Our interest in conservation goes further than designing and manufacturing the best conservation equipment. We also love discovering the conservation case studies undertaken by our customers and fellow industry professionals while sharing the best examples we find on our LinkedIn page. With the end of the year now firmly behind us, we reflect on the most popular projects we’ve shared in this round-up post, just in case you missed them! Which project is your favourite from our top 5?
A Mysterious Appearance at the Cincinnati Conservation Studio
An opportunity to X-ray a painting in order to see underlying composition revealed a great surprise… Read more here.
The study and conservation of a miniature Egyptian coffin
First making the headlines back in 2016, this remarkable a miniature Egyptian coffin (E.43.1907) that had been thought to hold probably the youngest ever known human foetus to be buried in Ancient Egypt was brought into the conservation lab. Read more here.
A fascinating video watching conservator Diana Hartman microscopically reweaving a 1907 painting at the MoMA
To ready Paula Modersohn-Becker’s “Self Portrait” (1907) for MoMA’s reopening in October, conservator Diana Hartman tackles the question of how to repair holes in the painting’s canvas. She figures out that a curved needle typically used in eye surgery might allow her to avoid removing the work from its original stretcher. And her inventiveness doesn’t end there: Using an adhesive made from a sturgeon bladder, she secures linen thread to the needle to darn the pieces back together with the help of a microscope. Hartman shows how she makes unobtrusive repairs, to keep viewers’ gaze focused on the portrait itself. Watch the full video here.
Preserving Herculaneum, Ancient Roman Town Buried by Vesuvius
This project showcases the benefits of long term international partnerships to tackle conservation issues at Herculaneum with thorough research, planning, and care. Read more here.
Conservation and Storage of the Panorama of Lahore at The British Library
A rare scroll painting of the city walls by an unknown artist and dated broadly between the late 18th and early 19th century. The panorama of the city of Lahore arrived into the conservation studio tightly packed into a small custom made box measuring 71 mm x 193 mm x 71 mm. Read more here.
Scientific analysis proves essential yet again in providing insight into artwork, and in this case, rare sculptures at The Getty.
For the first time, four terracotta statues of mourning women that have long been in storage have gone on display at the Getty Villa. Bringing these figures—made in the town of Canosa in southern Italy in the third century B.C.—out of storage has given Getty curators and conservators an exciting opportunity to study how they were made and to learn more about South Italian funerary art and practices. Read more here.
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