high salt content near the surface. (H) Rock inscriptions flakesand crumbles as a result of repairs with Portland cement. (I) Whitish deposit over the surface due to the reaction of Portland ce‐ment with greywacke rock inscriptions.

e‐conservation 71

DETERIORATION OF ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN EGYPT

rock inscriptions is probably sulphating formation,

in particular of gypsum and anhydrite. Sulphate

damage is closely related to the location of the

cement repair, indicating that the sulphate source

is internal, obtained from a sulphur‐rich clinker

phase in the cement mortars. Sulphates are also

obtained from atmosphere pollution and soils.

The different rate of expansion and contraction

between the cement mortar and the greywackes

will eventually lead to the two materials separat‐

ing, a phenomenon referred to as ‘bossing’.

Petrography of the altered greywackes(Polarizing Microscope)

A – Greywackes

The examination of the greywacke samples thin

section under polarized light microscope showed

that the greywacke rock composed mainly of quartz,

plagioclase, epidote and lithic fragments of sand

size embedded in a finely crystalline pelitic ground‐

mass (Figure 6A). The pelitic groundmass consists

of chlorite, calcite, quartz, musco‐vite, sericite,

epidote and iron oxides. Lithic frag‐ments are

subangular to rounded, composed mainly of glassy

fragments and reworked siltstones. Quartz occurs

as subangular to subrounded grains and stained

by fine grained dust of ferric iron oxides as a

result of alteration. Some quartz crystals show

turbid colour, fractures and opening of microfrac‐

tures as a result of mechanical external energy

(tensile and shearing stresses) (Figure 6B).

Plagioclase grains dissected by microfaults and

partially altered to epidote and sericite (hydro‐

mica) as a result of mechanical and chemical

weathering (Figure 6C). Also, some of the weath‐

ered plagioclase grain is completely kaolinitized

due to chemical weathering. In some slices, plagio‐

clase lamellae are bent as a result of deformation in

greywacke rock. Sericite occurs as randomly small

flakes and scaly aggregates that are frequently

interlacing the quartz and plagioclase grains. The

scaly aggregates of sericite filling the fractures

in the quartz grains and replaced several plagio‐

clase grains as a result of chemical activity of

water and mechanical stress action, ultimately

causes disintegration of the greywacke rocks.

Calcite occurs as original mineral either as alte‐

ration product of feldspar minerals or as a result

of the chemical alteration by water. It appears as

irregular patches scattered in the interspaces

between the other constituents as a cement joint

between grains and sometimes occurs as nodules

scattered through the greywacke rocks. Epidote

occurs as original mineral or as alteration products

of feldspar minerals. Chlorite occurs as original

mineral in the groundmass that cemented the

greywacke rocks. Chlorite coats the quartz and

plagioclase grains and gives the green pigmenta‐

tion of greywacke rocks. Iron oxides are repre‐

sented mainly by irregular granules, dust and

films of hematite covering the other mineral

constituents in the greywacke rocks. The grey‐

wacke appears stained with a dark brown colour,

indicating the presence of iron oxides suggesting

extensive invasion of water and exposure to

oxidizing conditions for a long period of time.

B‐ Foliated greywackes

These rocks are fine grained, greenish grey in

colour and foliated. They are composed mainly of

subangular to subrounded quartz, plagioclase,

clastic grains together with lithic fragments of

sand size set in fine grained matrix of silty sand

size consisting of quartz, chlorite, calcite, musco‐

vite, epidote and iron oxides. The foliation is

raised by the parallel arrangement of quartz,

plagioclase, lithic fragments, chlorite and musco‐

vite. The weathered plagioclase grain is partially

kaolinitized and replacement by calcite patches

due to chemical weathering.

72 e‐conservation

HESHAM ABBAS KMALLY

Scanning Electron Microscopy

SEM micrographs of the deteriorate rock inscrip‐

tions show that the greywacke surface is rough,

porous, crumbling, and fractures have flakes,

scales and etch pits due to alteration and weath‐

ering processes (Figure 7A). Mechanical weath‐

ering effects take place in hot deserts such as

Wadi Hammamat. The absorbed sun heat causes

not only heating of the rock surface but also

external mechanical stress for linear and volume

expansion or contraction of the rock and its

minerals [21]. These stresses are causing many

fissures and flakes in greywacke as seen in SEM

micrographs (Figure 7B). Several rock fragments

weather and the surfaces can be seen rough, scaled

and flaked as a result of the thermal action. On

the other hand, the action of rain, moisture and

groundwater on the greywackes can cause a diffe‐

rent expansion and consequently contraction of

minerals upon drying. Between wet and dry zones

a shear force may set up and causes many fractures

both between and within mineral grains. The SEM

micrographs of grey‐wackes show many deep

fissures inside the internal structure and the

opening of the mineral grains boundaries as a

result of water action. Water weathering leads to

changes of the mechanical behaviour and strength

parameters of the rock. The rock strength para‐

meters were changed by the development of

crack fractures and microfractures due to water

absorption [22].

Pits are also present on the studied samples, with

diameters and depths ranging from macroscopic

to microscopic scales. Secondary minerals such as

chlorite, sericite, kaolinite and calcite typically

cemented the greywackes. With prolonged wet‐

ting and draying, these secondary minerals beco‐

me soft and fail readily, creating numerous pits.

For instance, the dissolution and leaching of

calcite by acidic water lead to the formation of

irregular pores which may be randomly distribu‐

ted. Moreover, the increase in number and size of

pits in the greywacke is due to the intermineral

space that results from transformed several pri‐

mary minerals into fine aggregates from secon‐

dary minerals have total volume less than the

total volume of the primary minerals (Figure 7G).

For instance, several feldspars are pitting as a

result of partially or completely altered to seri‐

cite (hydromica) and clay minerals, through the

Figure 6 (left to right). The examination of the greywacke samples thin section under cross polarised microscope.(A) grey‐wacke rock composed mainly of quartz, plagioclase and epidote embedded in pelitic groundmass. (B) Quartz crystals occurfractures and opening of microfractures. (C) Plagioclase grains dissected by microfaults and partially altered to epidote andsericite as a result of mechanical and chemical weathering.

e‐conservation 73

DETERIORATION OF ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN EGYPT

dissolution and leaching processes. Generally the

connected pores and microfracture within grey‐

wacke minerals act as channels through which

the soluble salts and the alteration products mi‐

grate and cause many deterioration features in

greywackes. These soluble salts entrapped in the

pores, between grains and cover the greywacke

surfaces, often causing microfractures, pores and

fractures. In some weathered greywacke close to

the position of the Portland cement mortars, the

SEM micrographs show that the gypsum salts pre‐

cipitate in pore spaces and coatings the calcite

grains as a result of chemical processes. Ollier

stated that a thermal and hydra‐tion stresses

developed when salts precipitated in the pores

and cracks between or in the grains of the rock

[6]. The salt crystals expand and exerts hydra‐

tion pressure against the pore and crack walls

when hydrates. Ultimately the thermal and hydra‐

tion processes lead to disintegration of the grey‐

wacke rock. Sulphates may be coming from the

atmosphere (pollution) or cement mortars.

Interactions between the greywackes and the

atmosphere or adjoining mortars leads to the

formation of gypsum salts, producing damage to

the original structural of greywacke rocks. SEM

micrographs of some greywacke samples adjoining

the cement mortars show crumple of the gypsum

crust and rolled the outer layer of greywacke,

ultimately separated from the rock inscriptions.

Commonly, the salt weathering leads to flaking

and scaling the stone surface [23, 24].

X–Ray Diffraction Analysis

Four samples of greywacke rock inscriptions were

collected and studied by X‐ray diffraction to de‐

termine their mineral composition. The results of

the analyses is shown in Table I. The altered grey‐

wacke sample from the Hammamat quarry wall

consists of quartz (SiO2), microcline (KALSi3O8),

plagioclase, calcite (CaCO3), halite (NaCl), anhyd‐

rite (CaSO4), iron oxide – nontronite (smectite

group), orthoclase, hematite (Fe2O3), magnetite

(Fe3O4), halloysite, kaolinite (hydrated aluminum

silicate), greenalite (Fe2+, Fe3+) 2‐3 SiO2O5(OH)4,

chloritoid, magnesio chloritoid and forsterite

(Mg2SiO4).

The clay minerals shown in Table I are represented

mainly by nontronite (smectite group) kaolinite

Figure 7 (left to right). The SEM micrographs of external deteriorated greywacke surfaces (rock inscriptions).(A) The weathered greywacke surfaces are porous and fractures have flakes and scales. (B) Many fissures and flakes of rockbreak away from the greywacke surfaces (C) Kaolinite grains and several secondary minerals contain many residual poresbetween them.

HESHAM ABBAS KMALLY

74 e‐conservation

and halloysite, commonly dispersed as a result of

chemical alteration of feldspar minerals and ferro‐

magnesian minerals. The clay minerals normally

occur as alteration products, filling the fractures,

microfractures and cleavages. The change of the

moisture content of clay minerals can cause signi‐

ficant problems related to the high swelling pres‐

sures such as the opening up of microfractures and

fractures and lead to rock falls. The crystallisation

of soluble salts in pores and cracks between or in

the grains of rock is one of the major causes of

greywackes decay in nature [25, 26]. Halite and

gypsum accumulation occurs on the faces of the

Hammamat stone inscriptions due to the influence

of meteoric water, conden‐sation, groundwater

and Portland cement. XRD analyses have shown

the predominance of gyp‐sum in their crystalline

phases (gypsum and anhydrite). The accumulation

of gypsum and halite salts behind the rock inscrip‐

tion surfaces lead to a detachment of the stone

material in the form of granular disintegration,

contour scaling and flaking.

X‐Ray Fluorescence Analysis

Three samples from the altered greywacke rock

inscriptions were collected and analysed by XRF

to determine their elements. The results of this

analysis are listed in Table II.

There are some differences between the chemical

composition of greywacke rocks in amounts of

SiO2, TiO2, MnO, K2O, Fe2O3, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, CaO

and Na2O. These differences may be due to the

alteration and deterioration processes. The high

amount of Na2O in greywacke samples is attributed

to the greater amount of Na‐rich plagioclase and

alkali feldspar. The greywacke samples have a

high content of iron oxides due to the mineral

alteration and high content of MgO due to the

high amount of phyllosilicate minerals such as

chlorite, mica and clay minerals. Moreover, the

CaO content is higher in greywacke samples, which

can attributed to the greater amount of Ca‐rich

plagioclase, epidote and carbonate minerals.

Sample Material Type Chemical composition

1

Greywacke rockfrom Wadi

Hammamat

Quartz (51.65%), Microcline (3.2%), Calcite (5.89%), Halite(9.66%), Anhydrite (6.25%), Iron oxide (6.76%), Nontronite(smectite group, 5.58%), Ca‐plagioclase (anorthite, 1.14%),

Epidote (7.39%), and Chloritoid (Brittle mica, 2.48%)

2 Quartz (63.65%), orthoclase (14.51%), Hematite (3.63%),Anhydrite (13.56%), Epidote (4.65%)

3Quartz (62.35%), Microcline (6.01%), Calcite (8.11%),

Magnetite (8.3%), Hematite (11.97%)Chloritoid (3.25%)

4Quartz (53.65 %), Halloysite (4.9%), Kaolinite (hydrated aluminumsilicate) (4.56%), Gypsum (10.46 %), Hematite (4.33%), Greenalite(Fe2+, Fe3+) 2‐3 SiO2O5 (OH)4‐ (8.5%), Magnesio chloritoid (5.7%),

Forsterite (Mg2SiO4) (7.9%)

Table I. Results of X–ray diffraction analysis of greywacke rocks from Wadi Hammamat.

DETERIORATION OF ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN EGYPT

e‐conservation 75

Chemical Classification

Different diagrams were constructed to classify

the sedimentary rocks according to the chemical

analysis such those of Pettijohn et al. [27], Crook

[28], and Blatt et al. [29].The analysed samples

were plotted using Blatt’s Ternary diagram [29].

This diagram indicates that the plotted samples

fall in the greywacke field lying close to the Fe2O3

+ MgO field. This is again confirmed by plotting

the samples on the Log (Na2O/K2O) versus Log

(SiO2 /Al2O3) diagram, suggested by Pettijohn et

al. [27], where the studied samples mostly fall in

the greywacke field. Furthermore, the samples

were plotted on the Na2O ‐ K2O diagram by Crook

[28] where the all greywacke samples fall in the

quartz‐intermediate field. Combining the three

diagrams, the greywacke rock inscriptions can be

described as ferromagnesian rich and quartz‐

intermediate greywacke. The chemical classifica‐

tion diagrams also prove that the greywackes

have a high content of ferromagnesian minerals

such as chlorite, mica, chloritoid (brittle mica),

Magnesio chloritoid and forsterite (Mg2SiO4) as

detected by XRD. The petrographic study suggests

that the ground‐mass in greywacke consists essen‐

tially in ferro‐magnesian minerals and calcite. It

is know that the ferromagnesian minerals were

rapidly altered as a result of chemical processes

and converted into clay minerals.

Degree of Weathering

The degree of chemical weathering for greywacke

rocks can be quantified by applying the Chemical

Index of Alteration (CIA) [15]. The CIA was used

to quantify and to calculate the degree of rock

alteration and deterioration [10]. The CIA can be

obtained by using the following equation:

[Al2O3/ (Al2O3 + CaO* + Na2O + K2O)] × 100. If

the CIA value less than 50% it indicates that the

rock is unweathered. In case the CIA value ranges

between 50% and 75%, it indicates that the rock

have a moderate weathering While if the value if

more than 75% this indicate that the rocks suf‐

fered strong weathering. The CIA values of the

samples analysed were of 58, 69 and 73, indica‐

ting a moderate weathering. This index reflects

the chemical alteration of plagioclase, orthoclase,

microcline and mica to kaolinite. Generally, this

index is used for calculating the total chemical

weathering of greywackes in Wadi Hammamat.

Conclusions

The greywacke rock inscriptions have significantly

deteriorated in the last decades. Several types of

rock deterioration can be found, namely exfolia‐

tion, flakes, efflorescence, current detachment

of stone material and deformation. The site is

affected by a series of joints, faults, cracking,

Samples Element Contents (wt %)

SiO2 TiO2 Al2O3 Fe2O3 MnO MgO CaO Na2O K2O Total

1 65.08 0.58 13.25 6.05 0.06 2.51 9.65 2.03 0.75 99.96

64.22 0.70 13.90 6.60 0.15 5.10 4.65 2.62 0.98 98.92

66.69 0.82 14.50 2.95 0.10 2.12 6.17 4.70 1.19 99.24

2

3

Table I. Results of X–ray diffraction analysis of greywacke rocks from Wadi Hammamat.

HESHAM ABBAS KMALLY

76 e‐conservation

sliding movements, dislocation block and rock

falls. It is worth mentioning that the fall down of

the stone blocks leads to the damage of many

rock inscriptions carving on greywacke rocks.

Furthermore, two types of the failure might result

from thermal weathering (insolation weathering),

including exfoliation and disintegration of the

stone. In addition, water from rainwater, moisture

and groundwater assist in the weathering of

greywacke minerals, increasing the chemical

weathering and leading to the formation of clay

minerals. The petrographic analysis reveals that

all the greywacke rocks are mainly cementing by

calcite, iron oxides, sericite, chlorite and clay

minerals. The ferromagnesian (chlorite, chlori‐

toid, magnesio chloritoid and forsterite), iron

oxide, calcite and clay minerals were easily al‐

tered and removed by chemical weathering. With

increasing grade of the chemical weathering by

the dissolution of calcite and clay minerals the

amount of microfractures and voids increases in

the greywacke rocks and causing damage of the

rock inscriptions. The XRF analysis reveals that

the greywackes have a high content of Fe2O3 due

to the alteration processes and the high content

of MgO due to the high amount of ferromagnesian

minerals. Gypsum, anhydrite and halite were the

common salts developing in the greywacke rock

inscriptions. High gypsum content near the sur‐

face is a crucial factor for flaking, pitting and

contour scaling, when the areas with high load of

halite are characterised by a visibly darker weak

surface. Gypsum and anhydrite formation cause

damage of the Portland cement mortars and

their adjoining rock inscriptions. The reaction

between the cement mortar and the greywackes

will eventually lead to flake, crumble and deterio‐

rate greywacke rocks. The chemical classification

diagrams confirmed that the greywacke rock can

be described as ferromagnesian rich quartz‐inter‐

mediate and have a high content of ferromagne‐

sian minerals as detected from petrographic

studied, XRD and XRF analysis . These minerals

are easily altered and finally transformed into

clay minerals and cause intensive disintegration

of greywacke rock inscriptions. Moreover, the CIA

values of the analysed greywacke samples indica‐

ted a moderate to less strong weathering. Conse‐

quently, we believe that the temperature change,

moisture, rain, salts, and incorrect restoration

representing the very important factors lead to

the disintegration of greywacke rocks.

Geochemically, the greywacke deterioration can

be attributed to the dissolution of calcite, clay

and iron oxides. Feldspar and ferromagnesian

minerals by intensive alteration were easily remo‐

ved, altered into iron oxides and clay minerals

very rapidly and cause different deterioration

features in the greywacke rock inscriptions.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Dr. Mohamed Fathy,

geology in the laboratory of Egyptian Geological

Survey in Cairo for his helping during laboratory

work. This work has been supported by the High

Institute of Tourism and Restoration,

Alexandria‐Egypt.

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Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 31, 2006,

pp. 285‐291, doi: 10.1002/esp.1243

[13] S.L. Yang, F. Ding, Z.L. Ding., “Pleistocene

chemical weathering history of Asian arid and

semi‐arid regions recorded in loess deposits of

China and Tajikistan”, Geochimica et Cosmochi‐

mica Acta 70, 2006, pp. 1695‐1709,

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2005.12.012

[14] S. Ceryan, “New Chemical Weathering Indices

for Estimating the Mechanical Properties of Rocks:

A Case Study from the Kürtün Granodiorite, NE

Turkey”, Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 17, 2008,

pp. 187‐207

[15] D.E. Kirkwood, H.W. Nesbitt, “Formation and

evolution of soils from an acidified watershed:

Plastic Lake, Ontario, Canada”, Geochimica et

Cosmochimica Acta 55, 1991, pp. 1295–1308,

doi: 10.1016/0016‐7037(91)90308‐R

[16] V. Fassina, “Atmospheric pollutants respon‐

sible for stone decay. Wet and dry surface deposi‐

tion of air pollutants on stone and the formation

of black scabs”, in F. Zezza (ed.), Weathering and

Air pollution, First Course, Community of Mediter‐

ranean Universities, University School of Monu‐

ment Conservation, Mario Adda Editore, Bari,

1991, pp. 67–86

[17] M.B. Ismaiel, “Geoarchaeological Study on

Rock Art Sites, with Special Emphasis on Gebel‐

El Silsilah and Wadi Hammamat”, Qena 7(2),

Faculty of Arts‐ South Valley University, 1996,

pp. 7‐59

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[18] A.A. Abdel Monein, “Overview of the geomor‐

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[19] K.I. Meiklejohn, Aspects of the weathering of

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berg. Implications for the preservation of indige‐

nous rock art, PhD Thesis, University of Natal,

Pietermaritzburg, 1995, unpublished

[20] F.G. Bell, Engineering properties of soils and

rocks, Butterworths, London, 1983

[21] S.M. Soliman, Thermal weathering of sedimen‐

tary ancient monuments, Department of Geology,

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[22] P. A. Rebinder, L. A. Shreiner, K. F. Zhigach,

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method of facilitating the mechanical destruction

of rocks during drilling, Council for Scientific and

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[23] D.A. Robinson, and R.B.G. Williams, (eds),

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Sons, Chichester, 1994

[24] S. Hoerle, “A preliminary study of the weath‐

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tion”, South African Journal of Geology 108(2),

2005, pp. 297‐308, doi: 10.2113/108.2.297

[25] I.S. Evans, “Salt crystallisation and weath‐

ering: a review”, Revue de Geomorphologie Dyna‐

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[26] E.M. Winkler, and P.C. Singer, “Crystallisation

pressure of salts in stone and concrete”, Geological

Society of America Bulletin 83, 1972, pp. 3509‐3514

[27] F.J. Pettijohn, P.E. Potter, R. Siever, Sand

and Sandstone, Springer‐Verlag, New York, 1972

[28] K.A.W. Crook, “Lithogenesis and geotectonios:

the significance of compositional variations in

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[29] H. Blatt, G.V. Middleton, R.C. Murray, Origin

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[30] W.F. Hume, Geology of Egypt, Vol. 2, Part I.

The Metamorphic Rocks, Geological Survey of

Egypt, 1934

HESHAM ABBAS KMALLYConservation scientist

Contact: [email protected]

Hesham Kmally is a conservation scientist

specialised in conservation of rock inscriptions.

He obtained his Master degree in Geochemistry,

Petrography and Structural Studies of Rocks from

South Valley University, Egypt in 1999. He was

director of the Conservation Center at the Nubia

Museum in Alexandria, Egypt up to 2003, after

which he pursued a PhD in Archaeological Quar‐

rying and Conservation of Rock Inscriptions in

Aswan from the same university in 2005. He now

works at the Conservation Department of the

High Institute of Tourism, Hotel Management

and Restoration, Egypt.

DETERIORATION OF ROCK INSCRIPTIONS IN EGYPT

e‐conservation 79

educ

atio

nSUSTAINABILITY IN THE PRESERVATION

OF CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGHEDUCATION

Training in Wood Conservation andRestoration in Malta

ByNinette Sammut

Introduction

The type of objects that need to be safeguarded

range from organic to inorganic, from natural to

man‐made and from a single material to compos‐

ite materials. Furthermore, the object materials

could have been sourced within the country or

imported.

Natural resources in Malta are limited to stone,

sun and sea. Wood was also one of its natural re‐

sources but through its extensive use through the

ages to make way primarily for agriculture and

grazing of animals [1] and then for structural,

technologic, storage and decorative purposes [2],

it became a treasured material. Cultural identity

is kneaded within such purposes and hence the

importance to preserve, conserve and restore

wood objects/structures. Yet, the lack of know‐

ledge about how to cherish this material, the per‐

formance of interventions within the considera‐

tion of conservation‐restoration ethics and the

desire to avoid maintenance in a fast moving world

are main issues that are leading to the destruction

of this local patrimony.

The need to preserve wood objects/structures

brought about the need to educate and train

people in conservation and restoration, hence

the design and implementation of this project co‐

funded by the European Union, European Social

Funding (ESF). The title of this project is ‘Wood

CPR: Education and Training in Wood Conservation

and Restoration’.

The courses in this project were developed to give

its participants the opportunity to realise that

one is living in a global society where everybody

is a citizen of the world, according to Whithead’s

philosophy of education [3]. This approach seeks

to link new and past knowledge acquired in diffe‐

rent ways and from different contexts to different

forms of knowledge within the established disci‐

plines. That is linking competences, skills and

knowledge acquired throughout one’s life while

bringing people together.

Wood as material heritage in Malta

Although wood is not considered one of Malta’s

natural resources, the existence of objects made

from this material indicates its extensive use

through time. The species of such wood is not

limited to one but to a variety of species which

could be found locally or imported. The uses of

the various types of wood depended on its

81e‐conservation

Sustainability in the preservation of cultural heritage is multi‐faceted. Education is one of the facets.

Courses in conservation, restoration and conservation science help reach this aim by bringing together

policy makers, enforcement units, educational institutions, the employment sector and people with

different backgrounds of knowledge, skills and competences. This is the outcome of a three year project

co‐funded by the European Union that Heritage Malta has conducted as the lead partner. Through this

project four accredited courses were designed within the European Qualifications Framework (EQF),

namely at EQF levels 1, 3, 6 and 7. The courses at EQF levels 1, 3 and 7 have been implemented

throughout the period of this project with the courses at EQF levels 1 and 3 to be established as part of

the prospectus of two of the national educational institutions, namely the Lifelong Learning Directorate

in the former case and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) which is mainly

responsible for vocational education and training in the latter.

TRAINING IN WOOD CONSERVATION IN MALTA

physical properties, morphology and anatomy.

Such characteristics determined whether the par‐

ticular type of wood would be used to construct or

embellish an object/structure, to manufacture a

piece of fine or utilitarian furniture, to seal or

support a building structure, and as a means of

transport.

The concept of reuse was more practised in the

past. This can be observed through scientific in‐

vestigations of panel paintings which have shown

evidence of over‐painted surfaces, and through

research in notarial documents, specifically those

related to dowry or wills, which refer to pieces

of furniture inherited from one generation to

another. Past craftsmen utilised wood as beams

to support limestone slabs in ceiling structures

and to be able to span large areas.

Other uses in buildings include apertures such as

window frames and balconies (gallarija in Maltese)

which became more elaborate during the Baroque

period [4] complete with shutters to redirect or

block natural light, and solid wood doors with lock

systems to divide spaces and safeguard what is

behind them. Such apertures characterise street‐

scapes in Malta’s capital city, Valletta, which is

considered a world heritage site by UNESCO, and

in Birgu, one of the three cities characterising

the waterfront of the Grand Harbour (Figure 1).

Extensive use of wood has also always made for

the internal decoration of churches.

Other uses of wood include its utilisation to pro‐

duce tools used in quarrying and wood working

as well as machinery such as windmills and wax

candle factories. Wood was also used for the

manufacture of traditional fishing and passenger

boats ‐ an integral part of Malta’s heritage.

As in other countries, there are hazards in Malta

that threaten the survival of this material result‐

ing from natural and/or anthropogenic factors.

Such factors include mishandling, lack of know‐

ledge or maintenance, unnecessary or wrong

interventions, exposure to the surrounding envi‐

ronment and biological infestations, vandalism,

fires and floods. The combination of the nature of

artefacts, the relative scarcity of such material on

the island, and the hazards to which it is exposed,

led to the necessity to create courses that address

such matters and disseminate knowledge, skills

and competences.

Sustainability through an integrated approachto conservation practice

Huge strides ahead with respect to sustainability

in wood preservation have been made at first

through the grant offered by Malta Environment

82 e‐conservation

Figure 1. Wooden balconies at Birgu as part of the streetscape.

NINETTE SAMMUT

Planning Authority (MEPA) [5] and through this

European Union funded project where the founda‐

tions to sustain the preservation of wood objects/

structures were built upon training. This project

started during the first quarter of 2009 and last

until the end of 2011.

The importance of wood as material heritage in

Malta should be considered as an essential part

of the local heritage and also as part of the world

heritage. The importance to preserve wood

through education resulted from the fact that:

‐ grants given in a local scheme to restore wooden

balconies were offering the opportunity to skilled

craftsmen to diversify their dying business to the

field of conservation‐restoration without any

consideration being given to ethics related to

this specialised field because the skilled crafts‐

men were not trained according to international

ethics existing in conservation‐restoration;

‐ there has been a general increase in apprecia‐

tion of cultural heritage in the last decade, which

has led to an increase in demand for conservation‐

restoration;

‐ the amateur woodworker was increasingly at‐

tracted to the restoration practice by taking it up

as a hobby;

‐ there was lack of awareness on preservation of

material heritage irrespective of a high interest

in antiques;

‐ anyone going through vocational education

training could not specialise in wood conservation‐

restoration;

‐ training in conservation‐restoration of wood at

bachelor level was being taught as a small com‐

ponent in comparison to other materials;

‐ training of scientists supporting conservator‐

restorers did not have the necessary background

knowledge related to conservation science.

These considerations brought about the need for

such a project. The main aims were: (a) to increase

awareness in preservation of material heritage;

(b) to train people coming from different educa‐

tional backgrounds; (c) to give equal gender

opportunities; (d) to address skills mismatches;

and (e) to propose a strategy for future grant

schemes in relation to restoration of wooden bal‐

conies. This brought the need to design courses

at different EQF levels within the frameworks of

the Copenhagen and Bologna Processes, namely

the following courses:

‐ Preservation of Material Cultural Heritage at

EQF level 1;

‐ Wood and Furniture Heritage Skills at EQF level 3;

‐ Conservation‐Restoration of Wood at EQF level 6;

‐ Conservation Science applied to Wood at EQF

level 7;

The courses were designed from a “life‐long lear‐

ning” perspective where irrespective of age,

whether active or inactive and irrespective of one’s

level of education, the person wishing to engage

in such courses could progress accordingly. Such

an exercise brought together various other local

state entities: the Malta Qualifications Council

(MQC); the Institute of Building Construction &

Engineering within MCAST; the Employment &

Training Centre; the Malta Environment & Plan‐

ning Authority; the National Women’s Council

and the Federation of Women’s Council; and the

Commission for People with Disabilities (KNPD).

Partici‐pants who showed difficulty in providing

an accredited certificate to be able to follow the

courses at EQF level 3 and EQF level 7 were given

the opportunity to get it accredited to the right

EQF level through the Malta Qualifications Re‐

cognition Information Centre (MQRIC), which is

part of MQC.

Three out of the four designed courses were im‐

plemented. Ten editions of the same course with

a maximum of one hundred and fifty participants

were delivered in the case of the course at EQF

83e‐conservation

TRAINING IN WOOD CONSERVATION IN MALTA

level 1 in both Maltese and English languages.

The course at EQF level 3 was open for a maximum

of fifteen participants while the course at EQF

level 7 was open for a maximum of eight partici‐

pants. The language in this case was English. The

course at EQF level 6 was intended to run at a later

stage, which is after there are specialists trained

in wood conservation science at EQF level 7 to be

able to support EQF level 6 students in their

studies. The lecturers were all Maltese or foreign

qualified professionals. The ratio of theory versus

practical of each course varied according to the

needs within the course content. The assessment

methods of the courses in levels 1, 3 and 7 include

the preparation of assignments, reports, exami‐

nations and presentations to the public depend‐

ing on the course level. In all cases a certificate

is awarded. The same assessment methods are

proposed in the course at level 6 but in this case

a degree is awarded.

The EQF level 1 course treated basic conservation

skills. It addressed all materials, namely ceramics,

glass, metal, stone, wood, canvas, textile and

paper. Such materials can be found either singu‐

larly or assembled together composing objects.

The properties of each material were initially

tackled on their own and then in combination

with each other. The effect that such materials

can have on wood and vice versa was discussed

through practical exercises and on site visits to

museums. Through this course participants were

made aware of the vulnerability of such cultural

heritage objects. They were also taught how to

reduce this vulnerability from a preventive con‐

servation perspective. The pedagogic role of the

lecturer was primarily to provide opportunities

for participants to develop and demonstrate

skills which allow them to pursue a career as mu‐

seum attendants, housekeepers, cleaners, hand‐

lers, maintenance personnel, and antique dealers

within an ethical framework. The teaching was

also aimed at avoiding damage by “thinking be‐

fore acting” and knowing when one needs to

consult a professional in the field (Figure 2).

The EQF Level 3 course aimed towards a more

practical background and therefore prospective

students had to have sound knowledge of wood

and good hands skills in woodwork. These prospec‐

tive students included either those who have ac‐

quired a certificate at EQF level 2 by MCAST (the

maximum qualification which could be acquired

at the beginning of the project) or those who were

already practising wood restoration. In both cases,

the certificate at EQF Level 1 course was a pre‐

requisite. Throughout the EQF level 3 course the

participants have put into practice the conserva‐

tion‐restoration ethics acquired through the EQF

level 1 course under the vigilant eyes of the quali‐

fied conservator‐restorer. Documentation meth‐

ods and ethics were largely discussed as well as

the non‐existence of ‘recipes’ applied in conser‐

vation‐restoration practice was made very clear

to the participants especially during their prac‐

tical sessions (Figure 3). It was imperative to

pass clearly the message, especially to students

at this level, that evidence is lost with every

single restoration intervention that is taken.

84 e‐conservation

Figure 2. People attending level 1 course.

NINETTE SAMMUT

The participants were instructed on historical

manufacturing techniques. Towards the end of

their course they were capable to reproduce part

of a traditional wooden balcony (Figure 4). This

will allow them to become part of the list of

skilled carpenters recognised to undertake bal‐

cony restoration projects such as the one promo‐

ted by MEPA.

The course at EQF Level 6 was designed in the

framework of the current course content being

offered at bachelor’s level by the University of

Malta. This is a 4‐year degree which currently

trains conservator‐restorers in the following

areas: paintings, objects (ceramics, glass, metals,

and stone), textiles and paper. The first year is

considered a foundation year across all areas of

study and streaming together with hands‐on

practice which starts from the second year on‐

wards. The course designed in this project focuses

on wood. The area of study in wood conservation‐

restoration as part of the degree course was not

offered at this stage: professionals in conserva‐

tion science related to wood needed to be trained

beforehand to be able to support students in their

conservation projects. The study‐units covered

in the course content include the use of wood

throughout the ages, stylistic analysis, manufac‐

turing techniques, scientific analysis of wood,

past interventions/restoration and evaluation of

conservation treatments.

The EQF Level 7 course in conservation science

aimed to promote research and innovation in

conservation science education in relation to

conservation‐restoration of wood and wooden

structures and artworks. The aims of this course

were to strengthen the human resource capacity

85e‐conservation

Figure 3. Students undertaking restoration work on a 16th century sacristy.

TRAINING IN WOOD CONSERVATION IN MALTA

to aid in training of future conservator‐restorers

and create a common language to ease commu‐

nication between the persons trained through

this course and the conservator‐restorer. Lectur‐

ers from the Department of Agricultural and

Forest Economy, Engineering, Sciences and Tech‐

nologies of the University of Florence (DEISTAF)

delivered this 9‐week long certificate course.

Lectures were delivered 4 weeks in Florence and

5 weeks in Malta. The course content included

study‐units of applied physics and chemistry rela‐

ted to the morphology of wood at micro and macro

levels, the deterioration process influenced by

physical and chemical reactions, and practical

sessions in analytical techniques using different

instrumentation including sample preparation

within the ethical and legal framework related to

conservation‐restoration. This course brought

together a multi‐disciplinary team of profession‐

als specialised in their own field without having

much in common, yet finding common grounds

through the analysis of wood objects (Figure 5).

86 e‐conservation

Figure 4. Reproduction of part of the traditional balcony.

Conclusion

The appreciation of cultural heritage should be

communicated through an integrated education

approach in this global society. Sustainability in

the preservation of cultural heritage through

education should be encouraged. It is a way of

how tangible and intangible cultural heritage

can be safeguarded.

This European‐funded project presented various

challenges throughout the various stages of re‐

search, design and implementation of the

courses. The fact that the courses had to be de‐

signed around needs in conservation‐restoration

in the local context posed a further challenge

than just designing and implementing general

courses in preservation, conservation‐restoration

and conservation science. Yet this challenge is

what will make it sustainable in the long run:

offering new opportunities to all those already

involved in wood working by providing further

training and increasing awareness on the need

to preserve wood objects in their current envir‐

onment. It should be pointed out that in this

case two of the four courses, namely those at

EQF level 1 and 3, are already featuring in the

prospectus of two educational institutions for

the next academic programmes.

The course created at EQF level 1 will help a per‐

son, irrespective of his background, to appreciate

cultural heritage through the use of materials.

This will increase the interest and transform

such awareness to further training in the fields

of conservation‐restoration and conservation

science. Through this approach, other professions

and existing courses would be directed to sustain

directly the preservation of cultural heritage.

NINETTE SAMMUT

87e‐conservation

References

[1] P. J. Schembri, "Physical Geography and Eco‐

logy of the Maltese Islands: A Brief Overview",

Options Meditérranéennes 7, 1993, URL

[2] L. J. Saliba, "Education and Afforestation in

Malta", Options Méditerranéennes 9, 1971, URL

[3] A. N. Whitehead, The Aims of Education and

Other Essays, Free Press, New York, 1967

[4] G. Bonello, "Mysteries of the Maltese Gallar‐

ija in Treasures of Malta", Progress Press, Vol. IX

No. 2, Malta, 2003

[5] Traditional Maltese Wooden Balcony Restora‐

tion Grant Scheme, http://www.mepa.org.mt

[accessed on 31st July 2011]

Figure 5. Laboratory work by the participants on micro‐CT.

NINETTE SAMMUTConservation Manager

Contact: [email protected]

Ninette Sammut is the manager leading the edu‐

ca‐tion arm of Heritage Malta. Her qualifica‐

tions and experience as a conservator‐restorer

and her involvement in education in the past 10

years, including vocational and tertiary educa‐

tion and training on national and European

levels, led to her choice in this leading position

and as project leader of this EU‐funded project.

TRAINING IN WOOD CONSERVATION IN MALTA

e‐conservation magazine offers the possibility to publish bilingual articles in the html version. Articles inEnglish may also be published in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian, at authors request.

No. 21, September 2011

ISSN: 1646‐9283

Registration Number125248

Entidade Reguladorapara a Comunicação Social

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