Paper Conservation: Decisions & Compromises

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one. It required a lot of examination, deciphering original descriptions that were not free from mistake and occasionally very puzzling. All resulted in a very careful matching of the plants to the handwritten text or to the identifiable traces on the paper. A good photographic documentation is very important, which in these kinds of treatment may be crucial, especially if the conservator is consulting his work with other specialists and uses email as the fastest way to exchange the information. Good, extensive documentation also allows the evaluation of all stages of conservation treatment in terms of later botanist research. Some specimens were wrongly assigned by the author of the herbarium. This may be proven only by the pictures made before conservation. The interdisciplinary character of conservation may be very satisfying if you find a good specialist that you cooperate with. This kind of cooperation may also help to overcome technical problems which appeared in this case (issues concerning the remoteness from the owner and impossibility of frequent precise consultation). This artifact proved to be in need of extensive intervention. Attempts to evade plant matching would result in making the artifact almost a useless sample instead of a historical source for botanists. Of course, it would make it less attractive for the exhibition purposes, too. Herbaria are specific items and there is not much research on the influence of conservation treatment methods to plant material. It would be desirable to examine the mutual influence of different features of paper and plant materials and the effects of conservation on specimens 2 . The treatment was fascinating and yet provoked questions, such as the legal extent and unusal practice and the large influence of the conservator on treatment decisions. Acknowledgements I would like to thank professor Lukasz Luczaj for his support during puzzle matching of plant specimens. Notes 1 Consultation with prof. Piotr Köhler from the Botany Institute, Cracow 2 The literature on managing the herbaria covers mostly the problems of preservation and pest management, e.g. Herbarium Handbook by D. Bridson and L. Forman, 2010, Kew Publishing, or “The effects of freezing and freeze-drying on natural history specimens” by ML. Florian, Collection Forum, vol. 6, no. 2, 1990. There rather few articles concerning conservation methods. Author: Magdalena Grenda Warsaw Rising Museum, ul. Grzybowska 79 00-844 Warsaw Poland, grenda.magdalena.gmail.com ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013 96
<strong>Conservation</strong> of a Book of Hours from Mafra’s National Palace collection: Between Technique and Ethics Rita Araújo | Conceição Casanova | Maria João Melo | Ana Lemos | Vânia S. F. Muralha | Marcello Picollo Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, <strong>Conservation</strong>-Restauration Department, Institute of Medieval Studies, VICARTE, New University, Lisbon, Portugal IICT, Lisbon, Portugal Institute of Applied Physics “Nello Carrara”, National Research Council, Florence, Italy the interventions suffered throughout its existence. An interdisciplinary team studied the historic context of this prayer book, its techniques and material composition, its conservation condition, and decided the curative conservation approach (Araújo, 2012). In this article we intend to describe all the steps taken and explain the decision making, taking into account conservation ethics. Fig. 1: Manuscript of the cofre no. 24, dated ca. 1420 and ca. 1470, in use in Autun the Funeral Procession. Image © PNF Introduction One of the characteristics of the Books of ours produced in Europe in the 15th century is the richness of the materials used in the decoration of the devotional images, representing the social and economic power of its owner and transforming them into luxury objects. This was one reason why these books became “best-sellers”, carefully donated from generation to generation. The core point of this article is the presentation of the ethical approach for the conservation of a French Book of Hours dating from the early 15th century, now stored in the Library of the 18th century Mafra National Palace (Lisbon, Portugal), based on the study and comprehension of the techniques and materials used. In fact, for the full appreciation and understanding of the work involved in the construction of the Book of ours and the development of a conservation strategy, it is crucial to know which materials were used, determine their conservation status, and attest Identification A brief look at the Book of Hours, cofre no. 24 Figure 1: The original codex’s body dated from ca. 1420 and three leaves were added later, in the second half of the 15th century. This manuscript, in ‘Use of Autun’, measures 197 mm x 135 mm x 50 mm and consists of 181 parchment leaves, with 14 lines of text, written in Latin and French. Among those, there are 14 leaves with illuminations, on a text of three, four, or five lines. The Books of ours of Mafra Library has French origins and different characteristics, both in technique and building of colors. The manuscript of cofre no. 24 is, from a material point of view, the most luxurious and decorative in the collection. However, it is also the most deteriorated one. The bookbinding is a full calf brown leather, gold decorated on the spine with the inscription: Heures de Votes (Hours of Votes). The bookbinding was probably produced later in Portugal, since its features and decorative materials are typical of the late 18th / early 19th centuries. Our analysis aimed to identify the materials, the color production techniques and develop a palette, an element that may allow the characterization of a particular workshop or artist. The study was focused on two colors, pink and blue, that according to a study carried out earlier (Villela-Petit, 2007) were two pigments (Brazilwood lake and lapis lazuli), mainly used by several Pari- ICOM-CC Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting | Vienna 17 – 19 April 2013 97
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Paper Conservation: Decisions & Com
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Content Lieve Watteeuw Introduction
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Michael Wheeler | Nicholas Barnard
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New Trends in Preservation in the D
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and monitoring against adverse envi
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Steve Hobaica, Patrick Loughney, Ma
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The Albums of Duke Charles de Croÿ
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Fig. 4: turning the supporting pape
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Fig. 2: Close-up of some of the los
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manuscript paper, the binding would
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Figure 2 partial sewing: the blue d
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Books in Exhibitions: History and A
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Fig. 4 Museum in London and the pre
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Risk and Safety of Illuminated Manu
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Fig. 2 Atlas, the Crown papers are
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Acknowledgments The authors would l
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Verdigris I: Compromises in Conserv
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Verdigris 2: Wet Chemical Treatment
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Integrated Modelling: The Demograph
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Fig. 3: The consequence of 50 insta
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Characterisation of Historical Pape
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pling is required, tide-lines are c
Page 46 and 47: Study of Phytate Chelating Treatmen
Page 48 and 49: Evaluation of stochiometric effects
Page 50 and 51: Practice and Progress in the Conser
Page 52 and 53: Fig. 1 Fig. 2 plex picture and prov
Page 54 and 55: Fig. 2: Coloured paper strips place
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Page 58 and 59: inform decisions on conservation tr
Page 60 and 61: This paper summarizes what is known
Page 62 and 63: 2. Methods An interdisciplinary met
Page 64 and 65: Fig. 4: Dyed endpaper pasted at the
Page 66 and 67: Preservation of Architectural Drawi
Page 68 and 69: Notes 1 According Salvador Muñoz V
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Page 72 and 73: the curators in review of the treat
Page 74 and 75: cellulose powders with cellulose et
Page 76 and 77: Authors Xing Kung Liao Conservator
Page 78 and 79: Fig. 2: Our Railroad Workers and th
Page 80 and 81: The Restoration of Cartoons at the
Page 82 and 83: tation presumes that the works are
Page 84 and 85: To Remove or Retain? - Extensive In
Page 86 and 87: Fig. 4 repeated applications until
Page 88 and 89: The Migration of Hydroxy Propyl Cel
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Page 93 and 94: Ethical Considerations Concerning t
Page 95: emoved with damp cotton swab. Then
Page 99 and 100: Fig. 4: Pigments movement and conse
Page 101 and 102: Notes 1 Brazilwood lake, lapis lazu
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Page 105 and 106: The Microflora Inhabiting Leonardo
Page 107 and 108: Acknowledgments The authors would l
Page 109 and 110: Microorganisms in Books - First Res
Page 111 and 112: hyaline white mycelia on and in the
Page 113 and 114: Deconstructing the Reconstruction E
Page 115 and 116: Fig. 3: Poster after 2012 conservat
Page 117 and 118: Conservators’ Investigation of Ch
Page 119 and 120: had been used, may be false-positiv
Page 121 and 122: function will provide a holistic pi
Page 123 and 124: Fig. 2: Patriarchs of Chan Buddhism
Page 125 and 126: ing techniques, which build upon fu
Page 127 and 128: Applications of Image Processing So
Page 129 and 130: Fig. 3 Fig. 4 images in a single wi
Page 131 and 132: Analysing Deterioration Artifacts i
Page 133 and 134: Fig. 3 similarity maps. Similarity
Page 135 and 136: Strategy in the Case of a Wrecked P
Page 137 and 138: without preliminary consolidation.
Page 139 and 140: Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscop
Page 141 and 142: Fig. 3: 18 th century paper seal, i
Page 143 and 144: Fig. 3 Fig. 4 of responsibilities r
Page 145 and 146: Characterising the Origin of Carbon
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Fig. 3: Sampling depth for ATR spec
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Fig. 2: Filmoplast® tape attached
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Pluchart, F. 1971. Pop Art Et Cie.
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Fig. 3: The reverse of left screen
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porting the reverse of severe creas
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Paper Conservation: Decisions & Compromises

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