The aim of this thesis is to examine the nature of the changes that took place within paper conservation, a section of the practice/occupation of material conservation, in the United Kingdom during the period from 1975 to 2005. In the 1970s, conservation emerged as a distinct practice within the museum sector from two sources: semi-skilled cleaners and movers of art objects, and the traditional restorers of cultural objects. From then until the end of the century, it continued to grow and mature. The nature of this growth and the changes that took place within it will be modelled with the objective of enabling future changes within conservation to be evaluated. The evaluation of conservation in this manner will determine its definition as an industry. The changes will be assessed by highlighting their effect on one section of conservation practice, namely paper conservation. This practice concentrates on the conservation of cultural material created using paper, including such categories of artefacts as watercolours, fine art prints, drawings, ephemera, archival materials, books and all paper-based sculpture. During the period between 1970 and 2000, paper conservation developed from being a fledgling practice to becoming an accepted standard within the museum sector. In becoming so, it placed great emphasis on professionalism. This provided paper conservation with a template for change, a process through which it could develop and grow. Paper conservation embraced this process as a means of providing a set of standards to which it could adhere, but also as a means of garnering greater acceptability for its approach within the wider museum sector. Issues relating to the development of a profession and professionalism will be further explored as part of the literature review. Organisational change was also considered to have a relevance to the development of paper conservation, and this, too, will be explored within the literature review. Steps to professionalise conservation and subsequent changes in the wider museum sector were seen to have had the most impact on the structure of conservation. They may also have had relevance for the practice itself. Paper conservation was successful in having its occupational aims accepted throughout the museum sector, and this has further implications for those interested in researching by occupations of the professionalisation process. An understanding of the nature of this change, and how paper conservation reached its goal of acceptance for its values, is indispensable for those involved in decision-making within conservation today, and in the future. The thesis is based on an analysis of documents from the period directly relating to change within the field of conservation. It also includes interviews with personnel who were practising conservators, the providers of conservation education, and officers of the different agencies representing conservation. Research questions were formed from this analysis, and multiple case studies were undertaken to analyse these questions.

Many modern artists paint in oil or oil-modified alkyd paints over acrylic grounds. In some cases the oil based paints do not remain adhered to the ground. In a set of composite samples of oil or alkyd paints, over acrylic grounds, naturally aged for nine years, some of the samples delaminated. Samples were analyzed with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), Fourier transform infrared - attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pyrolysis gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (PY-GC/MS), laser desorption/ionization mass-spectrometry (LDI-MS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and other methods, in order to find what the delaminating ones have in common. In addition, two examples of severely delaminating paintings were examined, to confirm the results from the laboratory-prepared samples. Results indicate the main cause of delamination is metal soaps in the oil paint and particularly zinc soaps. There is some evidence that metal soaps were more concentrated at the interface between the layers and this disrupted the adhesion. The ground is a minor consideration as well, rougher grounds providing better adhesion than smooth ones. / Thesis (Master, Art Conservation) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-26 16:44:35.814

The adoption of plastics and rubber to artist jewellers’ repertoire of materials in the late 1960s marks a significant and permanent alteration to the artist jewellery discipline. Since this time the physical and conceptual possibilities of plastics have fuelled and enabled developments in this artistic field. Since the early 1970s museums and private collections have continually acquired artist jewellery created from plastic. Some of these artworks are now exhibiting change or deterioration. Discussion and debate regarding their preservation is a pressing need. To date, whilst there has been recent research into the deterioration of plastic materials found in cultural heritage, almost no published work or debate has addressed artist jewellery specifically. This research positions plastic artist jewellery within the expanding discipline of modern materials conservation and aims to raise awareness of preserving plastic jewellery artworks. The prevalent plastics in use for artist jewellery, their properties and importantly application, to create artistic intent, are identified. Current attitudes of custodians and artists towards preservation, which has a bearing on the past and future prospects of the artworks, are analysed. Despite not having articulated their opinion previously, many jewellery artists have considered the long term prospects of their work as part of their artistic practice. As change and deterioration of the artworks is inevitable the impact of change to jewellery artworks is considered. Understanding how material properties are applied to create intent, as identified, is essential to comprehend meaning and any alterations as a result of change. Finally, having deliberately drawn artists into the preservation debate the nature of their input is considered. Should jewellery artists intervene in their own work when treatment is required? The research is from a humanities rather than scientific perspective and is concerned with objects and their interpretation in the context of preservation. The artworks are the starting point and their context as jewellery objects is the primary concern. Oral testimony of artists is also crucial to draw the artists into the preservation process as stakeholders and because jewellery artists are hitherto unrecorded in this context. What is demonstrated throughout the thesis is that the wearable function of jewellery has a bearing on their perception and interpretation as objects.

For the American sculptor, David Smith (1906–1965), drawing was a language to replace words. It was the subconscious immediacy of drawing that allowed formal concepts to take shape during the laborious process of welding steel. In the 1950s, Smith’s sculptural output increased dramatically in both scale and quantity. At the same time, his drawings acquired a separate identity, largely independent of his sculpture, yet these drawings, and indeed much of Smith graphic process, have to date not been studied in depth from a technical perspective. Utilising the technical study as its mode of inquiry, this thesis investigates the complex tacit knowledge present in Smith’s work, particularly as it exists in the relationship between the practice of drawing and the practice of sculpture, and applies it to the understanding of his oeuvre. Unravelling this tacit or hidden knowledge reveals that Smith attached much significance to materials. More pertinently perhaps, this approach prompts a hypothesis that argues for a simultaneous and synergistic material relationship between sculptural and drawing in Smith’s practice. The elucidation of the tacit within Smith’s work when framed within recent understanding of the importance of tactile perception in experiencing works of art reveals that Smith may have used materials that both perceptually and physically extended drawing into three dimensions and further, that these materials often had resonance with materials used in his sculpture. Studying the technical aspects of Smith’s process inevitably provides a framework for discussion on durability, damage and authenticity in his work. Smith’s extensive investigation into materials - both industrial and artistic – is discussed as a function of his self-identity not as artist, but rather as industrial worker, with a pragmatic interest in the use of durable materials in his work, both graphic and sculptural. The fact that a significant number of Smith’s painted sculptures and drawings have aged poorly is therefore difficult to reconcile. It raises questions about the true durability of his media, why they have deteriorated and, more importantly, how an understanding of the tacit, and of technique and process might be crucial for decisions made for their conservation. In this context the deterioration of a substantial number of Smith’s iconic drawings from the 1950s is discussed in juxtaposition with the now notorious decision in the early 1970s to completely remove badly deteriorated paint from a number of his unfinished sculptures by the then Executors of Smith’s estate, ostensibly to preserve the integrity of his work. That alteration has occurred in both drawing and sculpture in Smith’s work is highly significant, given Smith’s lack of demarcation between the disciplines. It provides a base for discussion on the meaning of intent, damage and restoration in Smith’s work and suggests that even small changes in surface texture, gloss or colour might irrevocably alter our perception of it. The results of the investigation provide several important observations: Firstly, that there is a considerable tacit dimension to Smith’s graphic work not previously considered in studies of his practice and that in understanding this it becomes clear that Smith used drawing in a more complex and vital manner than previously considered. Secondly, that Smith’s drawings were informed to a great extent by both three-dimensionality and by the materials he chose, that tactility and notions concerning the haptic perception of objects might provide insight into Smith’s work, and that this can be applied equally to drawing as much as sculpture. Thirdly, that Smith’s ideological stance as an industrial worker profoundly affected his process and the materials choices he made, and finally, that change in Smith’s works whether the result of deterioration or deliberate intervention might profoundly alter perception and understanding of such nuanced work.

This research is concerned with the detection and removal of hazardous biocide residues from historic applications to herbarium collections. There are two main aims: • To develop a rapid, cost-effective and non-destructive screening method for identifying toxic residues on herbarium sheets; and • To establish the most suitable decontamination method for the removal of naphthalene from herbarium collections, maintaining the integrity of the specimen. The research outlines how the presence of fluorescent marks on specimen sheets throughout the herbarium, at Amgueddfa Cymru- National Museum Wales (AC-NMW), is indicative of mercury(II) chloride contamination. Compelling evidence is given to support the hypothesis that the observed fluorescence is due to the reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(I) during the oxidative degradation of cellulose, occurring as part of the natural ageing process. The rate of fluorescence development is shown to be increased by the presence of naphthalene, and is estimated to take at least 30 years to develop. From the results obtained, it is evident that a hand-held UV-A lamp can provide a rapid and effective method of identifying samples within a collection that are contaminated with mercury, thus providing a rapid and economical means to prioritise which collections require immediate re-mounting. Furthermore, this method will enforce the implementation of safe, standard procedures to protect personnel and visitors when handling the collections, plus enable the removal of a large amount of hazardous chemical from the herbarium environment. It is also demonstrated, through decontamination tests, that the air-drying of contaminated specimen sheets is a more efficient method of removing naphthalene, than either freeze-drying or oven-drying. It is also the most cost-effective, and the least damaging to the specimen. It is shown that the efficacy of the decontamination is dependent upon the paper type. Thin, unfinished, papers are more efficient at losing naphthalene than the heavier, finished and coated papers, as their porous structure allows the naphthalene to remain more mobile. These results provide important information about which specimen sheets are more likely to be successfully decontaminated by the air-drying procedure and can inform the selection and prioritisation process.

The research presented in this dissertation covers three separate topics of conservation as defined by the National Science Foundation: 1) Materials Stabilization, Strengthening, Monitoring, and Repair; 2. Understanding Material Degradation and Aging; and 3) Materials and Structural Characterization of Cultural Heritage Objects (the `technical study'). The first topic is addressed through a study to assess the consolidant tetraethoxysilane for the stabilization of alum treated wood. Falling under materials degradation studies is a study published in American Museum Novitates to understand how environmental conditions affect the aging of fossil resins from five different deposits. Two separate studies are included in technical study of cultural heritage objects which comprises the third research area of materials characterization. The first is a survey of red dyes used in Chinese paintings from the Ming Dynasty to the Early Republic (1364-1911). The second is a study of the pigments, dyes and binders used in Hawaiian barkcloth (kapa) from the 19th century.

Background: The bleaching of paper is an important and controversial treatment employed in the conservation of art. The use of a bleach may greatly enhance the quality of an image but at a cost of lost structural integrity. In order to fully consider the ramifications of bleaching a paper artifact, a historical study of early European paper and its manufacture was conducted. The structure of paper was also studied in order to understand the finer points of early European paper manufacture and to draw conclusions from the bleaching comparison. Results: A comparison of the commonly used ClO2 bleaching with a previously proposed chlorous acid treatment was conducted. The two different bleaching techniques were evaluated on their impact on the colour of artificially aged and unaged Whatman chromatography 1 paper. The results of the bleaching were analyzed with a colourimeter and it was determined that there was a significant change in colour as a result of the bleaching. The ClO2 and chlorous acid bleaching treatments did not produce results that were significantly different from one another, visually and statistically. The bleaching treatments were also tested with the viscometry of the paper in cadoxen and it was determined that ClO2 is a more degradative bleach than chlorous acid. The research also demonstrated that bleaching has a greater degradative impact on previously degraded samples. The quantitative results of the viscometry were accompanied by a qualitative look at the paper samples with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In the SEM images there were slight visible differences in the samples that could correlate to aging. Conclusions: Chlorous acid is a gentle effective bleaching technique that was as effective as ClO2 and less degrading to the paper samples. Bleaching has an increased impact on previously degraded samples, and conservators should be wary of this. Further research involving this bleaching technique is suggested. The use of an SEM in imaging damage to paper is a viable option but more work is needed with this technique to ensure conclusive results. / Thesis (Master, Art History) -- Queen's University, 2012-01-31 22:51:58.027

Thesis advisor: Gregory McMahon / Thesis advisor: Barbara Adams Hebard / A terracotta portrait bust of the Marquis de Lafayette with the signature “houdon an. 1790”, now broken, was given to Boston College by Edward S. Ryan in 1966. The two objectives of this study were: (1) To determine the methods used to create this bust and (2) whether or not it could have been made in the studio of Jean-Antoine Houdon. A materials analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) was performed on five representative samples from different regions of the bust. Three samples were unpolished and two were polished using an argon beam milling technique, completely preserving the heterogeneous samples. It was found that the bust was created by pressing wet clay into piece mold, the waxy surface is not original to the sculpture, and the pink layer is the result of a higher iron particle concentration. It is almost impossible to absolutely determine whether or not Houdon made the bust, due to uncertainties in provenance and the large number of busts made by, and copied from, Houdon. However, it is clear that the materials original to the sculpture correlate with the time Houdon lived and the methods he used. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Georgia Southern University, 2006. / "A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Fine Arts" ETD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57).

This thesis analyses a 12% sample of the 900 extant pairs of eighteenth-century women’s shoes in British museums and argues that shoes are a valuable but currently underused historical resource. The analysis is supported by both primary and secondary literature and contemporary images and much of the research is presented in a visual format such as images, diagrams and tables. The thesis revolves around the following questions: What can women’s shoes tell us about eighteenth-century culture? How can object based analysis of shoes enhance our current understanding of women’s footwear in the eighteenth century? How can we characterise materials, construction and manufacture of such shoes based on extant examples? What implications do these findings have for conservators and others responsible for the survival and management of the extant corpus? By recording the complexity of shoes as composite objects and examining how they are made; from what and how their components were processed and manufactured the thesis greatly increases the current available knowledge. It proposes a methodology for studying shoes and recording subsequent findings. The thesis also recognises the potential of shoes as historical sources. In addition it examines how we might seek to manage shoes as heritage assets in the future and acknowledges the significant role of the conservator in this. A holistic approach involving both curators and conservators in the decision making process relating to conservation and preservation is given. The appendices give full details of the sampled shoes and show the completed survey forms.