This week’s blog comes from Project Collections Assistants Anna O’Regan, Winona O’Connor and Max Chesnokov who worked with Preventive Conservator Katharine Richardson on a project back in 2019 to survey and clean the Semple Collection, a large rare books collection from the School of Divinity.
Introducing the team
Max, Winona and Anna
Article written by Riccardo Angeloni in 2019
One from the archives this week! In this article we’ll transport you back to July 2019 (months before Covid-19 even existed, imagine that!) and hear from Riccardo Angeloni, a Thompson Dunlop Conservation Intern at St Cecilia’s Hall….
Throughout the month of July 2019, I had the chance to work and study as an intern at St Cecilia’s Hall. I was welcomed by professional and friendly staff and spent the first few days learning about the main principles of collection care. This internship was an opportunity to put in practice a lot of theories and techniques that until then, I had only seen on paper.
A new year and a new blog from the conservation studio! Our first blog of the month comes from Stephanie Graban, an undergraduate student from the University of Edinburgh currently studying Arabic, who volunteered virtually with the conservation team for eight weeks from October to December 2020….
As my time working as a volunteer for the Centre for Research Collections (CRC) comes to an end, I’d like to reflect on my experiences. The eight-week project, which was both challenging and fascinating, focused on XRF analysis and background research of objects held by the University. These included a rare 15th century German Bible, a striking Persian marbled album, vibrant Indian Ragamala paintings, a collection of commemorative medals, and scraps of a 10th century Qur’anic manuscript. Evidently, the range of objects which I studied was wonderfully varied; each week felt like I was embarking on a new historical journey to a different corner of the world – from the comfort of my bedroom. The internship was carried out remotely due to Covid-19 and, although I wish I had the opportunity to see the XRF spectrometer at work, it was all the detective work that made this project so unique and memorable.
XRF analysis of Ragamala painting (Or.Ms.437) carried out by Special Collections Conservator, Emily Hick, at the CRC
My task was to interpret combinations of periodic elements in a table and deduce what pigments these elements could form. I quickly realised that in practice, this could be quite the challenge as the pigments could be contaminated or mixed with neighbouring colours. In order to make a confident assumption about the pigment’s identity, I consulted various pigment databases on the internet, as well as books exploring colours from various time periods and cultures. It was through this process that I found a new dimension to all the colours I see on a daily basis. Before the project, I never thought twice about why my jeans are blue or how the acrylic colours in my painting set were first named. I quickly realised that each colour that we interact with on a daily basis offers a rich and captivating history, which may even be controversial at times.
Taking the example of the Ragamala paintings which I studied in Week 3, I discovered the surprisingly cruel history of Indian Yellow. The pigment, which began to be utilised on a wide scale in the 16th century, was produced by force-feeding bitter mango leaves to cows until they were near the point of starvation. The leaves would intensify the bile pigment and produce bright-yellow urine. The cow urine was then collected and boiled for hours, resulting in a pigment which proved sensational across Asia and Europe! Without a doubt, everyone has seen this haunting pigment in a world-famous work: Van Gogh’s Starry Night – but few people know about its morbid history.
Ragamala painting (Or.Ms.437)
This was not the only secret the Ragamalas hid in plain sight. Upon analysing the elements making up the colours of the vividly-decorated music sheets, I noticed that titanium was overwhelmingly present in the artwork. This did not seem correct. The only recognised use of titanium in paint is in the manufacture of titanium dioxide white, a paint which was only first synthesised in the early 20th century. The presence of titanium is now commonly used as a marker for detecting forgeries. However, the Ragamalas were dated back to 1842 by the University catalogue, which drew questions about its authenticity. How was it possible for titanium white to be used in the object? Was the dating wrong? After delving into literature on similar Ragamala paintings, I came across a study which raised the exact same questions about the presence of titanium. Here I found an interesting observation: the authors of the article suggested that Indian artists may have been using titanium in their paints since the 17th century, centuries before the West first used it. This is a fascinating idea, but it’s a topic yet to be thoroughly explored. However, discovering further evidence which supported this observation offered a sense of importance to our findings.
That wasn’t the only time throughout the project where XRF analysis proved potentially valuable to academic discourse. A Persian album exhibiting calligraphy and marbled paper was chosen for analysis due to uncertainty in its date of manufacture. The catalogue description claims that the marbled page borders were added to the album at a later date and were not contemporary to the construction of the album. While XRF analysis did not offer any decisive results, I was able to find a recent essay by researcher Jake Benson discussing the very same album. Benson offered strong arguments in favour of the marbling being contemporary to the album’s construction.
Persian album of calligraphy and marbled paper – Qit’at-i Khushkhatt (Or.Ms.373)
After conducting contextual research, I found out that the marbled pages were most likely created by the famous marbling master Muhammad Tahir. In fact, the album likely inspired generations of artists, who used Tahir’s methods to endow Persian literary masterpieces such as Conference of the Birds and Fragrant Orchard with similar marbled borders. I reached out to Jake Benson, who kindly offered his suggestions on specific areas to conduct future technical analysis on in the album that would conclusively date the marbled borders. It felt exciting that the potential data gathered by XRF could be used to change what we know about such an important historical object!
The last object which I studied during the project was one of my personal favourites. It consisted of ancient-looking scraps of vellum displaying angular Qur’anic Arabic calligraphy. The University catalogue did not offer much information on its background or dating, so anything I could find while analysing the XRF data and conducting background research could prove valuable. I ultimately managed to date the manuscript scraps to approximately the 10th century, by using clues relating to the style of calligraphy and the format of the manuscript. I also found out that the manuscripts were discovered in the Al-Amr mosque in Egypt, the same mosque which held the oldest Qur’an ever found (now held at the University of Birmingham).
Scrap of vellum with angular Qur’anic Arabic calligraphy (Or.Ms.175)
Perhaps the most valuable outcome for me personally is that the past two months have taught me so much about various areas of history (including the history of colour) which I have never had the opportunity to study formally. The opportunity to solve a new ‘puzzle’ every week and put all the pieces together into a meaningful and valuable interpretation was more rewarding than any other academic project I’ve worked on! Thank you to Special Collections Conservator, Emily Hick, for all your kind guidance and advice throughout the eight weeks and for making my time as a volunteer (especially Thursday afternoons) very memorable. Lastly, thank you to CRC for offering me an invaluable opportunity to gain experience in the field of XRF analysis.
To find out more about volunteering opportunities at the CRC, please see our website. https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/library-museum-gallery/crc/volunteers-interns-honorary-fellows/volunteers-interns
This week, Claire Hutchison describes the start of her eight-week internship working to conserve the Mackinnon collection…
I am four weeks into my internship at the CRC and absolutely loving it! I have been given the task of conserving and rehousing the Mackinnon collection. This project has been generously funded by the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust. This collection comprises of the lecture notes, learning materials and other such scribbles of Professor Donald Mackinnon, the first Chair in Celtic at the University of Edinburgh. He made quite the mark during his professional life by translating many Gaelic texts that include poetry, medieval manuscripts and religious texts. Through his work, primary sources of Gaelic language and literature could finally be shared.
Find out what it is like to be a work placement student in the conservation studio in this week’s blog…
My name is Tara Laubach. I am currently studying the two-year masters course in the Conservation of Fine Art, specializing in paper, at Northumbria University in Newcastle. I completed my second work placement at Edinburgh University Library conservation studio under the mentorship of Emily Hick, Special Collections Conservator, from 9-20 September 2019. My placement was generously funded by the June Baker Trust and the Santander Learning and Employability Fund.
The week began with a tour of the Centre for Research Collections (CRC) main areas, including the store rooms, the digitisation lab, the conservation studio and an introduction to handling training and basic health and safety practices in the studio. I received a folder of relevant and helpful information, including a detailed rota so I could prepare for my placement assignments.
View from the Conservation Studio
In this week’s blog, we hear from Despoina Papazoglou who was an intern at St Celilia’s Hall from April to June 2019. Her internship focused on the material analysis of a painted 17th-century harpsichord using XRF….
Hello! My name is Despoina and I decided to write this article to share my experience of an eight-week journey as an intern at St Cecilia’s Hall. This is the first time I have written something for a blog, so before I started I googled “how to write my first blog?”, and seriously, I couldn’t understand a thing…just for a moment, I believed that quantum physics was easier to understand!
Let’s start with when I found the vacancy for the internship. The title “Scientific Material Analysis of Musical Instruments Internship” sparked curiosity within me as my professional background is in the field of material science. After reading and re-reading the job description I knew I wanted to be part of the project, as I realised it would not only expand my knowledge but also expose me to new challenges that would help me achieve my future career goals. I was so excited about the job and wanted to be part of it so badly that I did extensive research and learnt all about the museum and the collections displayed within it. Long story short, I sent in my CV, attended the interview and was offered the internship. I was probably the happiest person on earth! One of my biggest desires came true, and I could finally work in a museum with people who share the same passion as me – the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage.
Find out what our Employ.ed Intern, Cameron Perumal, got up to in the final weeks of her project at the CRC in this week’s blog…
As I near the end of my internship, I have started reflecting on all the skills I have gained in just 8 short weeks.
As part of the University’s Employ.ed Internship Programme this summer, I was the Scientific Analysis of Heritage Collections Intern – or, trying to better understand the use of XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) in conservation, so that we can engage more with the University’s special collections, in terms of its materiality. XRF is a non-destructive, surface analysis technique used to understand the elemental composition of artefacts, and to gain more historical context of their function.
Short-term projects that I have worked on have included: a framed collection of old British medals (to determine whether they were electrotype copies and to understand their composition); a large Giambologna bronze horse from the Torrie Collection (to gain more information that can be mapped onto a 3D image of the horse for an enhanced user experience); ancient Egyptian ushabtis (to attempt to classify and date them); Indian miniature paintings from the Tasawir collection (to understand pigment composition); and a page of text that claims to be written in West Port serial killer William Burke’s blood from a Burke and Hare scrapbook (to confirm whether Burke’s blood was really used).
Cameron with the XRF
This week’s blog post comes from Cameron Perumal who recently began a 10-week Employ.ed internship in the Conservation Studio at the CRC…
Two weeks into my Employ.ed internship, and I have already learned so much about conservation, and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry! I am currently an undergraduate Astrophysics student, and my internship entails me working with Emily Hick, the Special Collections Conservator, to research ways in which XRF can help us understand more about the collections. I’ll also be doing outreach to increase awareness on XRF and how it can be used in conservation to improve the condition and understanding of the collections held by the University of Edinburgh.
By the end of my first week, I had started my radiation training, seen the XRF in action being used by another intern, Despoina, to analyse pigments of a painting on the soundboard of a harpsichord, and been able to see the various (frankly, quite beautiful) collections stored by the University.
Intern Despoina using the new XRF machine to analyse the pigments used on the soundboard paintings of harpsichords made by the Ruckers family
Following on from the popular “Crowdsourcing Conservation” sessions held in February 2017 and 2018, the Centre for Research Collections held seven more crowdsourcing events from October 2018 to March 2019. This time, we focussed on the Thomas Nelson collection. Over seven days, 67 volunteers helped to rehouse 197 boxes of archival material. The collections are now stored in acid-free folders and boxes, and are much easier to handle and access.
Thomas Nelson Collection, before rehousing
Thomas Nelson Collection, after rehousing
This week’s blog comes from Project Collections Assistants, Anna O’Regan and Stephanie Allen, who assisted the Museum Collections Team with a large scale move of artworks by Edinburgh College of Art students to a new collections store at the University Collections Facility (UCF). Supervised by Museum Collections Manager, Anna Hawkins and Preventive Conservator Katharine Richardson, the primary focus of this project was to surface clean the artworks before they were relocated.
When we arrived at the UCF for the beginning of this project, the artworks were stored in a less than ideal location; placed on open shelving, they were exposed to the accumulation of surface dirt. This project facilitated their move into a closed, environmentally controlled storage facility which was built specifically to house the University’s Museum and Art collections.
Roller Racking Storage at UCF