Category: Specialty Sessions

Posts on talks that were presented as part of the specialty sessions at AIC’s Annual Meeting

Restoration project for ancient tiles from Teatro Colón at Argentine by Alicia Fernández Boan.

Historical considerations were of great importance for this restoration project and therefore the first part of the talk of Mrs. Alicia focused on them.

I found really interesting the account on the techniques that were behind the production of tiles. For this restoration work Mrs Fernández performed a very interesting research on XIXth century historical formulas for ceramic materials.

In a first stage of her research Mrs. Fernández studied original tiles which revealed to be composed of  56% quartz and 40% (mullite) porcelanite.

Mullite paper on original tiles was clear as it is a material that increases mechanical strength, thermal shock resistance and lows water absorption.

This research conducted the team to import stoke paste onTrent,UK. Original encaustic impression of tiles was substituted by a modern method of screen printing “enamel”, this was because of elevated cost, and long production time of the original techniques.

Coloration of tiles was produced with copper, cobalt and iron. Nevertheless this custom material is remarkable because of its physical properties while keeping aesthetical characteristics of the original tiles. At this point of the talk Mrs. Fernández distributed among the participants at her talk, some samples of this material. I highly appreciated this gesture, as it allowed us to have first hand information about material properties.

What astonished me the most was the performance of Mrs. Boan team work: in only a few months they were able to reproduce XIXth century techniques for ceramic production,  then they were able to mixing them with modern imprinting techniques to produce a custom material,  wich lead to a fast and great restoration job.

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting – Conservation works at the Templo Pintado de Pachacamac, Gianella Pacheco Neyra, Museo de Sitio de Pachacamac

This talk presented how the works of restoration and conservation in the Inca, 1000 years old Temple of Pachacamac were conducted. The importance of this temple relies in the fact that is the only temple with painted designs in its walls besides the fact that it was one out of the two oracles in Inca times.

The main guidelines for this project were 2: maximum research and minimum intervention.

Research stage focused on several aspects:

  • The record of the structure of the building
  • The recuperation of partially erased designs from the mural paintings, as well as a research of the painting instruments that were used for the elaboration of these murals.
  • The analysis and identification of most of the pigments
  • An stratigraphic analysis
  • The record of environmental conditions and
  • The evaluation of the materials previously used in conservation treatments

Regarding the interventions they were focused on the conservation of:

  • The walls that were cleaned, hydrated and consolidated.
  • The paintings
  • The plaster which was consolidated with cactus gel recovering ancient Inca techniques
  • The adobe blocks which were consolidated and repositioned to its original position
  • The installation of roofing and wind breakers that are made out of Bamboo. This material was carefully chosen because of its weight to harm the less possible the structure of the temple.

What I appreciated the most of the work of Miss Pacheco is the respect of original techniques employed by Incas, which are sustainable, and that up to now had proven to be effective, and unlike to promote microorganism colonization as one might think. Her work raise some interesting questions about the green pigment used on paintings,  and its identification is still to be made. I will definitely follow up the progress of these works at the Pachacamac Inca Temple with a lot of interest.

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting, Wooden Artifacts Session, May 10. “Ornamental Opulence: The French Régence Frame in the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Cynthia Moyer

It is not unusual to find extraordinary examples of the carver and gilder’s art surrounding important paintings in collections all over the world. And while the provenance, subject, and materials of the paintings have been considered by curators, art historians, and conservators, equal attention has not always accorded to the work of art surrounding the painting, and so I was delighted there were two papers considering picture frames in this session.

In this paper, Cynthia Moyer, the first designated picture frame conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, shared her investigation of a French Régence frame, dated approximately 1720, which frames Atalanta and Meleagar by Peter Paul Rubens,c. 1616. Both painting and frame had been in storage for over 40 years as a result of their poor condition. As the painting was conserved, Cynthia studied the frame from a technical point of view, stabilized its damaged ornament, and repaired and compensated losses.

She observed that the frame had originally had a landscape orientation rather than its present portrait orientation based on the nature and position of the carvings, and suggests that it may have been a royal commission based on the quality of the ornament. As would be typical of the guild system in which such a frame would have been made, the frame was unsigned and its construction is typical of the period. Cynthia described the stylistic characteristics of frames of the period to help place where the ornament is situated within. The frame’s sight edge had been modified to accommodate the painting and had an added build-up on the back which obscured any marks that might have been found there.

Radiographs were taken to understand how the carving was applied. Although the resulting image was difficult to read, they did confirm that the frame had been enlarged along the sides. Cross sections of the gilding layers were examined under the microscope and using scanning electron microscopy. Microscopy revealed a simple glue layer over the water gilding. No toning was evident in the sections examined. Hematite and carbon black were identified in the bole layers in SEM, and the gold leaf was found to contain less than 1% each of silver and copper.

After describing the conservation treatment undertaken on the frame, Cynthia went on to consider how this frame, which most likely related to architectural moldings, came to be associated with the Rubens. The circumstances of this French Régence frame stands in contrast to the one presented in the talk given by MaryJo Lelyveld earlier in the same session, which was commissioned for the painting it contains. Although curatorial files for the Rubens record an extensive history in and out of private hands, dealers, and auction houses, Cynthia could find no images of the painting in its frame nor any descriptions. There were many opportunities to reframe the painting over its lifetime, and it was not unusual for frames to be replaced and thrown away on the whim of a collector. It remains unclear where this frame came from and when or how it came to be associated with the Rubens.

Museum docents report that visitors are often curious about frames on paintings. A study of frames helps flesh out the story of the people who owned the paintings and how they lived. Important frames, their history and the manner in which they were constructed need to be published more often so that their context can be better understood as well as any underlying messages that may be communicated when a painting is reframed.

Creative Endeavors and Expressive Ideas: Emerging Conservators Engaging through Outreach and Public Scholarship – Emerging Conservators in the Blogosphere

ECPN interviews emerging conservators authoring personal and class blogs

Steven O’Banion, Winterthur / University of Delaware, Class of 2012

Tell us a little about yourself-your background, where you’re working now and what you do in your current position?

My undergraduate degree is in Biochemistry.  However, my love for art and museums lead me to apply my scientific background to a career in art conservation.  I am currently a third-year student in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation (WUDPAC).  I have particular interests in the conservation of modern/contemporary art and outdoor sculpture.  I began my year at the Tate and am now at the Museum of Modern Art.  I have been very fortunate to be able to treat works composed of a variety of materials, ranging from metal to wax, and bitumen to latex.

What form of outreach are you using? If it is an online tool, please specify which platform (Blogspot, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.). 3. Who would you say is your target audience? (I’ll answer these two questions together)

I have a blog titled “When Super Glue Won’t Do” that is hosted by BloggerTM.  This blog chronicles my experiences as a conservation student.  As my blog is linked to the Art Conservation Page at the University of Delaware’s site, much of the traffic comes from those interested in perusing a career in art conservation.  However, the blog has an international following, which is particularly strong in the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, Portugal, Germany, and Croatia.

I also give talks to the public.

I was very excited to have been invited to speak to students at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury about art conservation. In total, I gave six talks to over 350 students between year 9 and year 13 (which equates to 13 to 18 year-olds). In the British school system, students start to focus their studies earlier than students in the United States. As such, the purpose of my talks was to introduce the students to a possible career path that combines both art and science. With some of the more advanced classes, students pulled out their artwork (much of it involving mixed media) and we discussed how it may age. The students were engaging and asked some great questions.

I have prepared a talk titled “Plastics in Peril,” which focused on the importance of preventive care of plastics collections on plastics conservation.  I first presented the talk at the McNair Scholars Research Conference, which was held at the University of Delaware. The audience included undergraduates from across the country.  I also spoke at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at University of Delaware. The audience varied greatly in their knowledge of plastic, ranging from those with no in-depth knowledge of plastics to retired DuPont employees that invented many of the polymers mentioned in my presentation.

What were/are you trying to achieve using this form of outreach? Was it met or solved using this particular approach or tool?

My goal for “When Super Glue Won’t Do” is simply to share my experiences with the public.  I post about conferences, gallery openings, my projects, new products, etc.  A blog is a perfect vehicle to share information with those who have an interest in one’s content and wish to follow.

Is there anything you would do differently, or any recommendations you would make to other conservators who might want to use your approach / tool for themselves?

I always recommend that students and interns review their host institutions internet guidelines before blogging about anything related to their projects.  Also, don’t be afraid to have your supervisor follow your blog to review content.

Have your outreach endeavors produced any unexpected outcomes or benefits?

I find that the more I involve myself in public outreach, the more invitations I receive to participate in further outreach activities.

Check out Steve’s blog at:  http://www.whensupergluewontdo.com/

 

Heather Brown, Winterthur / University of Delaware, Class of 2014

Tell us a little about yourself-your background, where you’re working now and what you do in your current position?

My name is Heather Brown. I’m from Northern California, and I have a background in Art History. I’m really interested in modern and contemporary photographs and art on paper, things that I write about a lot on my blog. At the moment, I am a first year student in the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation, where I also organize a blog for the class of 2014.

What form of outreach are you using? If it is an online tool, please specify which platform (Blogspot, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.).

I have a personal blog called Repair the Tear on WordPress.

Who would you say is your target audience?

In the beginning, my goal was to share my experiences with other pre-program conservators, but I think my audience has grown a lot in the last two years to include more of the general public. I went from one viewer a day on average to about about forty a day now. I know that’s probably nowhere near someone like Richard McCoy, but I think people can find my posts when they want to learn about conservation-related topics, and that encourages me to keep going, even when I’m busy with school.

What were/are you trying to achieve using this form of outreach? Was it met or solved using this particular approach or tool?

I hope that I’m teaching a non-specialist audience a few things about conservation, and making them interested in what we do. WordPress shows me my stats for each day: the links visitors used, the terms they searched, which posts they read, and what links from my page they clicked on. Seeing those results makes me feel like I’m actually reaching out to people and teaching them something new.

Is there anything you would do differently, or any recommendations you would make to other conservators who might want to use your approach / tool for themselves?

WordPress is great, and has worked really well for me. It’s so intuitive that I think anyone can easily create a professional-looking product. Even more than design, the most important thing about producing a blog is content. As long as there is new content on a regular basis, people will retain their interest. And the more you post, the more you will come up in search engines, so growth is definitely exponential.

Have your outreach endeavors produced any unexpected outcomes or benefits?

Yes! I’ve met a lot of other bloggers, and have even been asked for referrals for conservation services. The most exciting outcome was an email from a contemporary artist, in response to a blog I wrote on one of her pieces. It’s a really long story, but she found my blog through a google search, and ended up inviting me to a gallery opening!

Check out Heather’s blog at:  http://repairthetear.wordpress.com/

 

Megan Salazar-Walsh, Buffalo State College, Class of 2014

Tell us a little about yourself-your background, where you’re working now and what you do in your current position?

I am currently a first year student (class of 2014) in graduate school for Art Conservation at Buffalo State College, and Co-Outreach Coordinator for ECPN.

What form of outreach are you using? If it is an online tool, please specify which platform (Blogspot, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.).

Some of my classmates and I created a blog on WordPress. We update it periodically with activities we are doing in and out of class.

Who would you say is your target audience?

The target audience is mostly prospective students, friends, family, and the public at large. It isn’t geared towards established conservators, and we don’t feature any of the conservation treatments we are working on, so none of the content is very technical.  Posts are generally short and light-hearted.

What were/are you trying to achieve using this form of outreach? Was it met or solved using this particular approach or tool?

The main goal was to promote our graduate program and give a better understanding of how art conservators are trained. I think we did this successfully by sharing our personal experiences as students and writing about the broad scope of skills we’ve been learning in school.  Because we are so busy in grad school, and writing a blog is about the lowest priority, the posts are generally sporadic; this is something we expected from the start and I don’t think it interferes much with the blog’s success.

Is there anything you would do differently, or any recommendations you would make to other conservators who might want to use your approach / tool for themselves?

Having the support of all relevant parties is very important.  In writing a joint blog such as ours, clearly defining the rules and expectations of all those involved is vital.  Also, this may seem obvious, but you should always ask for permission before publishing names or images of people and artwork.

I would recommend a WordPress blog over Blogspot. The number of variables may seem overwhelming at first, but the WordPress platform gives users a lot more control over what the blog looks like and how it functions.

Have your outreach endeavors produced any unexpected outcomes or benefits?

We haven’t received much feedback on the blog except from family and friends; it is a nice way to keep them updated. I’m not sure if very many people ever read our blog, but if nothing else it has been an incentive to actively document our first year of school.  It sort of functions as a joint diary for the class of 2014; I think it will be fun to revisit the entries in a few years.

Check out Buffalo State College class of 2014’s blog at:  http://buffaloartconservation.wordpress.com/

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting, Book and Paper Session, May 10, “The Populist Conservator: A Sticky Case Study”

Presented by Whitney Baker, Head, Conservation Services, University of Kansas Libraries

This talk was an excellent tie-in with the overall AIC theme of outreach & advocacy. Baker’s recent research into the history and preservation of bumper stickers challenged her views of the conservation profession and how we are perceived by the public; in addition to highlighting some of her research findings, Baker used this talk to challenge conservators to think more broadly about the work they do and the image they project and to encourage grassroots approaches to connecting with the public.

Baker embarked on this investigation after noticing a patron in the KU Library reading room looking at a collection of bumper stickers. Not finding anything in the conservation literature about bumper stickers, Baker took a 5 month sabbatical (many in the audience were envious of this!) to conduct research into their materials and production.  Though bumper stickers are not likely to find their way into a conservation lab for full treatment, they are important pieces of 20th century ephemera so Baker focused on proposing low-cost, practical storage options for these collections.

Baker surveyed over 2,000 bumper stickers from collections in Kansas, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Political bumper stickers are some of the most common found in collections and are useful because they’re easily datable. Baker was able to trace the origins of the bumper sticker back to Kansas; Forest P. Gill, a screen printer from Kansas City, printed the first bumper stickers onto canvas in the 1940s. Bumper stickers became an extremely popular form of advertising post-World War II. Experiments with war materials like vinyl, silicone, and Day-Glo inks made it possible to mass produce eye-catching, weather-resistant, (sometimes) easily removable stickers. An expanding highway system and increased leisure travel meant that these small “moving billboards” could be seen across the country.

Almost all bumper stickers are screen-printed. Early bumper stickers were printed on paper, but these were not weather-friendly and were difficult to remove cleanly. Vinyl was promoted as a body stock in the 1950s and caught on in the 1960s; it was much more durable and removeable than the paper stock and since the lifespan of a bumper sticker was really only intended to be 2-4 weeks, this removability became a selling point. The liners on the back of bumper stickers, intended to protect the adhesive until the sticker is used, are coated with silicone and often contain a wealth of information for researchers, including dates, location, manufacturing and patent information.

Preservation challenges posed by bumper stickers include off-gassing, discoloration, shrinkage, and adhesion to adjacent materials. Baker recommends that bumper stickers be stored individually in alkaline folders; for those that no longer have their liner attached or are especially sticky, interleaving with silicone release paper is a good option. Storing them in polyester film can be problematic; she noticed that some of the more recent stickers with polymer-based inks were blocked to the polyester film.

Baker encouraged her audience to take every opportunity for outreach. Though some in the profession warned her that she wouldn’t be taken seriously if she pursued her research into bumper stickers, the public was certainly interested in the topic and word about the project spread in a variety of outlets, including news articles and a YouTube video. She also has an article coming out in the most recent issue of Collections. [Full citation for the article, which will eventually be available online in the KU institutional repository: Baker, Whitney. 2011.  Soapbox for the automobile: Bumper sticker history, identification, and preservation.  Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 7(3): 251-270.]

Baker’s tips for successful outreach:

1. Know your collections and what people use. This project was sparked by observing patrons in the reading room.

2. Identify a need.

3. Control the message. In the blogosphere, it can be hard to control where the message ends up, but try to be consistent in what you’re saying.

4. Create soundbites.

5. Be accessible. Avoid jargon. Baker quoted her husband on this one: “Stop talking about off-gassing!”

6. Consider your audience.

Baker challenged us to take off our white lab coats for a while, use the fascinating parts of our profession (of which there are many!) to reach out to people, and become more populist conservators.

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting, May 10, Electronic Media Session, Geeks, Boffins, and Whizz Kids: the key role of the independent expert in time-based media conservation, Kate Jennings and Tina Weidner

Kate Jennings and Tina Weidner said this talk was inspired by outreach and advocacy  because it highlights how conservation connects with allied professions.  Neither the conservators nor the artists are experts in the media conserved so it is important to  seek out technology experts to work with.  In the time-based media department at the Tate there are 3 conservators and 1 technician, the department was established 16 years ago by Pip Laurenson who is now head of research and collections care.

The collection includes audio, film, slide, performance, software, and video. There are 470 works, 40 are accessioned each year.

It is important for conservators to work with people who get what we do, and can convey what they do to us.  While you should build up in-house knowledge, you must also continue to rely on outside experts as well. The talk then discussed a few of the experts they rely upon for assistance. These included:

– Robert Wheeler – bob{at}rlwconsultancy{dot}co{dot}uk
He offered assistance with projector “shoot out” to demonstrate different types of projectors to determine the best aesthetic as well as set up.

– Timothy McGill tim.mcgill{at}btinternet{dot}com
He is a videotape technology post-production expert in editing. After working with Sean Randolph he noticed that the artist work-flow was very unorthodox compared to the industry, but he really enjoyed this unpredictable production style in which works of art are created. He really understands what conservators do and the conservation needs for ephemeral materials.

– Jochen Trabandt info{at}activity-studios{dot}de
He is the operator of Analog Slide Lab Digital, he duplicates slides and analog graphics, he has a degree in electronic engineering, he was surprised in the substandard quality in which artworks were duplicated. He specializes in slide duplicating with mounts that have been discontinued.

– Adrian Fogarty fogartyadrian{at}hotmail{dot}com
He has been working on computers since 1974, simple programming and designing circuit boards. For the London Film Core, an artist collective, he designed a synthesizer.  He worked on the Duncan Gorden Turner Prize Installation 1995, Gustav Metzker installation, Martin Creed “Work no 112” 1995-2005 – 112 metronomes, for which he designed rewind mechanisms to keep the metronomes working for 70 hours straight.

Kate and Tina closed the presentation by saying that they are looking for experts in emerging technologies, especially internet based,  as well as considering a workshop on amps, volts, resistance, slide projector maintenance, or other potential topics.

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting – Book and Paper Session, May 10: “Treatment Considerations for the Haggadah Prayer Book: Evaluation of Two Antioxidants for Treatment of Copper Containing Inks and Colorants” by Season Tse, Maria Trojan-Bedynski, and Doris St. Jacques

Season Tse of CCI reported on collaborative research conducted with co-authors Maria Trojan-Bedynski and Doris St. Jacques. The research was designed to investigate treatment possibilities for an 18th-century Haggadah prayer book from the collections of Library and Archives Canada.

The Haggadah text is written on handmade, laid paper in iron gall ink with decoration and drawings in red and blue pigments and a green copper pigment. The green copper pigment was analyzed and identified as atacamite—not the verdigris they had expected. Over time, both the iron gall ink and the atacamite have contributed to significant deterioration of the paper.

The Haggadah was previously treated at the Library in 1987. At that time, breaks in the paper support were repaired with tissue and a carboxymethylcellulose adhesive. Initially, the treatment was to include treatment with magnesium bicarbonate applied on the suction table. Because feathering of pigments occurred during application, however, this treatment was halted, and the remaining leaves were instead deacidified with WeiT’o.

Although the 1987 treatment slowed ink corrosion, evidence of continued discoloration and breaks resulting from the iron gall ink and green copper pigment convinced conservators that the treatment was insufficient. Research was designed to determine if a non-aqueous antioxidant treatment could provide a safe and effective means to further slow deterioration of the Haggadah.

Test samples were created by applying iron gall ink, an iron-copper ink, atacamite, and verdigris to Whatman paper. All of the samples were pre-aged, then treated with WeiT’o and Bookkeeper alone and in combination with the antioxidants TBAB and EMIMBr.

Following treatment, half of the samples were heat-aged. All of the samples were then tested to identify any change in color, pH, and tensile strength.

Tse was not able to present all of the results in the allotted presentation time, but she reassured the audience that all details will be included in the paper submitted to the BPG Annual following the conference.

Tse first presented the results for the iron gall ink samples. The inks treated with WeiT’o appeared darker and more saturated, while the inks treated with Bookkeeper appeared lighter. Both WeiT’o and Bookkeeper raised the pH of the inks, but neither fully neutralized them. The pH did not fall after heat-aging. Deacidification did improve paper strength, but not enough to be considered sufficient for treatment. The antioxidant treatments did not contribute to an increase in paper strength.

The results of deacidification and antioxidant treatments differed for the atacamite samples. The two samples treated with a combination of an antioxidant and Bookkeeper (TBAB and then Bookkeeper, and EMIMBr and then Bookkeeper) showed the least color change of the pigment after heat-aging. Unlike the ink samples, for atacamite, deacidification did not improve paper strength, while the antioxidant treatment did improve paper strength.

For now, antioxidant treatment has not been undertaken for the Haggadah because Tse and her co-authors determined that neither of the tested antioxidants sufficiently benefitted the acidic iron gall ink. Tears and breaks in the manuscript were stabilized using a remoistenable Berlin tissue coated with gelatin and reactivated with a combination of ethanol and water.

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting,Wooden Artifacts Group Session, May 10. “Making the Case for Conservation” by Carey Howlett

Carey Howlett suggested that the title of last year’s meeting “Ethos, Logos, Pathos: Ethical Practice and Critical Thinking in Conservation” evoked the first two of Aristotle’s principles, ethos and logos, but the last of these, pathos, fit more comfortably in this year’s topic, Outreach and Advocacy. Pathos is rhetoric that targets emotion, and while emotional appeals may not fit easily with a professional presentation of what we do, conservators do need to create messages that appeal to the emotions of the general public. Drawing from case studies from his career, Carey indicated that too often we focus too strongly on environmental and condition issues in a manner that are emotionally neutral or negative and disconnected from context that conveys why others should care about saving cultural property.

Suggested solutions included sharing the excitement of discovery that comes as a result of examination and technical analysis in a summary in treatment reports provided to stakeholders. Carey illustrated this with his investigation of the painted surfaces on Fouquet’s 1:60 scale plaster model of the Virginia capitol, commissioned in 1787 by Thomas Jefferson.

“Cheap tricks” like repackaging presentation titles to reference popular culture can also provide a hook. The example he gave was retitling a talk he had given to conservators “Conserving the Worsham-Rockefeller Bedroom” as “Extreme Makeover: the Boudoir Edition” for a general audience. The point – to utilize irreverence as a means of engaging- was also brought out Rosa Lowinger’s presentation in the Communicating Conservation session in talking about her posts entitled “Ask the Art Nurse” on the blog C-monster.net and James Jankowski’s suggestion that we all learn to be more “bilingual” when talking about what we do in his presentation during the Articulating Value session.

Further tying this presentation to the one he offered last year, Carey urged us to publish more often, especially in arenas outside of our own, to make our efforts more widely known and understood.

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting, Book and Paper Session, May 9 “Study on the Influence of Gunpowder Residues Found in Paper-Based Materials”

Study on the Influence of Gunpowder Residues Found in Paper-Based Materials. Jen Jung Ku, Research Assistant and Paper Conservator, and Fei Wen Tsai, Associate Professor, Tainan National University of the Arts, Taiwan.

Gunpowder is used as a medium in modern physical and conceptual art. This presentation described experiments in artificial aging of gunpowder on paper in order to develop preservation standards for dealing with this material.

The presenters concluded that keeping gunpowder affixed to the artwork is a foremost problem for this form of art; therefore consolidating gunpowder without changing its physical texture is a subject for further exploration. Since gunpowder is a hazardous material, safe storage is another consideration.

Artists who have used gunpowder as a medium include Edward Ruscha, Matthew Stromberg, Aoife van Linden Tol,  Rosemare Fiore, Cai Guo-Qiang ,and Robert Weibel .

Here is a short video in which Edward Ruscha discusses gunpowder art:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRIeREGW51o

AIC’s 40th Annual Meeting, Book and Paper Session, May 9 “The Mysterious Voynich Manuscript:  Collaboration yields new insights”

The Mysterious “Voynich Manuscript”: Collaboration Yields New Insights.  Paula Zyats, Assistant Chief Conservator, Yale University Libraries; Gregory W.L. Hodgins, National Science Foundation—Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Laboratory, University of Arizona; Joseph G. Barabe, Senior Research Microscopist, Director of Scientific Imaging,  McCrone Associates, Inc.

The Voynich manuscript, also known as “The Book That Can’t Be Read”, was donated to Yale in 1969. It is a vellum manuscript, bound in limp vellum (the binding is probably not contemporary, according to Paula Zyats), and is of unknown origin. It is written in either code or an unknown language and contains fantastic and garish illustrations. There have been a number of theories as to who authored this work, ranging from Francis Bacon, Leonardo Da Vinci, to Voynich himself. 

This presentation described the materials analysis and conservation treatment that were undertaken, partly as a result of a proposal by an Austrian film crew in 2008, to discover more about the creation of this work. Curators, conservators, and scientists collaborated to sample portions of the manuscript in order to identify and date the inks, paints, and parchment used in the manuscript. The manuscript was in good condition and conservation treatment focused on stabilization. Some fold-outs had cracks and tears needing repair, and some corners were turned up.

Carbon dating at the National Science Foundation—Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) Laboratory at the University of Arizona revealed that the parchment used for the folios dated to the 1450’s. Analyses by McCrone Associates suggest the drawing and writing inks are from the same period. Numbers on the folios were from a later period, but it was determined there are no modern components in the volume.

The Beinecke Library has made digital images of the manuscript available at:

http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/dl_crosscollex/brbldl/oneITEM.asp?pid=2002046&iid=1006074&srchtype=

The documentary can be accessed at: http://documentarystorm.com/the-book-that-cant-be-read/

And, Renee Zandbergen has a comprehensive website describing this work: http://www.voynich.nu/

Ms. Zyats expressed her initial surprise that Yale agreed to this project, and there was some discussion about libraries and museums being willing to promote unique items in their collections. There is an understandable reluctance to market these materials since that may increase their handling and use. Rather than acting as a substitute, digital images often serve to increase curiosity about the real artifact. Nonetheless, it is exciting for conservators, scholars and the general public to learn more about the provenance and materials of such a unique item.