Conservation of Australian Aboriginal Bark Paintings

Abstract

This work combines our observation that the details of marble statues that have already been lost from the calcite surface are preserved in the gypsum layer, with our research on the mechanism of marble sulfation, to lead to a consolidation of the gypsum, transforming it back to calcium carbonate (calcite) using carbonate ions in solution. Our research shows the mechanism of the conversion of gypsum to calcite, the rate determining steps being the desorption and diffusion of CO^2?₃ We found that the reproduction of the surface detail and the improvement of the mechanical properties was very satisfactory.