Bull's Head and Mermaid - The Bernstein Project - Österreichische ...
Bull's Head and Mermaid - The Bernstein Project - Österreichische ...
Bull's Head and Mermaid - The Bernstein Project - Österreichische ...
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<strong>The</strong> Koninklijke Bibliotheek, <strong>The</strong> Hague, the National Library<br />
of the Netherl<strong>and</strong>s, will make the software from the<br />
WILC available <strong>and</strong> provide facilities for keyboarding into<br />
the database.<br />
WIES is part of the European Union-funded project <strong>Bernstein</strong><br />
– <strong>The</strong> Memory of Paper: http://www.bernstein.oeaw.ac.at<br />
Literature: Gerard van Thienen, Astrid Enderman, Maria<br />
Dolores Diaz-Mir<strong>and</strong>a Macías: El papel y las filigranas de los<br />
incunables impresos en España, a través de los diversos<br />
ejemplaros conservados en las bibliotecas del mundo, in:<br />
Syntagma, Revista del Instituto de Historia del Libro y de la<br />
Lectura, 2, 2008, pp. 239–261.<br />
G.v.T. (G.v.T. / C.P.-K.)<br />
Database of Watermarks <strong>and</strong> Paper Used for<br />
Prints <strong>and</strong> Drawings Developed by the Dutch<br />
University Institute for Art History in Florence<br />
(NIKI)<br />
In September 2001, the Dutch University Institute for Art<br />
History in Florence (NIKI) launched an initiative to develop a<br />
database for storing <strong>and</strong> publishing the watermarks <strong>and</strong><br />
paper structures of paper used by artists for prints <strong>and</strong><br />
drawings in the period 1450–1800. Thanks to the data<br />
now included <strong>and</strong> the planned addition of new data in the<br />
years to come, the database is becoming a unique tool for<br />
the art historical <strong>and</strong> scientific analysis of prints <strong>and</strong> drawings.<br />
It will offer a centralized collection of large numbers of<br />
watermarks, will give detailed information on the different<br />
kinds of paper used by individual artists, <strong>and</strong> will make important<br />
data available for dating <strong>and</strong> authenticating these<br />
works of art. Watermark data from museums <strong>and</strong> collections<br />
around the world will be stored in the database <strong>and</strong><br />
made available for public use. <strong>The</strong> database will be particularly<br />
useful for art historians, art collectors, art dealers <strong>and</strong><br />
all others interested in this kind of material.<br />
<strong>The</strong> NIKI has photographed, X-rayed <strong>and</strong> collected in its<br />
database watermark images <strong>and</strong> data that have been generated<br />
in the framework of a number of research <strong>and</strong> exhibition<br />
projects on artists of the Italian Renaissance, including<br />
Fra Bartolommeo (1472–1518) <strong>and</strong> Michelangelo<br />
(1475–1564). Thanks to the generous cooperation of art<br />
historians <strong>and</strong> print collections in Europe <strong>and</strong> the United<br />
States, the NIKI database project has also been able to include<br />
watermarks of a number of other artists, such as Lucas<br />
van Leyden (1494–1533) <strong>and</strong> Rembr<strong>and</strong>t (1609–1669).<br />
Currently, nearly 2,400 X-ray images of watermarks found<br />
in the paper of Rembr<strong>and</strong>t’s etchings have been incorporated<br />
into the database.<br />
Moreover, the NIKI is participating in a number of research<br />
projects in which watermarks play an important role.<br />
Together with the University of Leiden <strong>and</strong> the Dresdner<br />
Kupferstich-Kabinett, it is undertaking a study of the paper<br />
<strong>and</strong> watermarks of the early Dutch <strong>and</strong> Flemish drawings<br />
from between 1450 <strong>and</strong> 1600 owned by these two institutions.<br />
In the near future, the watermarks of the Dürer prints<br />
held by the Hessisches L<strong>and</strong>esmuseum Darmstadt will be<br />
retrieved <strong>and</strong> also included in the database.<br />
Earlier research has shown that much of the paper that<br />
was used for early prints <strong>and</strong> drawings does not have a watermark<br />
at all, or contains watermarks that are only partially<br />
visible. This makes it necessary to retrieve not only watermarks,<br />
but as far as possible also to record the entire paper<br />
structure of each sheet.<br />
<strong>The</strong> NIKI database is interlinked with those of the other<br />
partners in the <strong>Bernstein</strong> project through the same classification<br />
of watermark types <strong>and</strong> motifs, as well as by other<br />
paper parameters such as chain line distance, watermark<br />
measurements, etc.<br />
As the artistic <strong>and</strong> geographic focus of the NIKI watermark<br />
database is not only Germany, Italy <strong>and</strong> the Netherl<strong>and</strong>s,<br />
but extends to the whole art-on-paper production in<br />
Europe in the period between 1450 <strong>and</strong> 1800, new project<br />
partners willing to cooperate with retrieving, furnishing<br />
<strong>and</strong>/or adding new paper <strong>and</strong> watermark data to the database<br />
are welcomed.<br />
NIKI retrieves watermarks <strong>and</strong> paper structure with a soft<br />
X-ray device <strong>and</strong> with image subtraction technology. As<br />
both are mobile, it is able to offer its services to retrieve watermark<br />
<strong>and</strong> paper images in museums or any other public<br />
or private owner of prints or drawings. <strong>The</strong> retrieved images<br />
will be included in the database <strong>and</strong> the owner of the<br />
work will receive a set of images in digital form.<br />
Corpus Chartarum Italicarum (CCI)<br />
G.D. / B.W.M (B.W.M. / C.P.-K.)<br />
Research has been carried out at the Istituto centrale per il<br />
restauro e la conservazione del patrimonio archivistico e librario<br />
on the approximately 5,000 watermarked sheets that<br />
compose the Corpus Chartarum Italicarum with the goal of<br />
identifying dimensional <strong>and</strong> typological characteristics, <strong>and</strong><br />
of measuring useful parameters that might provide useful<br />
information on the quality of sheets <strong>and</strong> the methods used<br />
to manufacture them. <strong>The</strong> research project – launched in<br />
2006 – was divided into three distinct phases:<br />
<strong>The</strong> first activity involved the thorough dusting of all<br />
sheets composing the Corpus, which were generally found<br />
to be in a good state of preservation. Dust removal was effected<br />
using a professional-grade vacuum cleaner suitable<br />
for performing conservation work. Next, the sheets were removed<br />
from their old folders <strong>and</strong> these were replaced with<br />
folders made from an archival quality material (lining card<br />
made from pure cellulose fibre of neutral pH). All data,<br />
both printed <strong>and</strong> h<strong>and</strong>written, were transferred from the<br />
old folders to the new ones.<br />
In the second phase, instrumental readings were taken<br />
relating to thickness, permeability, surface texture (i.e.<br />
roughness/smoothness), <strong>and</strong> whiteness levels.<br />
<strong>The</strong> third <strong>and</strong> final phase of the project consisted in the<br />
digital reproduction of sheets, in both raking light <strong>and</strong> in<br />
transparency. Watermark motifs were identified, their subject<br />
matters were defined, <strong>and</strong> they were traced in repertories.<br />
An online database has been created <strong>and</strong> is accessible<br />
via the ICPAL’s website (which can be visited at:<br />
http://www.patologialibro.beniculturali.it). <strong>The</strong> data bank<br />
contains images of all the watermarks, together with historical<br />
data <strong>and</strong> the aforementioned instrumental data.<br />
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