THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTE OF …THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTE OF CONSERVATION † JULY 2012 †...

THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTE OF CONSERVATION • JULY 2012 • ISSUE 41

Step by step to a book cradleAlso in this issue

A summer in Turkmenistan

Awards, scholarships and celebrations

Interns, technicians and training news

ICONnewsJULY2012Cover:01234 4/7/12 13:30

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WILLARD CONSERVATION EQUIPMENT

Willard Conservation Limited Leigh Road, Terminus Industrial Estate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8TST: +44 (0)1243 776928 E: [email protected] W: www.willard.co.uk

By Appointment To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Conservation Equipment EngineersWillard Conservation Ltd,

Chichester

Willard Conservation manufactures and supplies a unique range of conservation tools and equipment, specifically designed for use in the conservation and preservation of works of art and historic cultural media.

Our product range provides a premier equipment and technology choice at an affordable price.

Visit our website at www.willard.co.uk to see our wide range of conservation equipment and tools and to find out how we may be able to help you with your specific conservation needs.

visit us online at www.willard.co.uk

ICONnewsJULY2012Cover:01234 4/7/12 13:30

inside JULY 2012Issue 41

2 NEWSRestoring a splendid Suffolkceiling; a new conservation labin Aberdeen; a parchmentproject

6PROFESSIONAL UPDATEMore HLF support; CTQdevelopments; CTR plans

12PEOPLE

15HERITAGE WITHOUTBORDERSThe charity’s work inTurkmenistan in 2011

19GROUP NEWS& Graduate Voice on sewingstructures of a pamphletcollection

24REVIEWSUpholstery; the AIC 40th

annual meeting; riskmanagement in collectioncare; parchment analysis

30 IN PRACTICEMaking a safe book cradle fordigitisation

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Institute of Conservation1.5, Lafone House, The Leathermarket, Weston StreetLondon SE1 3ER

T +44(0)20 3142 6799

[email protected]@icon.org.ukwww.icon.org.uk

Chief ExecutiveAlison Richmond [email protected]

Conservation Registerinfo@conservationregister.comwww.conservationregister.com

ISSN 1749-8988

Icon NewsEditorLynette [email protected]

Production designerMalcolm [email protected]

PrintersL&S Printing Company Limitedwww.ls-printing.com

Design Rufus [email protected]

For recruitment and all otheradvertisingRebecca Hendry020 3142 [email protected]

Cover photo:A book cradle purpose-built toreduce the risks during digitisationprojects.See In Practice for a guide to itsmanufacture.

Disclaimer:Whilst every effort is made to ensureaccuracy, the editors and Icon Boardof Trustees can accept noresponsibility for the contentexpressed in Icon News; it is solelythat of individual contributors

Deadlines:

For September 2012 issue

Editorial: 1 August

Adverts: 15 August

From the Editor You may have already heard the good news viaIconnect or the website but do take the timenevertheless to read our CEO’s happy andimportant message about the Heritage LotteryFund’s decision to award Icon nigh on anothermillion pounds to continue our successfulinternship scheme. The March issue of IconNews dedicated to celebrating the end of a six

year HLF programme was, happily as it turns out, premature!No time is being wasted: the next batch of internships isalready advertised on our website – the deadline is the end ofthis month for an October start.

We also update you on the re-launch of the ConservationTechnician Qualification, urge you to consider going foraccreditation – one Icon member has decided that it is not sofrightening after all! – and bring you a preview of the Bookand Paper Group’s thoughts about the next topics in its Co-operative Training Register scheme.

Of course, if your mind is more on relaxation and summerholidays rather than self-improvement and professionaldevelopment, there are plenty of stories of other people’sendeavours to enjoy.

Lynette Gill

ICON NEWS • JULY 2012 • 1

Icon is registered as a Charity inEngland and Wales (Number1108380) and in Scotland (NumberSC039336) and is a CompanyLimited by Guarantee, (Number5201058)

IconNewsJULY2012 4/7/12 13:53 Page 1

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around & aboutA jubilee ceilingA 17thC decorative plaster ceiling, rescued from a farmhousein 1978 before its demolition, is set to be restored after threedecades of languishing in a garage. The ceiling is in twelvedoor-sized pieces, untouched since it was removed from itsfarmhouse location in the village of Stoven in Suffolk. Now,thanks to the Heritage Lottery Fund and other sponsors, theLowestoft Civic Society has the money it needs for theceiling’s conservation.

Apart from the rarity of three hundred and fifty year oldplaster ceilings, it also has an interesting pedigree, sharingsimilar motifs and probably made from the same moulds as afine ceiling at Sutherland House in Southwold. The SutherlandHouse ceiling is said to commemorate the battle of Sole Bay(1672) against the Dutch, when the house was used as theheadquarters of the battle commander the Duke of York, laterJames II.

North Green Farmhouse, Stoven 1978

In cross-section, the ceiling rests on foam

One of the twelve door-sized panels

The ceiling in situ prior to demolition

The conservation work is being masterminded by ClivedenConservation and it includes the training of two students inthe requisite specialist skills, to the longer term benefit of EastAnglia’s heritage. Lowestoft College staff and students willassist in designing and constructing a frame to secure therestored ceiling in its final location and a team of localvolunteers will record and document the restoration process.Associated activities for schools are also taking place, alongwith a series of six ‘hands-on’ day workshops in the use oflime mortar and historic decorative plaster conservationtechniques. Members of the public can also book to visit theconservation work in action.

The work is taking place at Lowestoft’s Heritage WorkshopCentre and, once completed in the autumn, this is where theceiling will be kept on permanent public display, fittingly sinceit has been a place of learning since 1788 as Wildes School.www.lowestoftheritage.org

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Previous conservation treatment: before (l) and after (r)

Royal Arms at St Werburgh’s Church, Derby

Four of the heat damaged pages

Revealing Royal ArmsIn January we drew attention to The Churches ConservationTrust’s new website about wall paintings. They have nowadded a second project about Royal Coats of Arms in Englishparish churches. Along with information about arms, theirhistory and heraldry generally, there is also a section on theirconservation which has been contributed by Sally WoodcockACR and which covers their structure, surface decoration,environmental issues, treatments and conservation dilemmas.There are lots of lovely images, too. Find it at www.visitchurches.org.uk/RoyalArms/

West Dean blogThe conservation profession is in good hands if theenthusiasm of West Dean student conservators is anything togo by. Visit their blog – www.westdeanconservation.com –which was started by MA student Abigail Uhteg with fellowstudents from all five conservation departments, at all levels,contributing posts about what they’re working on. One of itsaims is to give the students a platform to begin discussingtheir work with other conservators and the world at large.Their lively descriptions are well illustrated with pictures oftheir projects, placements and study tours.

Lost Arts Last summer a coalition of trades unions got together to keepa record of all the projects, events, performances,organisations and companies that will be lost as a result ofcuts in public funding in the cultural sector. To prevent theeffects of the cuts being forgotten over time the material isbeing collected as evidence for the next governmentspending review in 2015. See www.lost-arts.org

The Great Parchment Book The Great Parchment Book of the Honourable The IrishSociety is a major survey, compiled in 1639 by a Commissioninstituted under the Great Seal by Charles I, of all thoseestates in Derry managed by the City of London through theIrish Society and the London livery companies. As such, itrepresents a hugely important source for the City of London’s

role in the Protestant colonisation and administration of Ulster.However as the result of a fire in 1786 it has been unavailableto researchers for over two hundred years. The damagedmanuscript has nevertheless remained part of the City ofLondon’s collections held at London Metropolitan Archives.As part of the commemorations in Derry of the 400thanniversary of the building of the city walls, it was decided toattempt to make the Great Parchment Book available as acentral point of the planned exhibition.

The manuscript consists of 165 separate parchment pages, allof which suffered damage in the1786 fire. The unevenshrinkage and distortion caused by fire has rendered much ofthe text illegible. It soon became apparent that traditionalconservation alone would not produce sufficient results tomake the manuscript accessible or suitable for exhibition,since the parchment is too shrivelled to be returned to areadable state. Much of the text is still visible (if distorted);following discussions with conservation and computingexperts, it was decided that the best approach was to flattenthe parchment sheets as far as possible, and to use digitalimaging to gain legibility and to enable digital access to thevolume.

To make the digitisation process as successful as possible,preliminary limited conservation treatments are being carriedout. Obscured areas of parchment, where the camera cannot

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The University of Aberdeen’s new library building

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A close-up

reach the text, will be opened out as far as possible. Theformat and the condition of the book are being investigatedand thoroughly documented. This preparatory conservationwork has been supported by the National ManuscriptsConservation Trust, Derry Heritage and Museums Service andLondon Metropolitan Archives.

Past attempts at conservation treatment seemed to besuccessful, but caused tearing. A much less interventivetreatment option is now being looked into, the idea being tojust introduce moisture to local areas and then ease open thedeep creases that are obscuring the text.

The progress of the project and more information can befound on the blog athttp://greatparchmentbook.wordpress.com

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Conservation in the NorthEast of Scotland At a time of cuts and reduced budgets, it is exciting to reportthat a new purpose built conservation studio at the Universityof Aberdeen is entering the final stages of completion.Schmidt hammer lassen architects won the internationalcompetition to design the new university library. Buildingwork on the seven floor glass cube library, with its spirallingoff-centre atrium, was completed in September 2011. Set onthe campus at King’s College in Old Aberdeen, the iconic newlibrary building incorporates the main library’s moderncollection, the Special Collections Centre and the state of theart Glucksman Conservation Centre.

The Special Collections Centre is home to the university’shistoric collections which include over 200,000 rare printedbooks, manuscripts, 4,000 irreplaceable archival collectionsand photographic collections. In addition to implementing aprogramme of interventive conservation for the collectionsand preservation programmes throughout Special Collections,conservation staff will support readers’ access to materialthrough the Wolfson Reading Room, the ongoing exhibitions’programme in the gallery and the outreach programme withinthe local community.



The current exhibition in the public gallery on the library’sground floor is drawn from glass plate negatives held inSpecial Collections. A conservation element has beenintegrated into the exhibition design, and visitors haveresponded very positively to an electronic display illustrating aglass plate negative repair process and information aboutpreservation considerations for photographic materialscollections as a whole. There are plans to repeat this methodof widening awareness of conservation and preservationissues relating to the library’s collection with future exhibitions.

Covering 250 square metres, the Glucksman ConservationCentre includes a photography room, a large main studiowhich is divided into wet and dry working areas, a bookconservation studio, a material and supplies store, a freezerroom and a decontamination room. The Centre also has thefacility for changing displays on conservation themes. Thearchitects, design team and engineers worked closely with

View of the spiralling atrium from the ground floor of the new library

conservation consultants during the planning stages to ensurethat the Centre is well designed and laid out with enoughspace for each treatment, natural light, good environmentalconditions and suitable services. The conservation team wereinvolved from an early stage in the planning of the studiowhich has been designed to create flexible and mobileworking areas.

To coincide with the completion of the studio fit out, theGlucksman Conservation Centre, in association with the IconScotland Group, hosted a one day workshop with DavidPinniger on 26 June, which was a great success.

Watch Icon News for details of future events to be hosted atthe Centre!

Erica Kotze

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professional updateFROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Great News!It isn’t every day that I amable to report such wonderfulnews and it gives meenormous pleasure to do sonow. The Heritage LotteryFund (HLF) has awarded Icona grant increase of £960,800to continue our trainingbursary scheme ‘New Routesinto Conservation throughWork-based Learning’. Thisbrings our total HLF fundingof the scheme to £2.45m.Added to this is the £190,000from the Esmée FairbairnFoundation, The PilgrimTrust, The Clothworkers’

Foundation and others that has helped to build the legacy ofthe scheme. Icon is committed to delivering thirty sixadditional supported internships over the next three years. Atthe same time, we will continue to promote our internshipframework to attract the support of other funders.

The story so farThe award is a huge testament to the success of the schemeto date. Over the six years of the project, Icon has consistentlydemonstrated excellent results. We tackled identified skillsshortages in a wide range of heritage skills, many withouttraining courses or qualifications, such as historic carpets andconservation science. We provided new entry routes to theprofession not only for conservation graduates but also forpeople new to the field (50% of all interns accepted in thescheme do not have a background in conservation). We havefollowed the careers of all our interns and an astonishing 96%of the eighty five interns continue to be employed inconservation or heritage or have gone on to tertiaryeducation for the first time. Some former interns of the earlycohort are already applying for and successfully achievingPACR accredited status, thus taking up their positions as fully-fledged professionals.

For all of the above, thanks are due to Carol Brown and herteam, Gillian Joyce, Georgina Ripley, Fiona McAlister, LornaCalcutt and Sarah Gerrish for their excellent management ofthe scheme. Nor would the scheme have been possiblewithout the commitment of the sixty seven supervisors andhost institutions who have provided – pro bono – the essentialelements of the internship: a place to learn, collections andmaterials to learn on and an expert in the field to learn from.The award demonstrates HLF’s confidence in Icon’s ability todeliver the scheme to this same high standard.

Moving aheadOur record of success demonstrates that the principles at the

heart of the HLF Training Bursary Scheme continue to berelevant. The supported internship supplements, but does notreplace, academic learning; it provides opportunities inconservation for people who would not otherwise have them,to learn in disciplines where in many cases there is no formaleducation provision; and we know from evaluations that theexperience of providing an internship enhances the hostorganisation. We now have a large network of experiencedsupervisors and committed employers and funders who areready and willing to continue to train. Moreover, it is gratifyingto observe that the internship is now established andrecognised by most employers and funders as the model ofwork-based training for new entrants and graduates alike.

Furthermore, as a result of this funding Icon has built up acollection of data which we will augment and refine throughfuture research: we have a good understanding of the degreeand type of demand for training at this level; and we have agood picture of the skills and knowledge needed, where thegaps are and how we can go about redressing them.

If you would like to join our list of employers who haveexpressed an interest in hosting or funding an internship,please contact: Susan Bradshaw, Professional DevelopmentManager, [email protected] 01626 824510

If you are interested in applying for an internship, pleasecontact: Jayne Sheraton, Training Officer,[email protected] 020 3142 6789

Alison Richmond

ICON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTERWe are expanding Icon’s online marketing and web presence,particularly because we want to create a ‘buzz’ aboutconservation.

Take a look at our brand new Facebook page: The Institute ofConservation. A big thank you goes to Kerren Harris (HistoricRoyal Palaces) for setting it up and administering it incollaboration / rotation with Helen L Smith of Tate Britain andIcon’s Wiebke Morgan.

Icon’s Twitter account @Conservators_UK (originally set up byCarol Brown) has grown to over 1,000 followers, so come andlike / follow us, share some comments, spread the word!

ICON’S 2013 CONFERENCEHopefully you have all seen the recent special Iconnect whichcarried the Call for Papers for Icon‘s 2013 Conference PositiveFutures in an Uncertain World. As the title makes clear, itsmission is to inspire us to face challenging times ahead in theworld of cultural heritage.

A packed programme will provide plenary sessions, specialistGroup sessions, a trade fair, posters, networking opportunitiesand entertainment – set in the splendid surroundings ofGlasgow University, which is partnering Icon in theorganisation of the event.

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We are extremely pleased to be able to hold our welcomereception on 10 April 2013 at the Hunterian Museum and theconference dinner dance the next day will be at Òran Mór, alively arts and entertainment centre in a former church.

Do make sure you put the following dates in your diary:

• The conference itself:- 10–12 April 2013

• Booking opens:- 1 September 2012

• Deadline for submitting abstracts:- 10 September 2012

RENEWAL REMINDERThank you to all those members (over 60%) who haverenewed their membership for 2012/13 (April to March).

If you haven’t received your renewal or reminder email, pleaseget in touch ([email protected]) and I will send you yourrenewal form.

If you would like to pay your fee by credit card you can renewover the phone – 020 3142 6785

The final deadline for renewals for this membership year is 15August. Don’t let your membership lapse, as this will meanthat this July issue of Icon News is the last that you willreceive. You will also no longer receive Iconnects or TheJournal of the Institute of Conservation and miss out on allother benefits which include:

• Access to our sector’s knowledge and supportBeing part of a global community of over 2300 memberswho share your interest and commitment to conservationof cultural heritage. We keep you in touch withdevelopments essential to the professional conservator viaour electronic news bulletins, magazine, peer-reviewed

Journal, library and information services, website andnetworking events.

• Career development supportYou receive a weekly news feed of job vacancies. From themoment you start thinking about applying foraccreditation, you can access the support and guidanceyou need to achieve and maintain your PACRaccreditation. You benefit from reduced rates for courses,Icon events and our triennial conference.

• Discounts on servicesIcon has negotiated on behalf of its members: 10%discount on West Dean College’s short courses forprofessional conservators; customised ProfessionalIndemnity Insurance; HMCA Hospital, Sickness and InjuryCash Plan eligibility; discounts on publications.

• Being part of a forum to influenceYou can get involved and influence the development anddirection of your profession. You have the right to stand forelection to the Board of Trustees of Icon and to vote inBoard elections. You can contribute to the running of Iconand wider conservation policy work through ourcommittees and Specialist Groups.

Understanding the reality of the current economic climate, wehave kept the increase in membership fees as low as possibleto ensure it still provides excellent value. Concessionary Rateshave been kept at last year’s level. I hope that you will renewyour membership for 2012/13 and I look forward to hearingfrom you!

Wiebke MorganMembership Manager

Bute theatre: venue for the 2013 Conference plenary sessions

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‘THE REAL THING?’ This is the title of another Glasgow conference taking place inDecember on the topic of The Value of Authenticity andReplication for Investigation and Conservation. It looks to bean interesting programme with speakers from the Victoria andAlbert Museum, The National Archives, West Dean TapestryStudio, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Gallery, theBritish Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,and the Centre de Conservation, Québec. Booking opens thismonth. www.gla.ac.uk/cca/researchnetwork

THE CLOTHWORKERS’ BURSARIESThe Clothworkers’ Foundation may regret saying this butthey have told Icon News that they would welcome moreapplications for their bursaries for continuing professionaldevelopment in conservation. So bear this in mind whenyou are pondering how to fund your attendance at the IconConference in Glasgow next April or indeed December’sGlasgow conference mentioned above on the topic ofauthenticity. The information you need to make anapplication for support can be found atfoundation.clothworkers.co.uk>What we do>Open grantprogrammes>CPD Bursaries

CLOTHWORKERS’ AWARD TO GLASGOW The Clothworkers’ Foundation has awarded its 2012Conservation Fellowship to Glasgow Museums, to enablework to take place on some of the Burrell Collection’simportant medieval stained glass. Marie Stumpff ACR is theClothworker Fellow and she will be working on one of themost significant parts of the collection: a group of three largewindows which came from the Carmelite Church at Boppard-on-Rhine. Marie will document the current condition of thewindows and study their restoration history to create abenchmark against which future treatments will be measured;she will also undertake their conservation.

The Fellowship pays for a junior conservator to cover thesenior post during the project. Depending on how quickly thispost can be filled, Marie hopes to get started on the windowsin the autumn. She told Icon News that she is absolutelythrilled with the opportunity presented by this two yearproject, which will be an important contribution to stainedglass research and conservation internationally.

THE ZGTF 2012 AWARDSMore support for conservators has just been announced bythe Zibby Garnett Travelling Fellowship, which has awardedgrants totalling £13,000 for overseas study trips to elevenoutstanding conservation students. The ZGTF Scholars will becircumnavigating the globe in their placements which rangefrom various European destinations to India, Canada,Singapore, Australia, Borneo and Nepal. They will be workingin leading conservation organisations and learning toconserve paintings, textiles, paper and archaeological

artefacts as well as historic gardens.

Icon News was told that the Trustees have awarded more thisyear than ever before. Since the Fellowship was founded in2000, it has enabled over ninety students to visit more thanthirty countries. For more information about the awards,previous scholars and their reports, see www.ZibbyGarnett.org

NCESS UPDATE

Conservation Technician Qualifications One of the objectives in the National Conservation Educationand Skills Strategy (NCESS)* is to ensure that

there is greater support for existing provision andqualifications – taught courses, structured e-learning,research, and work-based learning – to increase access,build resilience, and unlock funding streams for bothstudents and employers.

One of the ways Icon is tackling this is through promoting theConservation Technician Qualification (CTQ).

The backgroundThe Conservation Technician Qualification (CTQ) is a meansfor individuals working in supporting roles in conservation tobe trained in the high level knowledge and skills needed inthe workplace and then to demonstrate that they can work tothe professional standards that these roles require. TheQualification was developed by Icon in 2007 in response to aneed that employers were recognising and two successfulpilot programmes were run between 2007 and 2010. Icon wasin receipt of grant-aid to support those pilot programmes,and this helped to fund the delivery of the qualifications at adiscounted cost to host organisations whilst the Qualificationwas being tested and refined.

The next phaseIcon reviewed the outcomes of the second pilot phase andthe refined model, whereby candidates are trained, mentoredand assessed in the workplace, will continue to be used. CTQwas formally relaunched at the launch event of the NCESS.

Carmelite Church stained glass panels in the Burrell Collection

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For the CTQ to take a place on the QCF also opens up thepossibility of a developing ladder of qualifications – atpresent, there is a very wide gap in terms of achievementbetween the CTQ and Icon’s flagship qualification, PACR. Inthe future, there could be potential for an intermediatequalification to be awarded between CTQ and PACR.

The migration process is being handled by Kenneth Aitchison,Icon Skills Strategy Manager, and he can be contacted [email protected] Aitchison, Skills Strategy ManageSusan Bradshaw, Professional Development Manager* www.icon.org.uk/images/icon%20educationskillsfinallr.pdf

THINKING ABOUT ACCREDITATION? If like me you are thinking about applying for accreditation,then I would recommend that you attend a PACR informationseminar or clinic. Two Icon Groups, the Stone and WallPainting and Historic Interiors Groups, joined forces to hold abespoke seminar on 29 May. This attracted around twentyconservators who were either thinking about or in the processof preparing their application.

We were fortunate to have an assembly of excellent speakers,who spoke on various issues and aspects of the accreditationprocess. Several, drawn from the Icon AccreditationCommittee, have personal experience of the accreditationprocess, are assessors or are involved in the decision process.

Freelance historic interiors consultant, Helen Hughes gave afascinating canter through the history of restoration andconservation philosophy since the late 19th century, withparticular focus on how it has changed in the last fifty years.The role of the conservator has also developed and Helenstressed that conservators now provide a significantcontribution to conservation decisions. But we are a timidbunch and we must maintain this professional assertiveness toenhance our role within this dialogue. After all, we often havean input into ‘why’ and the solutions of ‘how’ to conserve.

Katy Lithgow, Head Conservator at the National Trust,outlined the agents of deterioration and highlighted the roleof preventive conservation. This is an area that many hands-onconservators do not regularly engage in, but Katy emphasisedthat it is important that conservators have a workingknowledge of preventive measures since this plays an integralrole in assessment and investigations as well as aftercare andmaintenance. The National Trust only contracts withaccredited conservators since they adhere to the Iconprofessional standards.

In her presentation, Icon’s Training Development Manager,Susan Bradshaw explained the five professional standards,the accreditation process and the support available tocandidates. There was uncertainty regarding the degree ofcomplexity required for accreditation projects. It seems thatprojects do not necessarily need to demonstrate highlytechnical measures, but exhibit the range of professionalstandards within the problems, options and management ofthe conservation process.

The first round of candidates for 2012–13 have been enrolledfor the Qualification, and Icon will be working with NationalGalleries Scotland, National Trust for Scotland, York GlaziersTrust, Royal Pavilions Libraries & Museums, English Heritage,National Wool Museum, St Fagan’s National History Museumand Salisbury Cathedral to support twelve candidates.Enrolment will be in two phases per year, and the closing datefor the second enrolment of 2012 will be 31 October 2012.

The CTQ programme is managed by Susan Bradshaw, Icon’sProfessional Development Manager, assisted by JayneSheraton, Icon’s Training Officer and supported by a team ofexternal assessors. Anyone interested in being a candidate, orany organisation considering acting as a host, should [email protected].

The bigger pictureCurrently, CTQ is entirely owned by Icon, meaning that we areresponsible for establishing the assessment process and forawarding the qualification. One possible future developmentfor the Qualification, which is also central to the NCESS, is forIcon to look at the potential to ‘migrate’ the CTQ onto thenational Qualification and Credit Framework, or QCF.

The QCF is the system used by regulators in England, Walesand Northern Ireland to recognise skills and qualifications onbehalf of the governments. One of the key considerationsabout the QCF is that public financial support can only bemade available to candidates or organisations that arefollowing or delivering qualifications on that Framework –non-QCF qualifications cannot get public money. Moving theCTQ on to the QCF could also potentially open up routes forformal Apprenticeships in conservation – and, again, thesecould also attract public financial support.

An initial assessment suggests that the migration process willnot involve a great deal of rewriting of the Qualification – itwas always based on the right professional and nationaloccupational standards to facilitate such a move – and Iconhas had preliminary discussions with EDI, a qualificationsawarding body, about the potential for them to take on theformal awarding of the Qualification while Icon could becomean assessment centre. Icon has also been talking to Creativeand Cultural Skills (the government licensed Sector SkillsCouncil for the UK’s creative and cultural industries) aboutApprenticeship Frameworks.

A very important consideration for Icon is that employersvalue the CTQ, and it has been Icon’s involvement that hashelped to build ‘the brand’. We will be exploring ways toensure the migrated qualification maintains its valued identity.

Secondly, it is enormously important for the migration to be‘seamless’ – for candidates who have started building up theirevidence towards the CTQ in its current format to be able toget credit for their work if and when the Qualification ismigrated, and for people who have already received the CTQto know that their hard-earned qualification has exactly thesame value as the ‘migrated’ award – and for their employers,and potential future employers to know this too.


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The assessment Private wall paintings conservators and PACR assessors MarkPerry and John Burbidge gave an overview of what assessorslook for on the assessment day, when they visit the candidate.Understandably this is a nerve-wracking time, but with goodpreparation, this should clearly and efficiently provide theevidence to showcase a candidate’s professional judgmentand activities. They each emphasised the importance ofselecting appropriate projects and presenting them in thebest possible way. This may sound obvious, but ensuring thatthe assessment day goes smoothly gives you and theassessors the opportunity to see the range and depth of yourinvolvement in conservation strategies, planning andinterventions. Some conservators may not be involved incontract or project management, but by dividing a projectinto components: organising resources, health and safetycompliance, client and colleague liaison, selection oftreatment procedures and materials and so forth, Johnshowed how each stage could demonstrate a conservator’sengagement and their adherence to the professionalstandards.

A practical exampleAnother assessor, David Odgers, reiterated this processthrough the assessment, cleaning and maintenance of amarble urn. Seemingly a pretty straightforward project butwhen broken down into philosophy, legislative aspects,planning, intervention and maintenance advice, the audiencebegan to see how such a project could be employed as a‘complex’ one. All assessors emphasised that it was importantto articulate your individual role within the project, so thatyour autonomy can be measured.

Start now! One message that rang out loud and clear was that youshould not wait until you apply for accreditation to compileyour evidence. By identifying suitable projects early on andrecording them as you work on them, you can build up youraccreditation portfolio over a period of time. Furthermorethere is no limit on how far back you can go with yourprojects, although memory may render it difficult to recallaccurate details! All this makes the task much less onerouswhen you come to take the plunge.

As Chair of the Accreditation Committee, Katy Lithgowexplained the accreditation decision-making process. Greattime and effort (given voluntarily) goes into ensuring thatdecisions are valid, fair, consistent and open. All of thoseinvolved in the accreditation process: mentors, assessors andthe accreditation committee should be considered as criticalfriends, who are there to support and encourage rather thanintimidate and oppress.

For me this seminar de-mystified the accreditation processand I feel that it is something that I want to aim for and canachieve in the foreseeable future. It was also a chance to meetnew and old friends which only boosts my feeling of pride andinspiration to be part of this lively and professionalcommunity.

You can view a number of thespeakers Powerpointpresentations in more detailon the SWP group page ofthe Icon website.

Clara Willett, ArchitecturalConservator, English Heritage.

CTR: NEW INITIATIVES

The story so farThe first year of the Book and Paper Group’s Co-operativeTraining Register scheme has been full of activity. The schemeaims to provide training for members in subject areas thatinterest them and is based in venues across the country. Outof the six training options listed in the 2011 poll of members,the CTR committee has successfully organised two regionaltraining courses in the winning subject area, adhesives.Courses in two other high-scoring topics from the poll –account book structures and print identification – are well intothe planning stages for 2013. We also hope to repeat our firstand heavily-oversubscribed course, Recreating the MedievalPalette, in 2013.

As well as recent courses on preservation issues surroundingthe packing and storage of collections and the IDAPparchment assessment (see the Reviews section for details),we have also responded to individual members’ requests fortraining via the CTR submission forms on the website byarranging our next course in environmental control methods,with specific reference to passive methods in library andarchive collections. This will take place in October 2012 andfurther details will be available soon via a Group Iconnect.

Again, in response to a request from members, we are in theprocess of developing a business start-up day course. This isbeing organised by Louise Vaile, the Group’s new PrivatePractice Liaison Officer, who, being successfully self-employedherself, is in an excellent position to advise those membersconsidering setting up their own business.

New plansA new initiative that we would like to develop is day-workshops, based on short practical demonstrations ofparticular techniques or procedures that members would liketo share with the Book and Paper Group as a whole. Weappreciate that members may not be able to commit toproviding longer courses and workshops over several days butit is hoped that many of you would be willing to considersharing your skills for all or part of a morning or afternoonsession. The CTR committee will provide full support to helpyou to develop your proposal into an effective and usefulworkshop for the benefit of your book and paper colleagues,and it counts towards CPD too. The individual sessions can beseen as a conference poster in demonstration form, and anyaspect of techniques for book and paper applications will beconsidered. The workshops can be varied in length, although

Clara Willett



it is anticipated that any one session would last for no morethan half a day. We would like to have your opinions on thisand ideas for training sessions you would be able to provide.Using this information, we aim to conduct a poll of the top six,for members to indicate their preferences.

Play your partThis exciting new initiative relies on you for its success and, aswe know we are part of a dynamic and collaborative group,we very much look forward to hearing your proposals. We willalso be sending this information out via an Iconnect but, in themeantime, you can submit details on the online forms via theBook and Paper Group pages of the website or contact the CTRcommittee directly by emailing [email protected] further details or to discuss a proposal. I look forward tohearing from you soon.

Victoria Stevens ACR, CTR Chair

LIBRARY NEWS

Spotlight on LAC LAC, or the Chantry Library AdvisoryCommittee, is a small group thatmeets regularly to review progressand assist me as the librarian withforward planning. It is composed ofthe Chair, Kate Colleran, theHonorary Librarian, Jane Eagan, andan External Consultant, MichaelWilliams.

The work of the Committee and itsmembers is profiled on the Library pages of the Icon website,where you will also find a series of informal interviews which Iam conducting with the LAC members – who are they, whatdo they do and how they became involved with the Library.

First up in the hot seat is Michael Williams. Michael has alwaysprovided a great sounding board for me for anything of atechie nature – his clear-headed knowledgeable advice hasproved to be invaluable on many an occasion. He has beeninvolved with the Chantry Library since its formation,providing technical support and library management on avoluntary basis. He contributes an independent andprofessional insight into library strategy, management, policy,and technical expertise.Read the interview in full on www.chantrylibrary.org.uk/

PhotocopiesDon’t forget that we supply photocopies of journal articles,chapters from books, and conference papers, which are heldin the Chantry Library collection. Icon members can claim tenfree articles each year, provided either as scanned pages or inhard copy. Email: [email protected] with yourrequests, quoting your membership number, or complete andsend the copyright form available on the Chantry Librarywebpages www.chantrylibrary.org.uk (Library Services).

Recently received publicationsThe Chantry Library has just acquired volumes 2 and 3 in theseries Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of their History andCharacteristics. We already hold volumes 1 and 4, edited byRobert Feller and Barbara H. Berrie respectively

Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History andCharacteristics (Vol.2) edited by Ashok Roy, National Galleryof Art, Washington, Archetype Publications, London, 1993,231pp. ISBN: 978-1-904982-75-3 For details see:www.archetype.co.uk/publication-details.php?id=157

Artists’ Pigments: A Handbook of Their History andCharacteristics (Vol.3) edited by Elisabeth West Fitzhugh,National Gallery of Art, Washington, Archetype Publications,London, 1997, 364pp. ISBN: 978-1-904982-76-0 For detailssee: www.archetype.co.uk/publication-details.php?id=158

The Technological Study of Books and Manuscripts asArtefacts: Research questions and analytical solutionsedited by Sarah Neate, David Howell, Richard Ovenden,A.M.Pollard, BAR International Series 2209, Archaeopress,Oxford, 2011, ISBN: 978-1-4073-0767-1For a list of the contents, please [email protected]

Big Pictures: Problems and Solutions for Treating OutsizePaintings edited by Sally Woodcock, papers from aconference held at Tate Modern in December 2000 andorganised by the Paintings Section of the United KingdomInstitute of Conservation, Archetype Publications, 2005, ISBN: 1-904982-03-4

Studies in Conservation, Vol.57, No.1, January 2012Studies in Conservation, Vol.57, No.2, April 2012The Picture Restorer, No.40, Spring 2012

Journal ExchangesThe following journal exchange issues have just arrived for theChantry Library collection:

Conservation-restauration des biens culturels (CRBC) ARAAFU (Association des Restaurateurs d’Art etd’Archéologie de Formation Universitaire)No.26 (2008), No.27 (2009). No.28 (2010, No.29 (2011) For the Contents pages go to:http://araafu.free.fr/publications4.htm#CRBC_revueFor further information, please contact me [email protected].

Find out more

For further details of new resources and a full listing of alljournal articles received over the past two months, check outthe library blog ‘Library News’ at:http://chantrylibrary.wordpress.com/

You can also subscribe to our RSS feed and track new booksand journals at the Library in real time. More details on how todo this at http://chantrylibrary.wordpress.com/feed/

Ros Buck, Chantry Librarian


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THE 2012 PLOWDEN MEDAL Congratulations to Professor May Cassar, winner of this year’sPlowden Medal for her enduring commitment to improvingthe professional standing of heritage conservation practicenationally and internationally.

The gold medal is awarded by the Royal Warrant HoldersAssociation and this year’s award recognises that May Cassarhas played a huge role in transforming thinking and practicein heritage science research, training and policy through herpractical, academic and scientific work and experience. Withtireless energy and enthusiasm she has raised the profile ofheritage science at home and abroad and raised the alarmabout the risks to cultural heritage from a changing climate.She is currently Professor of Sustainable Heritage at UniversityCollege London and Director of the UCL Centre forSustainable Heritage and was appointed Special Adviser tothe House of Lords Science and Technology CommitteeInquiry on Science and Heritage (2005–06). This led to the fiveyear strategic research programme on Science and Heritagewith May appointed its Director in 2007.

INTRODUCING SIMON GREENWhen I joined Icon as Business Manager in November 2011,

this was a new post intendedto allow the Chief Executiveand other managers to focusfully on their own priorities.This was part of the majorstructural changes made tostrengthen Icon over the lastyear. My role covers severalmain areas.

I have overall responsibility tothe CEO for all financial andbudgetary matters, workingclosely with our accountantsJS2 Ltd and Rebecca Hendrywho deals with all detailedmatters such as processinginvoices and claims. For a

medium size charity, Icon is very complicated – our budgetextends to about twenty eight pages! We have a variety ofprogrammes – mostly related to professional development –as well as sixteen thematic groups. Our cash flow variesseasonally with the membership year and the funders’ owncycles. I am also Company Secretary which entails maintainingour records with Companies House and the Charity Commission.

I am also responsible for our infrastructure. In 2010 I identifiedand negotiated the lease for our new office at theLeathermarket on a part voluntary, part consultancy basis. Ourold premises provided four closely packed desks whereas theLeathermarket office now has six staff based here in a betterenvironment at the same price. We even have a nice café inour historic building. Do pop in and visit if you are nearLondon Bridge! I have recently been improving our ratherelderly IT system, a process not without trauma and we stillhave some way to go.

Another role is to oversee the Conservation Register whichwas completely revamped just before I started. In this caseKat Cresser keeps it up to date and works closely with thepractices registered on it. Kat, Rebecca and I now form theBusiness Team but all of us in the office have overlappingroles like dealing with phone enquiries from members,partners and the general public.

Although new as an employee, I have been engaged withIcon and its predecessors since giving a talk to the inauguralmeeting of the Institute of Paper Conservation in 1974. Thisrelated to the range of hand-made papers we made for paperconservators at Hayle Mill in Maidstone. I later served asChairman of IPC for five years and I am an honorary lifemember of Icon, which I am very proud of. Until 2009 I ran theenvironmental charity Groundwork Kent & Medway forfourteen years and I have also been involved in railwaypreservation and nature conservation.

Simon Green

May Cassar with the Plowden Medal presented to her at the awardlunch on 6 June

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THE CLARE HAMPSON SCHOLARSHIP The 2012 Clare HampsonScholarship has beenawarded to Joanna KosekACR to enable her to finishher work on the book Paperand Environment: aHandbook on Housing Paper.Joanna accepted the awardfrom Sonja Schwoll, Secretaryto the Award Committee,during the Book and PaperGroup AGM at the BritishLibrary in April. Icon News

caught up with Joanna at the British Museum where she isjoint Head of Pictorial Art Conservation at the Department ofConservation and Scientific Research.

What does winning this award mean to you?I am utterly delighted to accept the Clare HampsonScholarship Award and truly grateful to the Publication GrantCommittee for selecting me. I am moved by the Award, too,as I am of the generation that remembers Clare; herdedication and contribution to forging the specialism ofpaper conservation and to the ethos of the Institute of PaperConservation. I can only say that her generous legacy will beput to excellent use and the outcome of the project I amworking on will, hopefully, benefit many.

Tell us about your project This funding will enable me to complete that part for which Iam responsible of an ambitious volume (or more likely twovolumes, the way the project has developed), entitled Paperand Environments: a Handbook on Housing Paper. I amcommissioning editor jointly with Birthe Christensen, Head ofConservation and Preservation at the National MaritimeMuseum Greenwich. Our book has grown out of excellentcooperation and includes contributions by over fifty expertauthors and co-authors from all parts of the world.

This volume was conceived as an accessible handbook. Itcovers a broad range of topics such as collecting; historicaland contemporary storage systems for works on paper;environment from climate overview to microenvironments inbooks, frames, scrolls and others; the nature of paper, media,and housing materials; basic chemistry, physics andmicrobiology to explain the science of deterioration of paperobjects; alongside a full account of the types of deteriorationthat befall paper objects in different geographical locationsand circumstances round the world. The last chapter is oncollection management, with achievable best practiceadaptable for collections everywhere.

As you see, in the future no-one will be able to get by withoutthis book: conservation students, archivists, collectionmanagers and other heritage professionals round the worldwill be heaving huge sighs of relief!

How will the award money help you?The grant will help to cover the editorial expenses that comefrom research and meetings with contributors. In particular, Iwish to travel abroad, including once to follow up contacts inIndia, to see collections and gather material in support ofvarious topics covered by the book.

What is the time scale for the project?We will be guided by the publisher. We need the summermonths to bring all the papers up to finished standard readyfor the editorial review. This will take about six months andthen the publication processes another seven to eightmonths. So we are thinking of 2014.

Have you got a publisher for the book?Yes, it will be published by Archetype Publications and wasconceived as a companion to our two previous paperproductions Conservation Mounting and Art on Paper. Bothbooks have been quite successful and we hope that this newtitle will also meet with readers’ approval. In other words,when our book comes out I hope to be able to share thisaward with you all.

CONGRATULATIONSAs Curator of Horology at the National Maritime Museum,Jonathan Betts has made a major contribution to horologicalconservation. So it is good to see that he has been awardedan MBE for services to horology in the latest Honours list.

A STAINED GLASS SILVER JUBILEEStained glass conservator Peter Campling ACR founded hiscompany, M. C. Lead Glaziers Ltd, twenty five years ago thisyear. Recently he talked to Icon News about changes andchallenges during that time.

Start up worriesApart from the usual headaches over tax, VAT, health andsafety and so on, the main difficulty abut starting up waswhether I’d be able to convince clients, who tended to beolder than me, that at the age of twenty one I had thenecessary knowledge toundertake the mostdemanding projects to thehighest possible quality.Twenty five years on and I stillthink it!

Taking on staffI found employing staff quite aresponsibility. I still do. Youfeel obliged to do your bestfor any employee, understand

The astonishing East Gable atBarsham in Suffolk

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their different needs and how best to communicate withthem, if you are to pass on your knowledge for theirdevelopment. But it is also rewarding: it has made me moreopen to and respectful of other people’s opinions; it helpskeep your feet on the ground and develops your own abilityto read situations better. Two of my employees, Ian and Aaronwho joined me from school and collectively have going onfifteen years’ experience, are a real asset and team members.

Some favourite projects over the yearsEvery project has its own unique and interesting aspect butsome stand out like when we were in Nigeria fitting threewindows for Paul Quail (a stained glass designer and artistwho has sadly died now). While at Hemingbrough Minster inYorkshire we lived away on and off which pleased the wife!One of our current jobs is in Barsham, Suffolk, where we arerestoring and conserving a window the likes of which I’venever seen before (nor has anyone else that I know!).

Technical challengesChallenging projects have included the restoration of astained glass window in Claydon Suffolk where so muchdamage had occurred that there was very little to establishthe subject matter of the scene. This meant very carefulexamination of the surviving pieces to establish their position.The other missing parts were in-filled with antique glass butwithout any paint or stain, so that the extent of repair wasevident. We won a craftsmanship award for this project fromthe Suffolk Association of Architects in 1990.

On a different theme we have re-leaded a window behind anorgan with no internal access. I had to develop someingenious solutions so that the whole window was fittedexcept for one tracery, which was just big enough for the lastperson to be pulled out before it too was fitted.

Significant changes Of the many changes over the past quarter century thebiggest is the move away from automatically re-leadingwindows where problems exist to one of conservation andminimum intervention. Techniques, developed and adaptedover the period, have meant that many situations found nowcan be treated successfully without re-leading, which is goodoverall for the glass. Although I have less hair now, one thingthat has not changed is our commitment to quality.

Current thinking changes but much has been learnt from pastpractices – good and bad – and they should be judged ontheir contribution to the advancement of knowledge as evenhindsight knowledge brings benefits. I also believe that themore people share information with other colleagues andhold discussions on current issues, the more this helps in theadvancement of practices to preserve the rich heritage shownin glass. I look forward to the next twenty five years!

ANOTHER QEST BENEFICARYIcon member Emma Payne from Sittingbourne in Kent hasbeen awarded a £15,000 Queen Elizabeth Trust Scholarship tocomplete the second and final year of her Masters degree inthe Conservation for Archaeology and Museums at UniversityCollege London.

During her studies Emma has worked as a Conservation andCollections Care Assistant at the Petrie Museum of EgyptianArchaeology and previously she had volunteered for theSittingbourne CSI Project working on Anglo-Saxon artefacts.

Emma received her Scholarship at the same event as theaward of the Plowden Medal (above), as QEST is thecharitable arm of the Royal Warrant Holders Association,funding projects which will contribute to the pool of talent inthe UK and reflect the excellence of British craftsmanship.

Emma Payne receives her QEST scholarship from HRH the Duke ofGloucester

Peter, hair now carefully concealed, working on the Chapter Housewindows at Westminster Abbey in 2010

Fitting Paul Quail windows in Nigeria 1991

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ABOUT HWBHeritage Without Borders (HWB) is a social enterprise thatmatches conservation and museum professionals with peoplein developing countries who want help to conserve andinterpret their cultural heritage. Training and knowledgeexchange are at the heart of HWB. Skilled volunteers givetheir time freely and HWB provides the supplies and othernecessary resources. Volunteers are presented with theopportunity to interact with very different cultures from theirown, interactions which challenge and broaden their worldview and understanding of the past as well as honing theircommunication and conservation skills.

ABOUT THE PROJECTIn September 2011 HWB sent three volunteers to the site ofMerv, in the south-east of modern Turkmenistan. The workwas a collaboration between the Ancient Merv Project (AMP),a long standing expedition run by Tim Williams of UniversityCollege London (UCL), and HWB. It was jointly funded by theAMP, HWB and the Global Heritage Fund. Support was alsogiven by Thilo Rehren and UCL Qatar (UCL-Q) and kindpermission for HWB to join the Ancient Merv project wasgiven by Dr Mukhammed Mamedov, Head of the NationalDepartment for the Protection, Study and Restoration ofHistorical and Cultural Monuments, Ministry of Culture ofTurkmenistan.

Heritage withoutBorders inTurkmenistan 2011

THE HISTORY OF THE SITEMerv lies in a fertile delta and was once a thriving hub of thesilk routes of ancient central Asia. While settlement in the areais thought to date well into prehistory, the first substantialsettlement at Merv is attributed to the 5th–6th centuries BCEwhen a fortified outpost was constructed during the rule ofthe Persian king Cyrus the Great. The settlement, Erk Kala,was conquered by Alexander the Great during his campaignsagainst the Persians and during the Seluecid period whichfollowed (3rd century BCE) the settlement was expanded,incorporating Erk Kala as a central citadel and forming a newtown called Antiochia Margiana, later to be known as GyaurKala. The outer walls of this settlement were continuouslyreinforced, mainly when the city was under Parthian control inthe second century BCE, but also when the city was under thecontrol of the Sassanian Empire right up to the seventhcentury CE. The continuous remodelling of the huge mud-brick defences has resulted in an astonishing monument thatsurvives to this day.

The conservation charity’s work is outlined by Dominica D’Arcangelo,Kelly Caldwell, Stefanie White and Mags Felter

Sultan Sanjar mausoleum

Section cut through Gyaur Kala by Soviet archaeologists showstunnels and murder holes built into and cut through the variousphases of wall

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The scale of the site is truly incredible, with a minibus requiredfor even the most abridged of site tours. With eachsubsequent city enveloping, rather than simply overlaying thatwhich preceded it, the city poured out into the flat fertiledelta. This was best appreciated from the heights of theGyuar Kala wall, where we would enjoy our end of day drinks.At first glance you could be forgiven for mistaking the heavilyeroded mud-brick walls of the city defences for naturalformations. Stretching out into the reddening sunset, thelandscape is almost lunar in appearance with Erk Kala andGyuar Kala as vast craters. Every now and again large mudbrick structures, some dating to the 8th century CE, rise upout of the undulating remains. Much of the town, however, istotally buried by collapsed, unfired mud brick and the oldestparts in Erk Kala now lie over 17m below the current landsurface, itself an amalgamation of collapsed mud brick.

THE CONSERVATION WORKThe full aims of the 2011 season’s project were defined in

cooperation with HWB’s partners and included conservingsmall finds from Merv, training local graduates and museumstaff in basic conservation skills, assessing future conservationneeds in Turkmenistan’s Museums and piloting the HWBmodel in general. In addition, the team was also asked to lookinto the feasibility of creating a permanent conservation lab atMerv which could support ongoing excavations at the site andlocal museum. Unfortunately the opportunity to put HWB’sown in-field methodology to the test was not possible at thisstage as large excavations at the site were not tenable at thetime.

First and foremost of HWB’s tasks were the assessment,stabilisation and packaging of small finds that had beenexcavated in previous seasons. There were some 1300 findsfrom across the site that included a range of materials such ascopper alloy, iron, ceramics, stone, glass, faience, shell andwall plaster, and the preservation ranged from small corrodedfragments to whole objects. With limited time and means,small finds conservation focused on priority objects, ensuringappropriate storage, establishing future conservation plansand helping to facilitate other analyses such as sampling andX-ray fluorescence.

In order to make the most of the short time there, a prioritylist of artefacts to be treated was made. This was done inconjunction with the finds specialist and archaeologists whohighlighted artefacts of high research value, and with acondition assessment that highlighted artefacts in need of

A practical lesson Team photo at the farewell dinner

Talking to trainees

Treating copper alloy objects



Sunset from Gyaur Kale

Animals near the medieval earthen buildings of Great Kiz Kala outside the main city walls of Merv

A lesson in microscope use

made it difficult to design a suitable training program prior tothe event. However, the two students, Hydyr Atayev & BashimDoliyev, who were studying ‘Restoration of historicalmonuments’ at the Cultural Heritage Department, TurkmenState Institute of Culture, and two professional conservators,Merte Ryzakov from the Regional Museum of Mary provinceand Muhammed Belgiyev of the State Cultural Historical ParkAncient Merv, proved to be keen and able participants.

The first step was to learn about each other’s professional andacademic experiences. As we all came from very differentbackgrounds we had a lot to share. The students wereespecially keen on gaining experience in conservation ofarchaeological metal as they had both spent a significantamount of time learning how to made traditional Turkmenjewellery. This practical knowledge gave them a greatunderstanding of the materials they were working with andgreat manual skills, but a lot less experience with corrosionand buried material. In contrast, the two professionalconservators had a good deal of experience with conservingarchaeological materials and were more interested in thetheory of metal corrosion, its stabilisation and recentdevelopments in conservation and conservation materials.

Discussion and practice were at the heart of the trainingprocess which focussed on the following key elements: use ofa microscope, the corrosion process of copper alloy and its

immediate conservation attention. While assessing thecollection the artefacts were re-packed.

Investigative cleaning of copper alloy, ceramic, plaster, stoneand glass objects made up the bulk of the work, with copperalloy taking the lion’s share of the time there. With the use ofmicroscopes, the HWB team worked away on a long table atthe end of an open office shared with finds, ceramic and slagspecialists working at the site. Conservation work wasimproved with the arrival of a new microscope donated byUCL- Q part way into the season.

All conservation procedures and treatments were fullydocumented and the condition assessment and treatmentswere recorded in the small finds database. Images taken byHWB and by the site photographer were added separately.

THE TRAINING WORKConservation training is a relatively new concept inTurkmenistan and access to conservation grade materials isoften limited. This means that there are few opportunities forlocal students to further their experience, making HWB’spresence and involvement with the local team all the moreimportant. The who, what and where of the incoming studentswas not known until the season of work was well underway,indeed not until the day the students arrived. This, of course,


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Group discussion

Small ceramic jug

Copper alloy object with textile

Ceramic glazed oil lamp

treatment, materials in conservation and making solutions,and the deterioration of glass and its treatment.

Although the team and students developed a good rapportand managed basic communication through gesture, thewhole endeavour would have otherwise been impossible wereit not for the skills of Gaigysyz Jorayev and his remarkableabilities of simultaneous translation across three languages(English, Turkmen and the dominant language of the region,Russian).

A SUCCESS STORYThe Ancient Merv Project and HWB agree that our project candefinitely be called a success. We return this year to build onthat success. In addition to working on site, the team will run afour-day conservation training programme at the Institute ofHistory.

The opportunity to see such a site as Merv in person isincredible in itself but to work on the material and alongsidethe people of the country there is even more of a privilege.We can only hope that HWB’s involvement in the project hashelped enthuse and teach the students about modernconservation techniques as much as we have learnt from ourtime there and we wish to thank all those who made thisproject possible this past season: to Meret Ryzakov for

showing us around Mary Museum and Muhammed Begliyevfor showing us around Gonur (after a three hour drive throughthe desert and the consumption of a very deliciouswatermelon!) and to Dr. Nuzgozel Bashimova, Head of theAncient History Department, Institute of History, for inviting usto the Institute and allowing us a share of her very largebirthday cake! Thanks also to Tim Williams, Leslee Michelsen,Paul Wordsworth, Alexis Pantos, Ann Feuerbach, DaveGilbert, Katie Campbell, Elise Thing and Gaigysyz Jorayev.

BREAKING NEWS!In recent weeks, Heritage Without Borders has won UniversityCollege London’s prestigious Social Enterprise of the Yearaward. In May 2012, HWB was also shortlisted for theMuseums and Heritage International Award. HWB is gratefulto heritage professionals who support what we do bycontributing their time and skills.

We rely on donations and gifts to continue the work. You cansupport Heritage Without Borders by donating now on thewebsite or signing up for email updates. You can like us onFacebook. Visit www.heritagewithoutborders.org to readmore.

For further information on the Ancient Merv Project go towww.ucl.ac.uk/merv/

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news from the groupsARCHAEOLOGY GROUPWe had an excellent response to our Archaeology GroupSurvey which took place in May. A big thank you to everyonewho took the time to fill it in. It has provided some extremelyinformative results that will allow us to better represent yourinterests and inform our future program of events. You canfind the results of the survey via the Group’s webpage.

The annual Festival of British Archaeology is taking place 14–29July. This is a great opportunity to discover new archaeologicalsites, projects and heritage organisations. A number ofconservation laboratories are opening their doors for activities,tours and talks about conservation projects. These includeThe Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, Perth Museum & ArtGallery, York Archaeological Trust, The Manchester Museumand the Ashmolean Museum. For full listings seewww.festival.britarch.ac.uk.Karla Graham, AG Chair

BOOK AND PAPER GROUPThe Icon Book and Paper Group General Meeting 2012 waskindly hosted by the British Library on 4 March. The event wasa great success and this year included tours of theconservation studio with short presentations, generouslyprovided by the BL conservators prior to the Committeemeeting, The event was attended by over sixty national andinternational delegates.

The General Meeting gave the Book and Paper Committeethe opportunity to introduce the new members to the Group:Ian Watson (Treasurer), Amelia Rampton (Cross DisciplinaryLiaison), Louise Vaile (Private Liaison Officer), Anna Brookes(Secretary) officially started their roles. Louise’s position asPrivate Practice Liaison is a new committee post. PrivatePractice representation is something the committee has longwished to develop, to provide representation and support fora growing proportion of our group membership, but whichhas become even more vital in the current economic climate.Please contact Louise directly at [email protected] further information, if you have issues you would like todiscuss or for the committee to address,

Additionally, there were some role changes within the Group,with the new committee line-up as follows:Stefania ChairVictoria Deputy Chair and CTR ChairIan TreasurerIsabelle Book and Paper Group sub-Editor Amelia Cross-Disciplinary LiaisonLouise Private Liaison OfficerCatt Student Liaison OfficerHeather ITAnna SecretaryMark Regional Co-ordinator

Call for nominationsAs I mentioned during our last General Meeting, I will be

stepping down from my role as Book and Paper Group Chairin March 2013 and I would like to invite members who wouldbe interested in such a role to contact me for moreinformation on how to apply at [email protected].

Please remember that ‘The Gathering’ on the B&PG part ofthe Icon site is there for you to share and to exchange ideasand information informally with each other. You could writeabout treatments, equipment, discuss ethical issues, or anyconservation problems on this forum. Please visit if you have notyet done so – there are some very interesting articles to inspireyou at http://bookandpapergroupgathering.wordpress.com/

The B&P Committee Group is currently deciding the length ofour session at the Icon Positive Futures 2013 Conference, andalso its possible themes. The Call for Abstracts for theconference will be issued in June but in the meantime, if youwould like to be involved, please email your ideas to me atthe address above. We will need volunteers to help to makeour sessions in the conference as beneficial as possible for ourgroup members, so please do consider offering your time. Tothank you in return for this help, we would be able to offer adiscount of £100 to two volunteer helpers to attend theconference.

Stefania Signorello

SCOTLAND GROUP

Upcoming eventsNMS and NTS internship presentations at Hermiston QuayDate in August to be confirmed, watch the Icon ScotlandGroup website for details

2012 Dr Harold Plenderleith Memorial LectureThe 2012 Dr Harold Plenderleith Memorial Lecture will bepresented in Glasgow on Thursday 29 November by MarkO’Neill. The title of the lecture is ‘Conservation, Morality andthe Meaning of Life’.Further details will be announced shortly

TEXTILE GROUPThe second workshop ‘Taking Patterns from HistoricCostume‘ took place at the National Museums Scotland(NMS) on 10 /11 May 2012. Part of the Textile Group’s ‘Back toBasics’ series, the course was run most ably once again byJanet Wood FRSA.

The course was fully booked and the twelve eagerparticipants enjoyed Janet’s teaching and sharing theirknowledge and skills over coffee and during lunch breaks.Following the introductory session ‘Toiles: what, when, howmuch and how? An Introduction to the art and craft of toilemaking applied to conservation’, there was muchconcentration during the practical sessions, which werebroken by the group sessions looking at progress and by around of applause for the first participant to actually make acalico toile! The workshop was a great success and thanks are


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extended to Janet and to the NMS and the Centre for TextileConservation and Technical Art History, both of which enabledthe course to take place by allowed the participants access tohistoric bodices from their collections so that they could learnthe basics of this skill to further their conservation work.

Looking aheadThe Textile Group symposium ‘A Woven Alliance: TapestryYesterday, Today and for Tomorrow‘ is on Friday 21September 2012. Papers have been selected which reflect thecreative, historical, technical and/or scientific partnerships andcollaborations that take place when working on a tapestryproject.

The event will be held at the Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh andis timed to coincide with their centenary exhibition ‘Weavingthe Century: Tapestry from Dovecot Studios 1912–2012’. Inaddition to the lively programme of talks there will be anopportunity over lunch to visit the exhibition, curated by DrElizabeth Cumming. This is the first major Dovecot tapestryexhibition to be presented in Scotland for over thirty years. Inthe evening there will be a short talk by one of the weavers onthe weaving floor, followed by a drinks reception.

In addition we are offering a visit on Saturday 22 Septemberto Historic Scotland’s Stirling Castle to see the reweaving of aset of the Medieval tapestries ‘The Hunt of the Unicorn’,which form one of the centrepieces of the recent £12mrefurbishment of the Royal Apartments.

All details of the programme, visits and booking informationare on the Textile Group web pages. Please note that placesare limited due to the size of the venue so don’t delay as itwill be first come, first served. www.dovecotstudios.comwww.stirlingcastle.gov.uk

SEWN DOCUMENTS IN THE CHIEFSECRETARY’S OFFICE REGISTERED PAPERS,NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF IRELAND by Audrey Ancé

IntroductionThe Chief Secretary’s Office Registered Papers (CSO/RP) arepart of the Irish state papers and consist of a series ofincoming letters, reports, memoranda and petitions as well asarchitectural drawings dating from 1815 to 1924. Thesedocuments provide a valuable insight into the administrationof Ireland during this period 1.

In 2008, a five-year project was launched to catalogue theearly part of the CSO/RP from 1818–1853 by two archivists. Aspart of the funding from the Crowley Bequest, a conservationintern who is a recent graduate is appointed each year towork on the papers. A small research project is supported aspart of the internship.2 In 2010/11 the research focused onthose documents which were secured together by somemeans of stitching. The papers registered in 1822 wereprocessed and a survey of the documents was conducted todefine the various types of sewing structures and the materialsused. The number of sheets that were attached together,along with the actual historical content of the documents wasalso noted. The survey highlighted sixty sewn documentsfrom around 4,500 items.

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the text block near the binding edge (Fig 3). Thesedocuments contained between two and twelve sheets, eithersingle or folded, with an outer folded sheet as a cover. Thesewing was executed with either a continuous thread or adisrupted thread. Whilst this method of side sewing wasrobust against mechanical stress it offered very little flexibilitywhen opening.

The sewing materials The most common sewing materials found in the stitching ofthe papers were green cotton thread and green silk ribbon.Both these materials caused problems to the stability of the

Fig 1: Document sewn with a continuous piece of thread

Fig 2: Tackets with small sections of thread

Fig 3: Sewing through the text block

One of the main problems that occurred while conductingthis research was how to define the sewn documents. As theregistered papers were sewn and contained several pages, itseemed appropriate to call them pamphlets. The OxfordEnglish Dictionary [2005] gives the following definition: ‘Ashort handwritten work or document of several pagesfastened together’. However Roberts & Etherington statethat a pamphlet is ‘few leaves of printed matter stitchedtogether but not bound’.3 As the CSO/RP sewn documentsare not printed, this last definition confuses the descriptionof them.

Three types of sewing structures were commonly found inthe papers surveyed: those sewn through the fold, othersthat were side stitched or sewn near the binding edge, andthose documents which were secured along the top edge orat the corner.

Sewn through the foldThe documents sewn through the fold were mainly letters,but included minutes, reports, memoranda and schedulesfrom various senders, addressed to the Chief Secretary.These documents are composed of bifolios groupedtogether in one section and can contain from two to twentyseven folded sheets. In this group different sewing typeswere identified. There were examples of one continuouspiece of thread being used, with three, four or five sewingholes in a figure of eight (Fig 1). There were also exampleswhere small sections of thread or ribbon were used andsecured with a knot on the inside of the document, knownas tackets.4 (Fig 2) The number of sewing holes varied fromdocument to document and some of the letters had atrimmed sheet at the front enclosing the folded pages,which acted as an envelope.

Side sewn documentOfficial reports were sewn through the entire thickness of


22

documents. This was confirmed by the reaction of the paperwhere it was in direct contact with either type of sewingmaterial. In these areas, the paper had yellowed and wasbrittle (Fig 4). The silk thread was also found to be fragile,delicate and degrading. On testing, both the sewing materialswere confirmed to be highly acidic with a pH 2.

As it would be unsafe to leave the thread or silk in position, itwas decided that the acidic sewing material would beremoved and replaced with a neutral linen thread (25/3)following the original sewing pattern and holes. For thedocuments sewn on the side, the decision was taken not tore-sew the item, as it would make it difficult to be scanned orhandled by readers. The loose pages were enclosed in anarchival paper folder.

Corner/top stitchedOfficial documents or manuscript copies were written onsingle folios and were secured together at the top left handcorner or along the top edge. This type of stitching isinteresting and requires careful conservation consideration.There was a great variety of materials used: parchment, paper,silk ribbon and parchment or pink linen ribbon with a waxseal. Often these attachments also included a parchmenttacket through a small securing fold of parchment (Fig 5) or asilk ribbon with a parchment guard between the ribbon andthe document (Fig 6). This parchment reinforcement wasprotecting the document from the degrading silk. It wasdecided to leave these attachments in situ, as the artefactualvalue is important. In some cases, the attachment wasparticularly interesting but the use of acidic sewing materialwas making the item fragile. A solution was devised to protectthe paper by inserting an archival paper layer in between thesilk and the document and to enclose the silk in Mylar toprotect the documents around it. (Figs 7 & 8)

ConclusionThe sewn documents in the Chief Secretary’s OfficeRegistered Papers were difficult to describe, as this type ofdocument is not often mentioned in publications and is often

Fig 5: Documents secured along the top edge with parchment

Fig 7: Paper needing protection from silk ribbon

Fig 4: The paper has reacted to the sewing materials

Fig 6: A parchment guard between ribbon and document



Fig 8: Protecting the paper from the ribbon

under-valued. While the documents sewn through the foldand the ones side-sewn can be included in the definition ofpamphlet (as described in the Oxford English Dictionary), thecorner/top attachment documents are more related to thehistory of the paper-clip, which did not appear until the end ofthe 19th century.

These documents might be seen as a detail in this collection,but it was important to highlight them and devise a solutionto conserve them. Keeping the sewing styles and materials inposition was important as they are part of the integrity ofdocument and its history. The main challenge was to keepthem in a stable condition while trying to find the best optionto facilitate the scanning of the document and reader access.

AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank Zoe Reid, Paper Conservator at theNational Archives of Ireland, for all her help and advice. I alsowant to acknowledge the support of other members of staff atthe National Archives, especially archivists Julie Brooks andNigel Johnston and Frances McGee, Acting Director.

References & Notes

1. Quinlan, T. (1994) ‘The Registered Papers of the Chief Secretary’s Office’,Irish Archives, Autumn 1994, pp. 5-21

2. To date other interns have investigated the wax and wafer seals found onthe correspondence and the Irish watermarks on the papers.

3. Roberts, M. T. and Etherington, D. (1982) Bookbinding and the conservationof books. A dictionary of descriptive terminology, Washington: Library ofCongress (Copy in the Chantry Library. Shelfmark: ICON:ConB/Ro)

4. Silverman, R. (1987) ‘Small, Not Insignificant: a Specification for aConservation Pamphlet Binding Structure’, The Book and Paper GroupAnnual, Vol. 6 (Journal Held in the Chantry Library: Shelfmark: ICON:J/BPG)

Photographs reproduced by kind permission of the Director of theNational Archives of Ireland

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reviewsthoughtful discussions and openness of theauthors as well as their generosity indetailing, for example, in appendices tablesfor ‘spring documentation chart’ and‘chronology of patents’ for springs, makesfor a very useful addition to any library.

In the editor’s introduction, Karin Lohm,explains that it was a conscious choice not toedit the authors’ texts in any way. This is myonly sadness as some of the text would havebenefited from being formatted withsubtitles to break up long passages. In sucha handsome volume, it is a pity that there isthis minor mar.

I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading all thesepapers (alongside my notes!) and realisingthat I had only captured a fraction of theinformation now available in this book. Bypublishing these papers, the considerableresearch carried out in the last decade or sois now available to a much wider audience.

Maria Jordan ACR

CONFERENCE

CONNECTING TO CONSERVATION:OUTREACH AND ADVOCACYAIC 40th Annual MeetingAlbuquerque, New Mexico May 8–11 2012

The theme of the American Institute ofConservation’s 40th Annual Meeting wasoutreach and advocacy in conservation, an‘exploration of how conservation connectswith allied professionals, the press, ourclients, and the general public’. AIC receivedover two hundred and seventy five abstractsfor the conference, showing just howimportant the role of the conservator in thepublic realm has become in recent years.Featuring over ninety papers, approximatelyeight hundred delegates attended the threeday conference, which also includedspeciality sessions, posters, outreachsessions, workshops, a portfoliodevelopment session for students and recentgraduates, tours, and an exhibitors’ hall. Theopening reception was held at theAlbuquerque Museum of Art and Historylocated in the Old Town.

Keynote speakersSamuel Jones, associate of Demos, gave thefirst keynote speech on the place of culturein society, using his 2008 publication ‘It’s aMaterial World: Caring for the Public Realm’.Discussing the power that conservationcould have in public, Jones suggested that anew, wider approach to thinking about thevalue of conservation was necessary; that itconnects people to social and culturalvalues. Tyler Green, an influential artsjournalist based in Washington DC, thenspoke on the current state of arts journalismtoday and his perspectives on what makesconservation projects worthy of public

attention in the news. His tips included usingsocial media like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblrand Wikipedia to publicise conservationprojects and going directly to the audiencethrough these digital media agents. He alsosuggested that museums need to shareconservation stories more readily and todemonstrate all of the activities undertakenby the museum, noting that conservationstories are regularly the most popular on hispodcast ‘Modern Art Notes’.

The concluding keynote speech was givenby Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice on the subject ofadvocacy within political circles, impactingpublic policy and injecting the importancefor caring for cultural heritage into the livesof the public through strategic partnershipsand clear communication. A session thenfollowed for all delegates on the subject ofarticulating value; that conservation has anintrinsic value to society as a whole, not onlymonetarily but through ethics andexpression of identity. The idea thatpreservation is responsible spending wasalso introduced in this session, along withsome lively discussion. A light-hearted andlively ‘Great Debate’ concluded the final day.

Textile Speciality Group SessionsThe textile speciality talks were the mainsessions that I attended, and the outreachand advocacy topics included those such asConservation Outreach Activities at theMinnesota Historical Society by SherelynOgden; Camera, Rolling, Speed…AndAction: Exhibiting the Conservation ofBanners through Film given by LeanneTonkin of the People’s History Museum,Manchester, UK and an Innovative Approachto Preservation for Dispersed Collections byDavid Bayne and Emily Schuetz. I gave apaper on RAKSHA- Raising Awareness ofTextile Conservation in India; one of the V&Aprojects for conservation outreach. CaraVarnell of the Textile Arts ConservationStudio in California gave recommendationsfor publicity-shy conservators who may findthemselves working on a high-profile project.

The following day’s session focussed mainlyon practical treatments including afascinating account of the history ofmounting flat textiles at the MetropolitanMuseum of Art, New York by ChristineGiuntini and Recent Advances in Dating Silkand Other Innovations in Mass Spectrometryat the Smithsonian Institution given by MaryW. Ballard. A Successful Treatment Methodfor Reducing Dye Bleed on a 19th CenturySampler was discussed by KatherineSahmel and Laura Mina, former and current

BOOK

THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY – UpholsteryconservationProceedings from the first InternationalConference in Europe focused onupholstery history held in Vadstena,SwedenEdited by Karin LohmLinköping University 2012 ISBN: 978-91-7519-996-2 288 pp

I was delighted to receive an email inFebruary this year with the news that thepapers from the excellent two dayupholstery symposium in Sweden in May2005 had been published. ‘The ForgottenHistory’ was fascinating as it not onlycovered a broad range of topics but alsohighlighted the approaches taken byconservators from different countries. Thesymposium’s focus was on the historicalperspective of the materials and techniquesused in upholstery rather than, as in previousconferences, looking at current conservationtreatments of upholstered furniture purelyfrom a technical point of view. In addition,the conference wanted to put thisinformation in context; if the right questionsare asked, supported by research on the useof materials and techniques, theconservator’s investigative antennae will beall the sharper.

So what does this new book offer? It bringstogether, in an easily accessible format, aconsiderable amount of historicalinformation on the source and use ofupholstery materials and the techniquesused across Europe and the US covering fivecenturies from 17th to the 21st century. Thepapers span the development in upholsteryfrom the cushion and squab to fixedupholstery, and the use of silk, wool andfeathers to the introduction of jute, horsehairand springs and then on to foam rubber,Ethafoam® and polyester twill fabric. It alsooffers new investigative, non destructivetechniques such the use of a portable X-radiographic unit. As a reference book, it willbe invaluable to the conservator to helpidentify different schemes of work, theirplace historically and who might haveundertaken the work.

This hardback book is lavishly illustrated withcolour photos, line drawings and 280 pagesof information, of which broadly 50% covershistorical information and 50% are casestudies. The historical information coverstopics such as the evolution of Americanupholstery techniques to the form and use ofslipcovers and the introduction, manufactureand development of upholstery springs. Thecases studies range from the trimmings oncarriages to the conservation dilemmas ofconserving a wheelchair, from examining andrecording modern upholstery techniques tothe representation of a camel back sofa. The

The location for the AIC conference 2012,Albuquerque Convention Centre, NewMexico


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Mellon Fellows in Textile Costume andTextiles Conservation at the PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art respectively. A paper byMiriam Murphy, Kress Conservation Fellowat the Smithsonian, on digitally printedfabrics concluded these sessions.

Other group speciality sessions focussed onprojects from architecture, wooden artefacts,paintings, photographic materials, objects,book and paper, electronic media andresearch and technical studies. Theseincluded Mass Deacidification Today,Teaching conservation to non-native Englishspeakers; Examining and conserving anEgyptian Coffin from 380–250 B.C.E.; theTreatment of a Mi’kmaq box made ofbirchbark, porcupine quills and iron-dyedspruceroot and Understanding the painter:documentation and technical evaluations,amongst many others.

The conference was a great opportunity tohear papers from a variety of speakers andthe programme was so full it was only ashame that I could not hear all of the papers.AIC and the speciality group committees dida fantastic job of organising and the eventcould not have run smoother, aided by themany slices of cake and cookies required tokeep conservators going! All theinternational speakers were welcomedwarmly and it was great to see a very activegroup of conservators all joining inorganising, discussing the issues and sharingtheir experiences. Throughout theconference, regular postings on the AICblog kept those unable to attend informedof the day’s events. Official postprints of theproceedings are to follow shortly.

The next meeting will be held from May 29–June 1 2013 in Indiana, Indianapolis, andthe theme will be ‘The Contemporary in Art’.

Sarah Glenn Textile ConservatorV&A Museum, LondonWith thanks to AIC, in particular the TextileSpeciality Group and the Kress Foundation forsupporting my attendance at the conference.

AIC blog: www.conservators-converse.org

Modern Art Notes:blogs.artinfo.com/modernartnotes

SEMINARS

RISK MANAGEMENT IN COLLECTIONSCAREUniversity of Cambridge MuseumsMasterclasses in Collections CareFitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge 30 March 2012

Opening the first of the University ofCambridge Museums’ Masterclasses inCollections Care, Julie Dawson remarked onthe combination of increasingly wide interestand a certain hesitancy, born ofmisunderstanding, concerning the subject ofthe day’s seminar, Risk Management inCollections Care. Her comments were welljudged as the seminar, following StefanMichalski’s highly successful lecture atUniversity College London three weeksearlier, was fully booked and the discursive,questioning spirit which prevailed in theCambridge seminar, drawing togetherexperts in the subject and conservators ‘inthe field’ keen to see what a risk-basedapproach could offer them, made for astimulating, good-humoured meeting.

The format of this one-day seminar, althoughcompressed, worked very well, the morningbeing devoted to presentations from threelecturers with considerable experience of therisk-management approach to collectionscare, and the afternoon given over to apractical exercise using three of theFitzwilliam’s galleries. Clearly each of themorning’s presentations was capable ofexpansion, and more open discussion timewould have been a bonus; but in the currenteconomic climate, where budgets are stillbeing cut and overnight accommodation forlonger courses raises costs which few canmeet, this was a format which others woulddo well to emulate. Indeed, there is a certainenergy and excitement about an intensivecourse which some longer formats seem tolack. (And how many courses have youattended where the speakers provideselection bowls of tempting Dutch sweets tohelp fuel brain-work on a Friday afternoon?)

The morning’s lectures were carefullyselected to give a compressed but incisiveoverview of the risk management techniqueas applied to collections care. As each of thespeakers pointed out, risk management isnot a new idea dreamed up by preservationmanagers, but an internationally recognisedapproach to dealing with the difficult anduncertain practicalities of life which can ruinso many good theories when the ideals andrealities collide. Agnes Brokerhof, of theCultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands(formerly ICN), started the morning sessionby summarising the risk-managementprocess. The strength of her lecture wasrooted in her deep understanding andemphasis on practical applications of therisk-management model.

One of the most engaging points of thewhole seminar was, for me at least, the wayin which this ‘theoretical ‘ approach to ourwork is grounded in, and constantly focusesone on, every-day, practical situations byasking highly focussed questions: what,exactly, are the major risks to the survival anduse of the objects we are trying to preserve?How can we maximise their long-termpreservation as well as their accessibility?What are the practical and financialimplications of our decisions? How are ournecessarily limited resources best allocated?Conservation as a profession seems to bewary of the idea of ranking objects andcollections in order of ‘value’, either in termsof historical significance or market price, tothe point of wanting to side-step thisfundamental issue completely. I have afeeling that this stems from bitter experienceof financially insignificant but archeologicallyvaluable artefacts having been ruined byrepair and restoration work in the past – andI speak as one working in libraries ofmedieval manuscripts whose ‘shabby’original bindings have been ripped off andthrown away in the fairly recent past, to bereplaced by unsympathetic modern workwhich shows off gold tooling rather well.

Risk management prompts and encouragesus to redress the balance and enablesconservators to communicate concernsabout loss of value and accessibility tohigher management in the language thatmanagers and finance directors find easy toassimilate. The model, as Brokerhof waskeen to point out, has its share of flaws – allmodels, as she commented, are flawed, butsome are more useful than others – and onecan be put off by the numerical systems; butthe emphasis on wide communication andconsensus to arrive at a numericalcomparison of a range of risks is powerful.

That power, as Andor Vince demonstratedin his case study, can have remarkable resultsin increasing awareness of significance aswell as risk, and result in dramatic increasesof budget. But that is not to say that theprocess is without controversy, as Vince’sexample of quantifying the impact on‘value’/significance of various types ofdamage on six paintings demonstrated.Within seconds, good-tempered butincreasingly heated arguments broke outamongst delegates, as different perceptionsand scenarios were aired! Some critics havecited this sort of uncertainty as afundamental flaw in the risk managementapproach: subjective responses refuse to fitinto the formula. But to me, the fact thatassumptions have to be justified and arguedby a wide range of stake-holders is

The Old Town, near to The AlbuquerqueMuseum of Art and History, has manytraditional adobe-style buildings

At the Risk Management Masterclass


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important in itself, and as Vince argued, thenumerical part of the process is not absolutebut relative, the point being to weigh uprisks, to assess what we do and, equallyimportant, don’t know, and to arrive at abalance of value/significance in collectionsand the probable risks likely to affect themwhich ‘feels right’ to the stakeholders.

Anna Bulow, of The National Archive, closedthe morning session with a presentation onCost-effectiveness in Collection Management,based on her experience of applying riskmanagement strategies at TNA andmeasuring cost-effectiveness using qualityevaluation models developed in the health-care sector to assess the impact ofinterventions in the form of Quality AdjustedLife Years. Once again, issues of value are ofcrucial importance, but Bulow highlighted ashift in attitudes from the traditional keeper’sconcern with maintaining value to the currentmanager’s emphasis on optimising quality ofand accessibility to the collections they carefor. Many conservators have tended to becomeagitated at this idea, pointing out the damagewhich readers and users of archival andmuseum objects can do; but I, as a profes-sional at the bench who increasingly views‘conservation’ as an unfortunate necessityrather than an unalloyed blessing, wasparticularly pleased to hear Bulow point outthat an institution’s staff tend to cause moreproblems than its users. Risk Managementinvolves questioning assumptions andrecognising the wider context, which is auseful exercise in itself for our profession,made up as it is from people who aregenerally highly focussed on objects per semore than the value and utility of collectionsto our understanding of ourselves.

Group-work in the afternoon alloweddelegates to try out and debate the riskmanagement process, using three of theFitzwilliam’s galleries (one of which housesthe three vases smashed by a visitor fallingdown the adjacent staircase) to assess ‘live’risks. The speakers then guided us throughthe process of evaluating the various risksusing post-it notes and grids marked out onthe walls of the seminar room. This simpleapproach was highly effective and generatedinteresting debates within and between thegroups as we argued for our decisions andmodified ideas in the light of other views.These debates, the process of riskmanagement, are one of the method’s greatbenefits and dispel the myth that number-crunching to rid ourselves of uncertainty isthe flawed goal. The numbers generated bythis method are relative, not absolute,allowing us to make a better attempt atcomparing unlike factors.

A wise old friend remarked that timid peopleoften become mathematicians becausethere is safety in numbers. Groan as you willat that but the comment neatly captures acouple of health warnings which I think need

to accompany this useful approach tocollections care. The first is that thosehoping that Risk Management will tie up allthe problematic loose ends in theirprofessional lives are very much mistaken, forrisks, as well as significance values, changeover time and the satisfying bar graphswhich the process allows one to create arenot carved in stone. The second warning isthat numbers, particularly when decimalpoints are involved, can give a false sense ofsecurity and certainty. Andor Vince, as one ofhis examples, argued that knowing thatthere is an 80% chance of rain tomorrow ismore useful than being told that it is likely torain. But how far can that 80% be pushedbefore it is no longer useful because it is nottruthful? Is a 90% chance more likely to affectmy actions, i.e. taking my umbrella, and a72.467%, for example, less likely to affect thedecision. As an Englishman, I am inclined totake my umbrella with me every day; butthen again, I am also a conservator, andliable to be highly sensitised to risks! Themain use of the statistics is in prioritisingactions – i.e. forget about going to buy anew umbrella and use the time to getmaintenance to help sheet up the new holein the roof over my rare books stack.

Many thanks to all the lecturers and to theFitzwilliam Museum, particularly to AndorVince as organiser, for a useful and highlyenjoyable seminar: the standard is set highfor the rest of this Masterclass series.

Edward Cheese ACRConservation ManagerCambridge Colleges’ ConservationConsortium

IDAP PARCHMENT ANALYSIS Icon Book and Paper Group CTRThe National Archives, London 27–30 March 2012

IDAP: Improved Damage Assessment ofParchment. Diagnostic methodology forassessing the condition of parchmentdocuments and collections

The IDAP workshop, organised by the Bookand Paper Group’s CTR committee andkindly hosted by the conservation studio ofthe Collection Care Department at TheNational Archives, was a fantasticopportunity for all delegates with a focusedinterest in the development of parchmentanalysis. They came from a wide range ofinstitutions around the world.

The tutors Dr. René Larsen, DorteVestergaard Poulsen and Kathleen MühlenAxelsson, from the Royal Danish Academyof Fine Arts School of Conservationhighlighted immediately that our learningwould be achieved through our practicalwork, work that would prompt furtherquestions and in-depth enquiry. First, welearnt about the IDAP EU project which hasbeen investigating parchment ageing and

deterioration mechanisms at macroscopic,microscopic, mesoscopic (collagen fibril) andnanoscopic (micro fibril) levels, and hascreated databases for the identification ofthe state of preservation of ancientparchments along with the evaluation oftheir rates of deterioration. Resultsdemonstrate that there are strongcorrelations between damage observed onall these levels of observation.

Within the IDAP project scientists andconservators have been working togethertraining their eye and perfecting theirworking practice assessing parchmentcollections, in order to build up a centraldatabase for damage assessment andresearch into parchment materials.Consequently, the IDAP network has beendeveloped in order to provide an interactivetool with a wide research scope forconservation professionals, researchers andeducators. Those eligible for membership ofthe network are IDAP partners, culturalheritage and research institutions, as well asprivate professional conservators trained inthe efficient use of the IDAP assessmentmethods and database facilities.

The use of the IDAP assessment programhas the following applications:

• diagnosis of the condition of a parchmentobject before conservation treatment,storage and exhibition requirements

• establishing conditions of collections i.e.through assessment by random sampling,long term control of the condition ofindividual items and collections by regularassessment

• evaluation and control of establishedconservation methods

• the development of new conservationmethods

Parchment is a highly complex material dueto the numerous uncertainties associatedwith its production. Factors that contributeto the complexities in degradation are thequalities of raw materials and themanufacturing processes. Productionpractices vary from country to country,century to century, as do the sequence ofoperations and duration of the differentprocess steps. Parchment skins are nothomogeneous, so their condition can varyconsiderably over the membrane. Parchmentdocuments most often pose complex formsof deterioration and sometimes these can beso extreme that accessing the documents isprohibited by extensive distortion.

The deterioration of parchment can besummarised as: shrinkage or denaturation,brittleness, overall or localised distortion,tears and lacunae, mould damage, andweakness or loss of inks and pigments.Conservators have limited treatment options,using the application of controlled moisturethrough either aqueous or solvent-basedprocesses in order to unroll, separate or



lightly flatten parchment documents foraccess, for example early multipleaccount/inventory rolls. It was stressed thatcurrent research indicates that any humidityis thought to accelerate the deterioration ofcollagen, so it would be very important toidentify the level of physical disintegration atwhich parchment becomes significantlysensitive to humidity and moisturetreatments.

There are two interactive mechanismscausing deterioration of the collagenstructure in parchment. In humid storageconditions, acid hydrolysis and oxidation areassumed to result in gelatinisation, thetransformation of the collagen fibres into agelatine-like substance, a process thoughtalso to be encouraged by humidificationtreatments. In dry storage conditions,oxidation results in cross-linking, fibrefragmentation and brittleness. FluctuatingRH and temperature dramatically acceleratethe above processes. The damage mayprogress faster in some areas or may be onlysuperficial or penetrate part or the wholestructure. The deterioration is known to beaccompanied by a fall in hydrothermalstability which is expressed by the shrinkagetemperature Ts and continues to decreasewith increasing deterioration of the collagenfibre. Ts is measured by heating a parchmentfibre sample in water. Evidence indicates thatthe natural degradation pattern of collagenfibre structure is comparable to the changesobserved during Ts measurements. Thesedecreasing measurements can be seen as anaccelerated visual model of the parchmentdegradation.

It is thus important to understand that visualobservations alone can prove unreliable incondition assessment of parchmentdocuments. Fibre samples from differentpositions within the same document canreveal great difference in level ofdeterioration, i.e. from fibres in gelatinisedstate to almost intact fibres.

If a relationship between damage detectedat the different structural levels can beuncovered, more reliable methods ofassessment of damage on the macro- andthe microscopic level may be developed tohelp end users in their efforts to optimisetreatment and storage of historicparchments.

• Part 1 of the assessment involves alldescriptive information of the chosenparchment, IDAP and originalidentification numbers, ownership, origin,century, date, type of object, storage andpresent history, hair hole pattern, animalorigin, overall colour, damage/propertiesof parchment and visible categorisation,loss of surface media and relatedcorrosion, photo documentation.

• In part 2, a specific area is chosen ontowhich all visual identification takes place

such as thickness, flexibility, transparency,transmission of light, colour, followed byan extensive list of surface and damageappearance, each with its relevantdescriptor.

• Part 3 covers the microscopic analysis onthe specific sample area for damagecategorisation and shrinkage temperature.The sample is carefully observed andassessed in both dry and wet states underthe microscope. Individual fibres areassessed on slides and characterisedaccordingly. Undamaged fibres appearlong with a relative even and smoothsurface with helical formations, whereasdamaged fibres can appear frayed, split,flat, cracked, shrunken, bundled, gel-likeand, lastly, dissolving. A great deal ofexperience is required to gain the abilityto distinguish these features. The wholeassessment is highly dependent on thequality and precision of the visualdescriptions and the analysis.

The course was enriched by the presentationand use of high quality microscopes by Leicaand space saving microscope mountingsystems such as a specialised table mountedstand and a mobile floor stand which couldalso double up as a photography stand,provided by Opto. Delegates showedinterest in the versatile jointed couplerswhich enabled precise illumination fordetailed microscope work. Thethermoanalysis instrument for measurementof Ts was performed with apparatus on loanfrom Mettler Toledo, a hot stage system thatgradually and accurately increasestemperature in order to record thedenaturation of the parchment fibres. All theabove equipment was specifically sourcedfor its quality and ease of use and wasgenerously loaned for the duration of thecourse.

Although specialist equipment is required toconduct the fibre assessment and the Tsmeasurements, the tutors reported thataccurate results have been successfullycollected by simpler methods available to abasic conservation lab.

The presentations were very concise,enabling the delegates to work methodicallythrough the IDAP assessment form and thetutors were always on hand to help withprogress. We were taken through the formstep by step in small groups completing insequence the three parts and discussingresults. The tutors’ in-depth knowledge wasinspiring. Another very useful session was aconcise presentation of past and currentparchment conservation and preservationtreatments, during which delegatescontributed their personal experiences andpractical knowledge.

The results of the fibre damagecategorisation ranging between undamaged(1), some damage (2), damaged (3) and

heavy damage (4) generally concurred withthe visible deterioration recorded. However,in some cases, samples chosen from lessdamaged areas, i.e. not considered asheavily damaged by visual identificationmeans, recorded the rounded average of thethird category (the average combinesshrinkage temperature and fibreassessment). One reason for this can be thatthese samples are borderline. In some cases,fibres that seem intact may be in a pre-gelatine state, transforming morphologicallywhen they come in contact with humidity.This type of damage may not give rise to therecognisable yellowing of the parchmentsurface, which is mostly the case in agelatinised parchment surface.

The workshop was particularly enlighteningfor me as a teacher of parchmentconservation on the BA and MA courses atCamberwell College of Arts, London. I cannow reappraise and utilise the visualidentification methodology in the studiopractice. By using the IDAP form as adamage assessment tool, a student canobtain all the fundamental understanding ofthe nature, behaviour and deteriorationmechanisms of parchment. This is invaluablefor grasping the subsequent implications ofthese issues for conservation. The ongoingIDAP evidence can thus support theevaluations of the current conservationprocesses and general approaches totreatment options. I am currentlyinvestigating how to integrate elements ofthe IDAP principles into training activitiesand adapt them as a learning program. Thiswould require discussion and approval bythe IDAP body.

A comprehensive example of the use ofIDAP facilitating an important project is theCodex Sinaiticus parchment assessmentmodel developed at the British Library,partner to the IDAP EU. The model hasutilised the diagnostic methodology in orderto gather objective and consistent data. Asparts of the Codex reside in four locations,transferable accuracy and repeatability werevitally important requirements forcomparisons with future assessments thatwill determine the progress of deterioration.

To conclude, even with all the currentresearch, parchment and its conservationremains highly problematic. Theconsequences of treatment are still not fullyestablished. It is only through methodicallycollecting such information that significantadvances in the safe conservation /preservation of parchment documents canbe made.

I would like to give a big thank you toVictoria Stevens and other members of theIcon Book and Paper Group CTR for puttingin the time and effort to organise a verysuccessful workshop. Moreover, the CTR wasable to offer the university a subsidisedplace, which in the current financial climate


28

was greatly appreciated.

The CTR committee would very much like tothank Opto, Leica Microsystems, MettlerToledo and the Wellcome Trust for theirgenerous loan of the equipment for thiscourse.

Eleni Katsiani Book and Paper Conservator Associate Lecturer Camberwell College ofArts, London

LECTURE

RECENT ADVANCES IN THE ANALYSISAND DIAGNOSIS OF PARCHMENTDAMAGE presented by Dr René Larsen, Icon Book and Paper Group CTR London College of Communications, 28 March 2012

The Book and Paper Group were fortunateto be able to provide members with accessto an update of Dr Larsen’s research onparchment degradation in this free eveninglecture, as an additional benefit to the CTRIDAP Parchment Analysis Workshop held atThe National Archives during the same weekand described above. To a packed lecturetheatre Dr Larsen set out a comprehensiveoverview and discussion of the research thathe and his colleagues had conducted at theRoyal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schoolof Conservation under the recent EC IDAPand ongoing MEMORI projects.

Dr Larsen showed these projects to be acollaboration between scientists andconservators co-operatively working toprovide sound and relevant results. Theultimate aim is to help conservators in theirapproach to parchment handling, treatmentand storage by enabling them to relatevisual damage to results obtained byadvanced analytical methods. In this, theproject encouraged conservators to submittheir assessment findings to the databaseproduced under the IDAP project followingtraining at the courses which the researchteam operate, such as the ParchmentAnalysis Workshop. Dr Larsen highlightedthe importance of these workshops, withgratifying new discoveries being made ateach of these training sessions – a true case ofeveryone involved learning something new.

The lecture opened with an introduction toparchment, its production methods,structure and composition. The degradationfactors were highlighted, a combination ofbiological, chemical and physical forces, withthe effect of the chemical and the physicalbeing the predominant subject of thelecture. Using the IDAP project’s basicpremise that what happens to the parchmentfibres at a molecular level must always bevisible, Dr Larsen went on to discuss theamazing complexity of the protein chainsand their reactions specifically to water,going down the scale from the macroscopic,

to the microscopic, mesoscopic, nanoscopicand molecular level. He began bydifferentiating between the reactivehydrophilic side chain areas of themolecules, which provide strength andflexibility, and the hydrophobic side chainswhich allow the molecule to twist. Whenwater enters the hydrophilic areas the ionicbonds between the reactive side chains arebroken causing swelling of the fibrestructure, the level of which is determinednot only by the extent of the cross linkingbut also by its pH, salt content and thethickness of the affected sample.

By comparing both new and historic samplesseveral aspects of parchment degradationwere shown. This started with a discussion ofwhat happens during oxidation andhydrolysis of the parchment fibres, theirresearch having indicated which amino acidsand amino acid tripeptide segments areprone to oxidation. Dr Larsen showed howhydrolysis splits the parchment intoindividual amino acid chains and oxidationcauses scission in the fibre and the formationof free radicals, which sets up a chainreaction leading ultimately to acidity withinthe sample. He went on to discuss the issueof the formation of calcite from the calciumcomponents present from the productionprocess which can move to the surface ofthe parchment when it is exposed tomoisture. This causes inflexibility leading tosurface cracking and gelatinisation and thepotential disruption of the media layer.

Types of damage were then shown, includingunwinding, broken, split and frayed fibres.Usefully, Dr Larsen clearly illustrated the fourlevels of damage determined by theresearch according to the percentage offibres affected when viewed microscopically,with parchment being classed asundamaged where less than 30% of fibreswere affected and severely damaged whenthis figure rose to more than 75%.Reassuringly, Dr Larsen stressed that nosample would display all fibres intact.

A discussion of fibre morphology followedwith the different types of chain shape -ropes, strips and ‘pearls on a string’ linkages– all fully illustrated. During artificial ageingand comparative studies of historicparchment, the evidence of the researchindicates that the natural degradationpattern of the parchment fibre structure iscomparable to that observed duringshrinkage, allowing results to beextrapolated to visually assess the conditionof a given sample before treatment.

As a dramatic denouement, Dr Larsenhighlighted the influence of ethanol onparchment, which analysis has now also beenshown to cause fibre shrinkage in someinstances. Various samples were shownwhich did not distinguish between the fibretypes affected by ethanol and those affectedby water, making it difficult to determine

without the fibre assessment test which wouldhave the least damaging effect duringtreatment. This observation clearly adds alayer of complexity to the determination oftreatment strategy but at the same time helpsthe development of a more sophisticatedmodel of the behaviour of parchment.

Dr Larsen concluded the lecture by givingmembers an overview of the MEMORI project,a pan-European research project to assessthe effect of volatile organic compounds onmoveable cultural heritage, and in his case,specifically parchment. Although theresearch into the effect of ethanol onparchment was somewhat of a setback interms of treatment options for conservators,the delegates left feeling encouraged andreassured that a framework for the effectivehandling, storage and treatment of theparchment items in the collections they carefor may not be too far away.

Victoria Stephens ACR

VISIT

STIRLING CASTLEIcon Scotland Group4 May 2012

A group of very enthusiastic conservators,archivists and one local studies librarian meton a chill, windy day at Stirling Castle for atour of the refurbished Great Hall and RoyalApartments from Richard Welander ofHistoric Scotland (HS) and his colleagues.

We set off by viewing the Queen AnneGardens, then had a brief tour of thebattlements from Guide, Gary D’Arcy, whoexplained why Stirling has long been such animportant location for a castle. Its veryimportant geo-strategic position is reflectedin the number of battle sites within sight ofthe battlements, including the Battle ofStirling Bridge in 1297 and, of course,Bannockburn in 1314. Our guide explainedthat all castles change over time and therecent refurbishment of portions of thecastle aims to allow the visitor to explorethese changes.

The first talking point was the colour of theRoyal Palace, which is coated in severallayers of yellow ochre lime wash. Severaldifferent colours of finish had been foundduring investigations but when references to‘King’s Gold’ were found in royal accounts,this prompted the decision to reinstate it,which was tremendously controversial at thetime. The people of Stirling (of whom I amone!) took some time to get used to it andthere’s no doubt it looks absolutely stunningagainst a brilliant blue sky on a sunny day.Historically, parts of the castle were alsoharled, though HS have decided not to re-apply this, stating there is ‘no need’ and thatthe limewash on its own adequately protectsthe stonework.



The tour next took in the Great Hall with itsmagnificent oak hammerbeam roof,constructed from the box cut heart of fourhundred trees. No nails, screws or glue wereused in the construction – it is all heldtogether by 3228 hand carved wooden pegs.The Hall had previously been a militarybarracks, which HS decided to remove toreinstate the Hall. It would be interesting tosee what the barracks had looked like, and Iwonder whether interpretation of thesoldiers’ experience in the barracks from the1800s onwards would not have been just asbig a tourist attraction. However, the Hall isundoubtedly impressive and provides a verysatisfactory venue for various events andproductions.

The Chapel Royal boasts restored friezes byValentine Jenkins and is a very atmosphericspace; HS have found that when used formusical events notes ‘hang’ in the air verywell. I have been to a concert here and cancertainly vouch for the pleasantness andacoustic quality of the room. Next, weviewed the Royal Apartments, where mucheffort has gone into re-creating some of thedécor, fixtures and fittings. Previously, visitorswalked through empty stone walled rooms,which gave little sense of being ‘royal’. HSfaced several challenges as they set aboutthe work including treating dampness,asbestos and concrete removal, beforeessentially ending up with a blank canvas.This portion of the tour certainly provokedmore discussion and comment from theparty, including questions about themethodology of the project, the research,the evidence which informed their decisionsand the methods of interpretation.

Richard Welander (Head of Collections,Historic Scotland) explained that they hadaimed to create a visitor experience whichgave ‘more sense of place, atmosphere andcolour which the visitor retains long after

names and dates are gone’. The apartmentsfeature painted friezes on the walls withbright and bold designs. The colours arebased on fragments found, though theactual paint in the recreation comprises amixture of traditional paints through tomodern acrylics. One colleague commentedthat she would have liked to have seen a lotmore information about why the designswere chosen for the room and what researchshowed they were appropriate. Has similardecoration been found in other royalapartments of similar age? Is there enoughinformation given to visitors about therefurbishment and methodology, or dovisitors simply walk through without realisingthis is a recreation rather than a restoration?Apart from sound tours, there is very littleinterpretation on show, though thecostumed interpreters are undoubtedly livelyand informative and interact to bring thecastle experience alive, especially for theyounger visitor. One corridor was left bare toshow the building as it appears in itsunadorned state, however there is nothingto indicate that this is the case and onewonders if most visitors realise it isdeliberate or if they simply stroll through.

The Stirling Heads are bright, bold andcolourful. These heads, positioned in theceiling of the King’s chamber, feature thefaces of monarchs, gods, and members ofthe court such as the joker and weredescribed by one young visitor as ‘James V’sfacebook of friends’. Visitors are generallyamazed by the impact of these heads andseeing them in situ is definitely striking. Therecreated heads were carved by JohnDonaldson, who was able to makediscoveries about the quality and style of theoriginals along the way. Again, a colleaguecommented she would have liked to haveseen more of this understanding beingpassed along to visitors.

The tapestries in the King’s chamber alsoprovoked a lot of discussion. They areundeniably beautiful, and once complete,the series can be read as an allegory of loveor a Christian parable. People in the groupwished there had been more informationabout their origins, the reason for choosingthis design, and how visitors are made awareof this. The tapestries portray the Hunting ofthe Unicorn and are based on 15th Centuryoriginals from the Low Countries now held inNew York. They are referred to as the‘Stirling Tapestries’ in HS interpretation – it isknown that James V owned two sets oftapestries featuring a unicorn, but whichdesign is unknown. Richard Welander wasvery open about musing whether they couldor should have chosen another design and

very up-front about the rooms being a re-creation aimed at boosting the visitorexperience, and balancing the demands ofhistory, evidence, practicality and those ofthe day to day visitor. The weaving of thetapestries was managed by West DeanCollege, Sussex, and there is a tapestrystudio at the Castle to visit.

One of the most striking exhibits for mepersonally was the original Stirling Heads.The exhibition area is beautifully designedand lit and I particularly liked the way theheads were mounted. They appear to ‘float’in the cases and we learned that the mountalso features a quick release system to allowthem to be removed quickly in the event of adisaster. The thirty six original Heads (plusone modern addition) are rare survivors ofthe mid 16th century and this exhibitiongallery allow visitors to view them in veryclose details. There are also fun interactivesto play with to bring the heads alive for theyounger visitor. The cases are activelyclimate controlled and the gallery closelymonitored by HS to deal with cold flow of airthrough the room and the effect of 400,000damp visitors on the objects. Seeing the re-creations in situ earlier in the tour definitelyhelped me appreciate the real objects and Ihad a much better understanding of theirplace, purpose and importance throughboth displays.

At this point most in the tour decided totake time out for tea or depart. There is suchan incredible amount to see that theexperience can be quite overwhelming. Therichness and variety of images andinformation was astounding, though in truthwe only toured a very small portion of theentire building. For those who carried onexploring there was also the innovative‘Stirling Skeletons’ gallery, whereinterpretation is based on forensic procedureas featured in the BBC’s Cold Caseprogramme. This gallery is great fun, opensup the subject matter in a whole new wayand mixes traditional interpretation with newtechnology to great effect. For those whodidn’t make it to this part, I would urge youto do so; it is really worthwhile, as is a visit tothe entire castle.

Many thanks to Richard Welander, EleanorMuir (Visitor Experience Manager) and GaryD’Arcy (Guide & Re-enactor) for welcomingus to the castle and guiding us around.Thanks also to Erica Kotze of Icon whoorganised the trip. More information can befound on Stirling Castle and its history atwww.stirlingcastle.gov.uk/home.htm

Jane Petrie, Assistant Archivist, StirlingCouncil Archive

The amazing recreated Stirling Heads The hammerbeam roof of the Great Hall The Chapel Royal frieze

The bold colour of the Royal Palace


30

THE CREATION OF A CUSTOM-MADECRADLE TO MINIMISE RISK DURING THEDIGITISATION PROCESS by Flavio Marzo, book conservator working at theBritish Library Centre for Conservation

INTRODUCTIONIn 2009, as part of the long-term digitisation strategy, theBritish Library digitised two hundred and fifty early Greekmanuscripts. This was the first phase of an ongoing externally-funded project to digitise the entire Greek manuscriptcollection. The aim was to facilitate wider access to readersnationally and internationally and to help reduce the amountof physical and chemically-induced harm to their futurepreservation. The manuscripts chosen for digitisation rangedin condition from fair to good. All those in poor conditionwere excluded from digitisation and sent to be treated or putaside for later conservation.

The following article describes the creation of a book cradledesigned for the handling of manuscripts during thedigitisation process and provides instructions for its assembly.

Establishing the risksThe need for a book support for the digitisation process washighlighted during a risk assessment undertaken at thebeginning of the project. This collection care risk assessmentwas aimed at identifying possible causes of harm to themanuscripts and to help mitigate such risks, whilst enablingthe ease of project workflow. To manage these requirements,the project included the work of a full-time book conservatorto evaluate the risks attached to the digitisation of thiscollection.

It was established quite early that the main risk factors werearound the handling processes, particularly during

• Transport• Digitisation in studios• Storage

The main focus of the assessment was to evaluate the risks tomanuscripts through the process of mechanical handlingthroughout the whole project and some aspects of storage.

As handling presented the highest risk overall, it wasimperative that all those involved in the process of handlingshould first observe some of the basic preservation rules, suchas clean hands, ensuring that the correct mechanisms were inplace, such as trolleys and cradles, and establishing safeaccess routes before moving items from one place to another.

Handling during the actual digitisation process was identifiedas presenting the highest risk of all. It was important toconsider the worst-case scenario, as handling during thisprocess does not always take place in the presence of thecollection care staff.

The need for the cradleIn order to mitigate those risks, it was decided to design anddevelop an easy-to-use and adaptable book cradle. It wasintended to support manuscripts whilst they were beingdigitised.

The book cradle was designed to be used only where onepage at a time was being photographed or digitised. It wasused with a common photographic stand with the cameraplaced perpendicular to the page to be digitised. The booksupport is also adjustable depending on the type of spine ofthe book.

The resulting cradle enabled a safe and faster digitisation ofmany of the manuscripts so far and has also been usedrecently for other projects such as the digitisation of the St.Cuthbert Gospel this year. Positive feedback from digitisationstaff confirmed the success of the implementation achievedwith this simple device.

MAKING THE BOOK SUPPORTThe following instructions are intended to explain and showclearly and easily the construction of the book cradle. Theyare offered to anyone wishing to make a cost-effective cradlefor use in their institution.

List of materials needed• Board • Buckram cloth • Plastazote®

• Strips of linen tape or Tyvek®, the length depending on thedimensions of the book support plus the space for thebook block.

• Self adhesive Velcro strips.• Foam wedges

Fig 1 shows the finished article and Fig 2 shows the threecomponents of which the support is made:

1. A base formed of two boards covered with Buckram

2. Two Plastazote® supports covered with the same archivalcloth

3. Strips of Velcro placed on the edges of the support

The base is formed by two 3mm identical boards. The boardsare covered with buckram or any suitable archival materialthat join them together creating a central hinge ofapproximately 10mm. See Fig 3.

The Plastazote® supports are made from a piece ofPlastazote® and a 3 mm board of the same dimensions. Theyare covered in such a way as to create a slit at the back ofeach Plastazote® support into which the base board isinserted. To create this slit place the piece of Plastazote® onthe cover material to the left and the same dimension pieceof board on the right leaving between them a gap equal tothe thickness of the Plastazote® plus the thickness of the

in practiceIconNewsJULY2012 4/7/12 13:55 Page 30


covered base board (5mm). The diagram at Fig 4 gives thetemplate for the covering material for the Plastazote® bases

Next, secure the Plastazote® and the board bases to thecover material. Place the Plastazote® on A without gluing itbut securing it with a weight. Glue the board on B aligning itwith the Plastazote®.

Fig 5 shows the folding sequence for the Plastazote® supportcovering material

Glue verso 1 to the Plastazote®, do the same with 2 (head andtail) to the board and finish attaching 3.

Close B onto A placing a compensatory thickness equal tothe thickness of the covered base board (the base board itselfcan be easily used for this) to create the slit. Place the glue on4 and fold it over the verso of B at both sides.

The support is shown end on in Fig 6.

Now place the strips of self adhesive Velcro (hook side ofthe Velcro) onto the Plastazote® supports at head and tail(short sides) of the Plastazote® bases and onto their thickness.This is illustrated in Fig 7.

Fig 3 The base (component 1 above)

Fig 5

Fig 4

Fig 1 The book support with its holding strips

Fig 2 The components of the support

A: PlastazoteB: BoardA1: Fold of covering material equal to thickness of AA2: Equals A1 plus thickness of covered base boardB1: Fold of covering material equal to thickness of B


32

Fig 8 The holding strip

Fig 10 A pronounced spine properly housedFig 9 The adjustable groove houses different spine sizes

Fig 6 The support in tail view

Fig 7 The placing of the Valcro strips



Adjusting the grooveTo adjust the groove to accommodate different sizes of theraised spine of a book it is necessary to secure the left side ofthe Plastazote® support at different heights.

This is achieved by placing three strips of self adhesive Velcro(loop side) on the verso of the left part of the base board.These strips need to be placed at 1 or 2 cm interval parallel tothe groove. Cut a strip of board of the length of the baseboard or slightly shorter and 40 mm wide. Adhere to the stripa new strip of self adhesive Velcro (hook side) and use thestrip to support the Plastazote® base at the desired height.

The diagram at Fig 8 illustrates the technique, whilst Figs 9 &10 show the end result

Holding the book in placeThe book is held in place by strips that can be made of linentape, or conservation paper or even Melinex® or Mylar® orTyvek®. These strips are secured to the base with Velcro (loopside of Velcro) at each end to secure the books to the booksupport during digitisation. The strips both gently hold theleft part of the book block out of the camera range and alsoprovide an easy and fast way to change the page. The strips,placed behind the page to be photographed can also help tosecure the right side of the book block in place during the

photographic process. To hide the strips, a sheet of archivalpaper can be placed behind the page being photographedas a blending background as shown in Fig 11.

The diagram at Fig 11 shows the system ready for use, whilstFig 12 and the front cover of this magazine show books inplace with different opening angles

The opening angle of the book support can be changed asnecessary. Different thicknesses of foam wedges can be usedbehind the book support to achieve a different openingangle. The opening of the book should not to be more than120 degrees and the book should never be forced to openfurther than it will naturally.

Refinements can be made to the design when you have madethe basic cradle; for instance, the Plastazote® bases can bebevelled at the edge close to the groove where the bookspine will be placed to follow the shape of rounded bookspines. Also, where natural hollow or tight back spines needsupport a rolled linen cloth can be used to fill the groove tosupport the book block from behind, as illustrated in Fig 13

CONCLUSIONS The book support cradle was designed to reduce thehandling of the books during the digitisation process. Thebook is secured on a non abrasive surface that keeps asuitable constant opening angle and allows the book to bepositioned on the photographic table without further directhandling as the book rest itself can be moved with the bookalready in place.

The dimensions of the supports can be varied depending onthe dimensions of the books to be digitised, more than onedimension should be available to the photographer/imagerand the book support needs to be bigger then the book tobe digitised.

The strips made of conservation-grade material (Tyvek® andlinen tapes were the more suitable choices due to theirproperties of strength and non-abrasive surface) keep thebooks open and reduce the risk of damage to delicate paperor parchment surfaces. The use of Velcro to secure the stripsto the book support means they can be secured with a slighttension to prevent the angled opposing pages from slipping.The Velcro also means that the page turning operation isquicker and safer.

Fig 11 Ready for use

Fig 12 In use


34

The adjustable space in the centre of the book supportbetween the covered Plastazote® bases enables the safepositioning of the spine of the books placed on the support.Different book sewing structures open in different ways duringuse, for example: hollow back books need space toaccommodate the spine which is detached from the textblock. Positioning books properly on the support enables thepages to be turned more easily and the adjustable cradleenables the dimensions of the gap to be increased ordecreased to accommodate books of different thicknessessafely.

The increase of book digitisation projects has meant that theinvolvement of conservation/preservation departments is anessential part of successful project planning. Never before hasso much emphasis been placed solely on the books as meretextual carriers. Much of the funding for these projects isawarded towards the accessibility of this textual informationalone. For this reason, book conservators have a vitalresponsibility to contribute to these projects by supervisingthe safety of the physical items through the stressful processof digitisation.

Books now, more than in any other period, need to bepreserved for future generations as artefacts and museumobjects too. Important features of the artefacts can be lost,

simply because they are presently undervalued due topressing work schedules and other agendas, but it must beremembered that they are carriers of information on manylevels, not just intellectual content.

Experience at the British Library has demonstrated that theinvolvement of the conservation/preservation element indigitisation projects must be factored-in at the beginning ofthe planning process. The early assessment of condition andrisks is vital for the future conservation and safety of ourirreplaceable heritage.

AcknowledgementsI would like to thank my then manager Roswitha Ketzer for hermentoring and immeasurable support during the project andespecially during the conception of the overall RiskAssessment, the book cradle itself being only one of themitigating tools for the risks uncovered.

I would like to also thank the Manuscript Department, theImaging Department and Preservation Department for theirconstructive and open working approach.

Thank you to my colleague Isabelle Egan for her support inpushing me to share through this article my experience andfor her invaluable editing.

Fig 13 A hollow spine supported with rolled linen cloth



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION +44 (0)1243 818 208 [email protected] West Dean College West Dean, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0QZ, England www.westdean.org.uk/college

CONSERVATION DIPLOMAS & MAsBooks and Library MaterialsCeramics and Related MaterialsClocksFurniture and Related ObjectsMetalwork

FULL-TIME STUDY

University of Sussex validated MA Degrees, Graduate & Postgraduate Diplomas and West Dean College Diplomas

8:1 student to staff ratio

High level of personal tuition

Practical hands-on bench skills

Up to 100% bursaries and scholarships may be available on tuition fees

CONSERVATION FOR HOROLOGISTS Trevor Waddington 1-4 October

ART AND OBJECT HANDLING John Bracken 8-11 October

ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS FOR CONSERVATORS Chris Woods 15-19 October

ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS FOR CONSERVATORS Chris Woods 15-19 October

CONSERVATION OF HISTORIC FLOORS Francesca Scoones 22-25 October

For more information on all the courses in the programme, contact:

CPD Coordinator, West Dean College, Chichester, West Sussex PO18 0QZ [email protected] 01243 818219 www.westdean.org.uk

PROFESSIONAL CONSERVATORS IN PRACTICE COURSES

10% DISCOUNT TO MEMBERS OF ICON


36


ICON NEWS • NOVEMBER 2005 • 3

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