Analysis and conservation of modern modeling materials found in Auguste Rodin's sculptures

Prior to the exhibition Portrait-making, Rodin and his models (2009), the Rodin museum wanted to restore two busts of Hanako and Clemenceau. Interestingly, these two sculptures contain pieces of modern modeling materials (MMMs) invented at the end of the nineteenth century as an alternative to clay or waxes. The poor state of conservation of the two portraits made any handling and exhibition impossible. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is twofold: to contribute to technical art history and conservation. Elemental and chemical analyses were done on samples from 12 sculptures (SEM–EDX, FTIR, GC–MS, GC–FID, XRD, synchrotron-based µXRF, µXANES, and µFTIR) aimed at identifying the composition of MMMs used by Rodin on plaster sculptures and establishing hypotheses about the origins of their degradation. This thorough study of their composition and degradation was necessary to implement an appropriate restoration plan. The development of conservation protocols adapted to such materials is rarely documented. Different tests were performed on mock-ups (pH, solubility, adhesion, consolidation, and cleaning). In particular, a protocol based on laser cleaning was developed and successfully applied to remove superficial dust and crusts so that the sculptures regained their original aspect.     

Analysis and conservation of three Hispano-Moresque textiles dating from the first half of the twelfth century

Abstract

Three Hispano-Moresque woven textiles dating from the first half of the twelfth century were restored for an exhibition. The first two are from the reliquary of St Librada in Sigüenza cathedral and the third is from the tomb of St Bernard Calvó in Vich. The first piece depicts addorsed griffins, the second, eagles with extended wings and the third, facing sphinxes. Contained within circles, they belong to a class of textile known in mediaeval documents as pallia-rotata. The spaces between the circles are decorated with typically Islamic designs, and with representations of plants and animals. A similar material was used for all three pieces: silk for both warp and weft, with gold thread for certain decorative motifs. All three textiles were found in a fragmentary condition; they had been glued and sewn onto thin card. The fibres were in a fairly weak state and had lost much oftheir flexibility and resistance. Apart from the work of restoration, the dyestuffs and the metal thread were analyzed and the decorative motifs were reconstructed using scale drawings.     

18～19世纪中叶俄罗斯收藏出版我国著作物考略

本文详细考证了18世纪至19世纪中叶俄罗斯收藏出版中国著作物的情况,分析了该历史时期俄罗斯收藏出版中国著作物的特点,探讨了该时期俄罗斯收藏出版中国著作物与对华政治意图的关系,并建议加强对俄罗斯及其他国外民族古代典籍版本的购藏与出版.     

Online event-based conservation documentation: A case study from the IIC website

There is a wealth of conservation-related resources that are published online on institutional and personal websites. There is value in searching across these websites, but this is currently impossible because the published data do not conform to any universal standard. This paper begins with a review of the types of classifications employed for conservation content in several conservation websites. It continues with an analysis of these classifications and it identifies some of their limitations that are related to the lack of conceptual basis of the classification terms used. The paper then draws parallels with similar problems in other professional fields and investigates the technologies used to resolve them. Solutions developed in the fields of computer science and knowledge organization are then described. The paper continues with the survey of two important resources in cultural heritage: the ICOM-CIDOC-CRM and the Getty vocabularies and it explains how these resources can be combined in the field of conservation documentation to assist the implementation of a common publication framework across different resources. A case study for the proposed implementation is then presented based on recent work on the IIC website. The paper concludes with a summary of the benefits of the recommended approach. An appendix with a selection of classification terms with reasonable coverage for conservation content is included.     

Economic aspects of scientific journalism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

The proliferation of scientific journals, starting in the middle of the seventeenth century, marked the beginnings of a new epoch in the dissemination of scientific information. The new medium brought with it the influences of a long heritage going back to scribal cultures, which even before the invention of printing, had produced almanacs and newsletters in writing. The economics of periodical publications varied little from those associated with other kinds of printing in this period. They involved the relationship of fixed and variable costs and their effect on edition size in relationship to anticipated markets. Examples of these aspects of scientific publishing are examined in scientific journals published independently and under the auspices of scientific societies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.     

21世纪档案学研究的重点和主要内容

21世纪档案学研究的重点是应用档案学。其主要内容包括 :一是对新型载体档案的研究 ;二是对档案现代化管理的研究 ;三是对档案、图书和情报一体化的研究 ;四是对档案信息资源开发利用的研究 ;五是对档案保护技术的研究     

21世纪高校图书馆人力资源管理

结合高校图书馆未来发展的需要，分析了加强图书馆人力资源管理的重要性，并提出了具体的工作思路。     

A study of the effects of conservation treatment on the Fanshawe Archive

Abstract

Valence House Museum (Dagenham, England) has, since 1963, housed not only a large collection of Fanshawe family portraits but also a very rich family archive which comprises estate and private papers from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries of at least two branches of the family. Of national and international interest are the papers of Sir Richard Fanshawe (1608-66) relating to his three embassies to the Iberian peninsula in the 1660s. Three documents from this collection were taken for conservation and treated using both aqueous and non-aqueous methods of deacidification. Prior to treatment, the papers were characterized using the techniques of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA or XPS), thermogravimetry (TGA) and thermomechanical analysis (TMA and DLTMA). Measurements showed that the three papers were similar in composition and were basically cellulosic materials with varying trace levels of Fe and Cu impurities. All three documents contained iron gall ink; the ink of the Dublin letter had an additional feature in the form of small bright specks which were characterized as a form of mica. After conservation treatment the papers were examined using the above techniques in an attempt both to determine and to quantify any changes which had occurred during the treatment process. Scanning electron micrographs showed that pronounced changes had occurred in the surfaces of the treated papers. With XPS it was possible to measure the change in the surface composition of the papers which occurred on treatlp.ent. It was also found that the treatment reduced the thermal stability of the papers in all three cases.     

Preliminary study on the impact of relative humidity on the conservation of jades

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of relative humidity on jades by enclosing the samples under constant relative humidity (RH) of 32, 49, 61.5, and 81.7% at the same temperature of 40 ± 0.1°C for 160 days. The simulated samples were pure and dense tremolite jade and serpentine jade, impure tremolite jade and serpentine jade containing some calcite, and serpentinized calcite, which are all common materials of ancient jade found in archaeological excavations. All samples were characterized through particle-induced X-ray emission and a glossmeter. The degree of deterioration proved to be greater in impure materials than in pure ones. The best RH to conserve various kinds of materials differs: for pure tremolite and serpentine, all of the RH levels are equal; for impure tremolite with some calcite, 61.5 and 81.7% were superior; for impure serpentine with some calcite, the highest RH (81.7%) was best; and as to the serpentinized calcite, there is no clear conclusion as yet and further research is needed.     

Transparency and accountability in digital public services: Learning from the Brazilian cases

The transparency and accountability of systems and algorithms aims to protect the user against undesirable or harmful results and to ensure the application of laws appropriate to digital environments. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the transparency and accountability provided to citizens in three of the main digital public services (e-services) offered by the federal administration of Brazil (ComprasNet, Sisu and Naturalizar-se) locally recognized for their significant relevance and stage of development and use. Services were evaluated from eight perspectives: accessibility; awareness; access and repair; accountability; explanation; origin of data, privacy and fairness; auditing; validation, accuracy and testing. Adopting a qualitative approach through comparative case studies, this research contributes to information practices theory (construction of a model for assessing transparency and accountability in digital public services). The results obtained show the need to inform the user of possible bias and damage arising from these systems, which are not readily perceived; just as the need to clarify the benefits that arise from the collection of private data are not. This shows that computational models can be distorted as a result of biases contained in their input data, or algorithms. This paper contributes through an innovative combination of dimensions, as a tool to evaluate transparency and accountability of government services.     

Side by side: old and new standards in the conservation of modern art. A comparative study on 20 years of modern art conservation practice

Conservation of modern art has in the last 20 years developed from a singular case-by-case approach into a full and independent specialization in conservation with its own strategy, theory, and ethics. The methods applied today are both newly developed and partly a continuation of traditional conservation standards. New is the special focus on the artist and his intent, and on the defining of the various artistic concepts, as these elements and the artist as a stakeholder, play decisive roles in decision-making on optional treatment interventions. Challenging new materials (plastics, light, food, kinetic art, or re-used objects) require ongoing research to formulate specific instructions, and special designed guidelines for conservation, putting a new perspective on collections care. As contemporary art may be produced by the artist, by assistants or industry, and can be made of artists' materials, anything from the hardware store, re-used or reworked objects or intangible elements, the reassessing of definitions on authenticity and originality eventually lead to the reformulation of standard rules on retouching, reversibility and in particular reconstruction. Thus new conservation strategies have been designed for various types of contemporary art, where applicable built from old standards.     

Southern Baptists and the religious issue during the presidential campaigns of 1928 and 1960

Southern Baptist spokesmen raised the same objections to a Catholic President in both 1928 and 1960, but they varied in their support of those contentions, which—in turn —arose from historical Baptist positions.     

Nineteenth century chrome yellow and chrome deep from Winsor & NewtonTM

The Winsor & Newton^TM (W&N) nineteenth century archive database includes digitised images of hand-written instructions and workshop notes for the manufacture of their artists’ materials. For the first time, all 183 production records for yellow lead chromate pigments were studied and evaluated. They revealed that W&N produced essentially three pigment types: lemon/pale based on mixed crystals of lead chromate and lead sulphate [Pb(Cr,S)O₄]; middle on pure monoclinic lead chromate [PbCrO₄]; and deep that contains the latter admixed with basic lead chromate [Pb₂CrO₅]; accounting for 53, 22, and 21% of the production, respectively. Production records for primrose (4%) were also included since the formulation results in mixed crystals with a high percentage of lead sulphate, which, according to the literature, leaves it more prone to degradation. Each pigment type is characterised by only one or two main synthetic pathways; process variations reveal a systematic and thorough search for a high-quality durable product. A comparison of the chemical composition of pigment reconstructions with early W&N oil paint tubes showed that their records entitled ‘pale’ and ‘lemon’ correlated with the pigment in their tube labelled chrome yellow and, ‘middle’ and ‘deep’ with the label chrome deep. Lemon and middle pigment formulations were made into oil paints to assess their relative photo-stability. The degradation process was followed by colorimetry and was studied by synchrotron radiation-based techniques. Based on the X-ray absorption spectroscopy data, the possibility for creating a stability index for chrome yellows is discussed.     

集成搜索引擎与元搜索引擎比较研究

文章对集成搜索引擎与元搜索引擎的概念进行清晰地界定,对两者的功能特点异同进行了比较分析,并列举了一些较为实用的集成搜索引擎与元搜索引擎.