Textile Treatment Conservators (3 positions)
Hampton Court Palace
Two positions – Established
One position – Fixed-term, two years
Full time
Historic Royal Palaces is the charity that looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, the Banqueting House Whitehall, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland.
Historic Royal Palaces’ Conservation and Collection Care team is responsible for the care and preservation of one of the finest
textile collections of royal tapestries, furnishings and costumes in the world. Housed across our six sites, these priceless artefacts are displayed both for our visitors today and for future generations to discover the fascinating stories behind these unique exhibits.
Our textile conservation section currently has three vacancies for skilled textile conservators. Having attended a recognised textile conservation training programme or equivalent, you’ll have an in-depth understanding of the theories and techniques involved in textile conservation together with the ability to carry out hands-on treatment as required in our three textile conservation treatment teams: Tapestry, Furnishings, and Costume and General Textiles.
We are looking for proactive and enthusiastic individuals who will have worked with fragile textiles and have an ability to deliver assignments to deadlines. Teamwork is essential and you must be able to work at heights. This role also includes regularly explaining our conservation work to the public.
Based at Hampton Court Palace you may be required to travel to our other palaces on occasion.
Historic Royal Palaces endorses the Icon PACR accreditation scheme.
Closing date: 10 July 2016
Salary: UKP25,466
Interviews: w/c 18 July 2016
Find out more and apply by visiting
<URL:http://www.hrp.org.uk/recruitment>
Historic Royal Places is an equal opportunities employer and truly values a diverse workforce. Applications are welcome from candidates regardless of their background.
Jo Wilson
Business Supervisor
Conservation and Collection Care
Month: June 2016
Job Posting: Collection Care Assistant – Corning Museum of Glass (Corning, NY)
Corning Museum of Glass
Position Summary
Reports to: Chief Conservator
Summary: Assists the Chief Conservator and Associate conservator in all aspects of the physical care of the collection of glass and glass-related objects. Specializes in the care, cleaning and conservation of glass objects and sculptures, with a focus on modern and contemporary collections. Other primary duties include examination and conditioning of objects for acquisition and loan approval.
Responsibilities:
- Assists the Chief Conservator and Associate Conservator in all aspects of the care of glass and glass-related objects in the collection and on loan
- Examines Museum objects requested for loan to other
institutions, writes condition reports and recommends the appropriate response - Serves as a courier for Museum objects going on loan to other institutions domestically and internationally
- With the Chief and Associate Conservators, ensures that the handling and storage of conservation materials and the use of equipment in the conservation laboratory are in compliance with relevant federal and state regulations
- Maintains currency on the latest developments in the field of glass conservation and restoration, with special focus on Modern and Contemporary objects and sculptures
- Documents treatments and updates conservation and condition records in the Museum’s database
- Assists in representing the conservation department on the Museum’s social media sites and contributes to conservation information on the CMoG website
- Assists with the supervision and guidance of interns in the Conservation Department
- Observes and follows all safety regulations of The Corning Museum of Glass
- Is familiar with and observes the requirements of all Museum standards and the Code of Ethics and Statement of Practice of the American Institute for Conservation
- Represents The Corning Museum of Glass at domestic and international conferences and professional meetings through active participation and engagement
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Art History or a similar field, with a
graduate diploma in conservation - Minimum two years’ experience as an object conservator, or equivalent training and experience
- Experience handling contemporary glass desired
- Ability to complete high quality treatments in a timely manner
- Excellent organizational skills
- Ability to work independently and as a member of a team
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Excellent research and writing skill. Knowledge of Excel,
Media-Bin, Mimsy, and other record-keeping programs - Ability to travel domestically and internationally
To apply:
Email, fax, or mail resume with cover letter to
employment@cmog.org, fax to 607-438-5410, or send to
Corning Museum of Glass
One Museum Way
Corning, NY 14830
Attn: Human Resources.
92-year resident of Georgia barrier island leaves home treated by FAIC
Sandy West’s family bought Ossabaw Island, a barrier island off the coast of Georgia, in 1924. For almost a century, she inhabited the “Main House,” one of the few buildings on the island, and worked to protect the island and share its beauty with others. In 2010, FAIC joined furniture conservator David Bayne in a program to bring emerging conservation students to the island to gain hands-on training in historic home housekeeping and preventive conservation. The culmination of four summer workshops on the island resulted in a 40-page guide to caring for West’s home, prepared in 2015 for the State of Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources, which will gain control of the house after West’s death.
As a result of West’s eventual financial instability, the 25,000-acre island was sold in 1978 to the State of Georgia for a discounted price in hopes of preserving the sacred place. As a result, Ossabaw became Georgia’s first Heritage Preserve. The deal with the state allowed for West to remain in the colonial revival mansion on the island until her death (at the time, a state-hired actuary predicted she’d live to be 78). Now at the age of 103, West recently relocated to Savannah to access more affordable full-time care.
The FAIC workshops (see the plan for the 2015 course) taught the basics of preventive conservation in the pink 1920’s Main House. Ossabaw’s remoteness and climate presented a unique medley of housekeeping problems for the groups to consider. These workshops explored the relationship between objects, their history of use, and their long-term preservation in a historic house setting.
During each day of the two-week program, participants learned about different materials and how to care for them. The activities ranged from pest management to furniture handling; textile cleaning to taxidermy examination; and maintenance of book and paper collections. Participants gained experience in assessing and prioritizing issues with limited time and resources. The site contextualized objects in poor condition with their environment and acted as a counterpoint to the experience of working in a museum lab.
FAIC’s Ossabaw Housekeeping Guide provides yearly, quarterly, monthly, and weekly care recommendations specific to the main rooms of the house based on the objects and materials in the room. Pests, light levels, temperature, and relative humidity were monitored, with recordings included in the guide. Suggestions for crisis housekeeping are also included, and may be incorporated in a full disaster plan in the future.
For several reasons, including difficulty in getting to the island, FAIC had to find a new location for the historic house training workshop. The 2016 workshop is currently taking place with eight participants and five instructors at Staatsburgh State Historic Site, a property owned by the New York State Bureau of Historic Preservation. Keep an eye out for blog posts by the participants coming soon.
As West’s time on Ossabaw Island ends and the state prepares to take over the Main House, they are equipped with a solid resource for implementing a standard of practice and recommendations to be considered for the future care of the historic home.
You can find a review of the program from a 2012 participant on the blog: http://www.conservators-converse.org/2012/10/review-of-faic-preventive-conservation-workshop-ossabaw-island-ga-january-7-20-2012/ and an article on a workshop presented as a talk at our annual meeting in San Francisco (from which the above photographs have been reposted): http://www.conservators-converse.org/2014/06/42nd-annual-meeting-collection-care-session-may-29-the-ossabaw-island-workshops-preventive-conservation-training-in-a-real-life-setting-by-david-bayne/
–Article by Sarah Saetren (FAIC Education Coordinator) with Bonnie Naugle
44th Annual Meeting, Paintings Session, May 17, 2016, “Experimental study on merits of virtual cleaning of paintings with aged varnish” by Giorgio Trumpy and John K. Delaney
Giorgio Trumpy presented interesting work he has been conducting on the “virtual cleaning” of paintings at the National Gallery, Washington, D.C. as a post-doc with John Delaney. He described a mathematical/- computer model which is being developed to predict and represent what a painting would look like after the removal of a yellowed varnish. The idea is not to replace the conservator, but to provide a tool in helping conservators visualize the results of such a treatment.
The model makes use of the contribution of the scattering (diffuse reflectance) of light from the surface of a painting with and without an aged varnished, after application of a fresh varnish, and from the interface of the paint layer and the varnish surface itself. Measurements were made on two paintings to obtain values for use in the model, and the optics of the yellowed varnish itself was estimated by measuring the transmittance through a solvent containing the dissolved yellow varnish.
The results give a pretty good indication of what the painting might look like after removal of the vanish. Click on the image* to see the animated .gif (it worked on my computer). There are differences with the paintings however as can be seen comparing the virtual cleaning image and the after (real) cleaning image. Trumpy thinks that the differences are due, among others, to the fact that the model does not account for local variations in varnish thickness or aging, and the use of the transmittance values for the yellow varnish as measured through the solvent.
In a follow-up e-mail van John Delaney I understood that the goal of the work is to better understand which factors are important for this kind of modelling work, and also to determine the limits of what the model can do. Still, I found it fascinating to see how far they had gotten.
______________________
* Image courtesy of G. Trumpy and J. Delaney, Scientific Research Department, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; detail from “Flowers in an Urn” by Jan van Huysum, c. 1720/1722, oil on panel,
79.9 x 60 cm.
44th Annual Meeting – Saving and Preserving Family and Local History from Natural Disasters: Addressing Challenges from the Recent Earthquakes in Japan
This panel, presenting on the response to the tsunami in Japan in 2011, was composed of Masashi Amano, Kazuko Hioki, Tomoko Yasuda Ishimaru and Daishi Yoshihara. Drs. Amano and Yoshihara are both historians, and Ms. Yasuda is a conservator in private practice in Tokyo. Ms. Hioki is a conservator in the United States, and special thanks goes to her for her excellent translation during the question and answer sessions.
The presentations brought to light a number of interesting cultural differences that may be surprising to an audience from North America. The majority of public records (according to Dr. Yoshihara, the number may be as much as 90%) are held privately, rather than my public or governmental institution. This means that when a disaster occurs, it is often difficult to find out who is a stakeholder, what records are involved, or even where those records are. Often, historic sites contain records, but just as often records, historical and modern, can be found in attics and in community centers. This would include tax information, birth and death records and legal documents.
The prevalence of natural disasters in Japan makes creates another important difference.it It si very difficult for insurance companies, a very conservative business in Japan, to provide coverage in the event of a natural disaster. This means that public institutions and private collections cannot rely on the insurance industry to pay for recovery companies, and as a result, recovery companies have a much reduced presence in Japan. The end result is that, when natural disasters occur, Japanese individuals and institutions cannot rely on the same emergency response structure that we in North America.
The presenters spoke about their work helping disaster recovery after the 2011 tsunami, but much of their presentations focused on Shiryo-net (the Miyagi chapter which responded to the tsunami has an english language blog). Shiryo-net is a grassroots organization of historians and volunteers who respond to disasters specifically to deal with conservation issues, such as finding out where in a town records may be kept, rescuing those records, and performing triage treatment whenever possible. Shiryo-net formed after the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake in 1995, and has grown to 24 regional chapters across Japan.
Since its inception, Shiryo-net has focused on saving those 90% of documents that are not in museums, libraries and archives. Its activities are entirely funded by membership dues and donations. The organization first came into contact with conservation on a more formal basis in the wake of a flood in Hyogo prefecture in 2004. During this disaster, they were able to work with conservators to develop first aid treatments that could be taught easily to volunteers, and the difficulties they encountered encouraged them to host workshops and become a center of volunteer training for conservation volunteers. When another flood occurred in Hyogo in 2009, the response was much quicker, and the level of care given to documents was much better. Shiryo-net is now an experienced organization, and focuses on leadership training and volunteer education as well as disaster response.
The second major focus of the talks given by the presenters was on Shiryo-net’s response to the 2011 earthquake and Tsunami. The obvious difficulties of working in a disaster area were present, as were the difficulties of working with a large, non-professional force. Over the course of the recovery, Shiryo-net worked with over 5,000 volunteers, and had to develop techniques for training, supplying and managing such a large and ever-changing population. Because of the scale and scope of the disaster, salvage operations were ongoing as much as three years after the disaster. Since the tsunami, Shiryo-net has rescued more 70,000 items, with at least 50,00 items still in storage waiting to be treated.
The presentation was informative and engaging. It was interesting to hear about the different challenges faced in a different country, and how those challenges have been met or overcome. I would like to thank the presenters again for being so forthcoming with their talk materials as I prepared this post.
The novelists still haven’t gotten it right
Each time I hear of a new work of fiction featuring a conservator as a character, I think, “Maybe this time they’ll get it right”. I had high hopes for Cathleen Schine’s novel, “They May Not Mean To, But They Do”. Before I started reading the book, I knew that its’ protagonist was not the beautiful 25 year old working on valuable Old Master paintings in a famous Italian museum while being romanced by a wealthy and dashing man usually found in works of fiction that feature conservators, but rather an older woman working in a small underfunded and under staffed museum trying to cope with family crises and keep up with her work. Real life, I thought.
As a mother of two small children (ca. 1960), the protagonist Joy Berman volunteered two days a week in a small museum dedicated to the immigrant experience on the Lower East Side of New York City. When her family suffered financial setbacks, she took a full time salaried job there as the assistant to the conservator. The conservator encouraged her to go back to school. So far this seems plausible. Joy needed the income and could not stop working to go to school full time, so she cut back to part time work, spent years earning her PhD, and was hired by that same museum as its conservator. Now, I’m a bit confused. A PhD in what and how does that PhD prepare her for hands- on conservation bench work?
What is most upsetting to me is the way Joy’s job seems to have little place in her life. When she has been away from it for months (granted due to illness) giving not a thought to what is happening to the collection in her absence, she returns expecting that all museum activity concerning her department stopped awaiting her return. Where is the professionalism of the conservators we know?
Yes, it is a comic novel. But fiction is the means through which a large part of the general public learns about conservators and what they do at work. And the novelists still haven’t gotten it right.
44th Annual Meeting – Photographic Materials Session, May 15, “Analysis of Historical Tintype Plates: Materials, Methods and Manufacturers” by Dr. Corina Rogge
Dr. Corina Rogge, the Andrew W. Mellon Research Scientist at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, presented a very interesting (and thorough) talk on the “Analysis of Historical Tintype Plates: Materials, Methods and Manufacturers” giving a brief overview of the tintype process and the ongoing project to characterize their material properties. The analysis was undertaken on a study collection involving 226 unknown tintypes.
Despite the popularity of the process, there were only three patents filed in its history, and how they were actually made is poorly known. Hamilton Lamphere Smith and Peter Neff first patented their process for a collodion image on a japanned surface in 1856. Their melainotypes, so named from the Greek melano, or black, consisted of a varnished image layer on the japanned iron plate, also varnished verso. Peter Neff was interested in the commercial properties, including japanning purchased plates. He sold prepared plates, as well as licensing the process for use. The plate itself was not patented. Victor M. Griswold patented a competitive process also in 1856, using bitumen on an iron plate, and called them ferrotypes to indicate the iron content. There were eventually several plate manufacturers including Neff, Griswold, Dean & Co., and Phenix; however, only Neff and Griswold stamped their plates.
Tintypes were affordable, durable and accessible, and became widely popular in mid-1800s America, and really came to represent the middle class. They are not as common in museum collections, but a large number survive as family and historical items. Dr. Rogge noted that the market and development of the process were strongly economically driven, and the producers found a need to create trends to keep their edge or drive sales. For example, Griswold began to name and sell imperfect plates as “eggshell,” in addition to glossy plates.
Dr. Rogge’s study sought to determine whether different manufacturers used different materials, and if so, whether they be differentiated and dated. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) analysis revealed mostly iron, as would be expected for the plate. A smaller number contained manganese, but didn’t seem to correspond to a trend. There were no major differences in thickness, aside from very early Neff plates being thicker. These very were fairly quickly thinned down to the typical size, making them cheaper to manufacture and mail. Griswold used thicker plates only very briefly.
Organic analysis was carried out on the japanning layer by pyrolysis gas-chromatography (py-GC-MS). There were no particularly unusual result, as might be expected for a commercial process. Drying oil was the most common component, then pine resin, followed by a small number containing shellac. Asphaltum, which Dr. Rogge pointed out is difficult to work with, was found in fewer than 10% of the plates although it is mentioned in two of the three patents ever filed.
Microscopy determined the most common pigments of the japanning layer to be carbonaceous blacks, as given in the Neff patent, and iron earth pigments as given in the later patent. Plates were sometimes advertised as chocolate or black, and an effort was made to differentiate between the two. Colorimetric analysis ignored the CIE b* parameter (blue-yellow) to accommodate the assumed yellowing of the varnish. CIE a* when checked against manganese didn’t correlate. In attempting to differentiate the bare support versus japanning layer with support, the thickness of the japanning layer seemed to have much more influence. However, Dr. Rogge believes further study may prove chocolate plates (more red) correlate to the use of iron earth pigments in the japanning layer.
Relatively few plates had a single japanning layer, while many had two or three. Though the practice is not indicated in any of the patents, it is mentioned in articles of the time on how to make tintypes. Though multiple coats would increase the cost and difficulty of production, they would provide a smoother, glossier surface. In addition, a more pigmented bottom layer (a ‘face coat’) might serve to isolate and protect pigments from reactive image silver, and approximate the depth of an ambrotype by allowing more light to pass through.
Dr. Rogge pointed out that the project needs more data but points to the possibilities of trends and potentials for identification. She noted also that the actual plates varied significantly over time, and differed between manufacturers and particularly from the patented processes. For example, Neff plates may have more layers as time goes on, and Griswold plates may be associated with profiles containing asphaltum, drying oil, pine oil and shellac. Such an ability to profile the plates would give the possibility of identifying and dating unknown plates.
Speakers announced for SI/MCI Mechanics of Art Materials event
The Museum Conservation Institute in collaboration with the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK) is pleased to announce the speakers for our upcoming event “The Mechanics of Art Materials and its Future in Heritage Science: A Seminar and Symposium,” to be held at the Smithsonian Institution on October 24-25, 2016. This program brings experts in mechanics research from across the globe to discuss current and future trends in the study and preservation of cultural heritage. Speakers will represent a continuum of this research, from its origins to those professionals currently working to shape their field and train future generations of scholars. This special event is designed to honor previous research while encouraging forward thinking through opportunities to meet and hear from scholars at the forefront of innovative mechanics research in the cultural heritage sector.
Day One of the program will feature the popular paint mechanics workshop created and taught by MCI scientist emeritus Marion Mecklenburg, condensed into a single-day seminar. The morning program on Day Two will feature an international group of speakers presenting case studies on the state of mechanics research around the globe, while the afternoon program will feature emerging U.S.-based speakers and their thoughts on the future of the field. We are excited to announce that the following speakers have been confirmed for Day Two of this event:
- Cecil Andersen (Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts) and Laura Fuster-López (Polytechnic University of Valencia)
- Roman Kozłowski (Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences)
- Stina Ekelund (Netherlands Institute for Scientific Research)
- Nobuyuki Kamba (Tokyo National Museum)
- Poul Klenz Larsen (National Museum of Denmark) and Morten Ryhl-Svendsen (Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts)
- Michał Lukomski (Getty Conservation Institute)
- Alice Carver-Kubik (Image Permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology)
- Ken Shull (Northwestern University/Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts)
- Lukasz Bratasz (Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Yale University)
This intensive, two-day event will provide attendees with an overview of the behavior of art materials and connect that information directly to the activities of those scholars currently shaping the field of heritage mechanics studies. Day Two presentations will focus on the impact of mechanics research in the cultural heritage sector with talks on topics including risk assessment and collections monitoring, the fiscal impact of changes in collections care, new protocols for transit and storage environments, and the application of mechanics research to decorative and archival collections as well as to materials found in contemporary art. Day Two will conclude with a panel discussion on advancing stakeholder participation in mechanics research and application. A post-event publication will include a historiography of mechanics research at the Smithsonian, the case studies and vision papers prepared by the Day Two speakers, Dr. Mecklenburg’s 1982 unpublished report to the Smithsonian on the mechanical behavior of painting materials, and a bibliography of Smithsonian heritage mechanics publications.
We are anticipating registration for this two-day event to be priced at $50 (to include coffee/tea breaks and lunch on both days. There is no single-day registration option. Schedule and registration for this event will be announced at www.si.edu/mci. If you have any questions, please contact Dawn Rogala, paintings conservator at the Museum Conservation Institute, at RogalaD@si.edu.
This event is designed to engage and inform a broad audience of scholars, students, practitioners, and policy makers. We hope to see you in October!
44th Annual Meeting, Photographic Materials Session, May 17, 2016, "Methods for Cleaning Brass Mats from Cased Photographs" by Christophe Vischi, Ariane Lalande, John McElhone and Chloé Lucas
Christophe Vischi and Ariane Lalande presented a talk on practical tests they conducted to determine how to clean brass mats of photographs from the collection of the Colby Curtis Museum, Stanstead, Quebec. These mats suffered from multiple corroded spots (which I know as pitting corrosion from industry), containing stable Cu2O cuprite and active atacamite Cu2Cl(OH)3. They compared two electrochemical methods and the use of an ion exchange resin to treat the mats:
– spot electrolysis using an EDTA electrolyte and at 9 Volts,
– brushing an glycerine electrolyte on the object, wrapping it in aluminum foil and laying it a humid chamber
– use of the ion exchange resin, Amberlite IR 120 HM. This comes in the form of beads, which were applied locally on the object as a poultice using a fine brush.
The authors did not obtain good results with the electrochemical methods, with staining being a problem for the spot electrolysis, and a gray patina a result of the wrapping method. They chose the method using the ion exchange resin. It was found that grinding the beads before application improved the results. Very local cleaning was possible, and the solution could be rinsed off with a mixture of ethanol and water. Still, there were flecks left where the pitting corrosion was, but these could be retouched to match the finish. Care had to be taken to avoid staining uncorroded areas. The result appeared to be satisfactory, and they want to continue work on optimizing this method.
I would like to note that electrochemical methods should not be ruled out based on this paper. When performed properly, electrochemical cleaning can be used to clean most metals found in museums. C. Degrigny, among others, has demonstrated that local electrochemical cleaning can work under properly controlled conditions (cathodic potential/voltage), using the proper equipment, and electrolytes. The aluminum foil method might have worked if the objects were not wrapped (traps the reaction products), and the proper electrolyte was used. If I heard correctly, glycerin was used as the electrolyte, but it is non-conducting, so it could not have worked.
44th Annual Meeting, Architecture Session, May 16, 2016, "Protecting Stained Glass Windows from Vibrations Caused by Construction Operations" by Dean Koga, Erica Morasset and Michael Schuller
Dean Koga and Michael Schuller gave an interesting and useful talk on the protection of original Tiffany stained glass windows at the Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City during heavy renovation work there. The talk gave a clear outline of what they did and how others can prepare for such events. It should be noted that there was little warning between the time that the Congregation was informed of the work and the start of the work.
They carried out the following actions (which I would strongly recommend):
- Look for local engineering expertise in vibrations and the monitoring of vibrations. Michael Schuller represented this company.
- Look at existing (inter)national standards for the protection of buildings due to vibrations including those caused by construction work. These included building codes for New York City, international codes for France and Russia, and the vibration literature.
- Document fully any preexisting damage in the stained glass windows
- Look at the levels of current existing vibrations due to, for example, traffic, wind, opening and closing of the windows or doors. This showed that such events, as well as the opening and closing of the windows themselves were also a source of background vibration and shock.
- Determine limits for vibrations including a warning limit, and a limit where work has to immediately stop. These were 0.15 in/sec (3.75 mm/s) and 0.2 in/s (5 mm/s) for the low vibration frequencies expected.
- Negotiate with contractors to use more “gentle” construction methods. The contractors agreed to avoid using a wrecking ball for razing the old part of the synagogue, and to use augured piles for the foundation instead of pile driving.
The precautions were successful. No damage was found after demolition work, and only one new crack was found near an operable window. It was interesting to hear that wind pressure on the windows actually increased due to exterior protection. The authors were aware that the vibration sensor they used, a geophone actually designed for earthquake monitoring, was too heavy for the job, but time constraints limited their choices. A lightweight (several grams) sensor placed on the window frame or horizontal supports would have been better.
The authors recommended more studies on systems to protect stained glass windows, and testing to determine how much deformation/displacement such windows can tolerate. I would certainly agree with that.