Published by V&A Conservation ISSN 096702273

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Conservation DepartmentStaff Chart Autumn 2004

Head of ConservationSandra Smith

PA & Dept SecretaryFiona Campbell

Science

Boris PretzelBrenda KeneghanLucia BurgioRichard KibryaEoin Kelly

Furniture, Textiles & Frames (FTF)

FurnitureChristine PowellShayne RiversTim MillerNigel Bamforth

TextilesLynda HillyerMarion KiteVal BlythAlbertina CogramFrances HartogSusana Fajado- HunterLara FleckerElizabeth-Anne HaldaneAnja BayerAnnie Kwaspen

FramesZoe Allen

Paper, Books &Paintings (PBP)

PaperMerryl HuxtableVictoria ButtonMichael WheelerSusan CatcherLisa Nash (RIBA)

MountersClair BattissonSimon FleuryChris Gingell

BooksJane RutherstonAnne GreigKaren Vidler

PaintingsNicola Costaras

Sculpture, Metals,Ceramics & Glass(SMCG)

SculptureCharlotte HubbardSofia MarquesVictor Borges

MetalsDiana HeathJoanna WhalleySophy WillsDonna StevensKatia Viegas WesolowskaJon PrivettGates Turner

Ceramics & GlassVictoria OakleyFi JordanJuanita NavarroAmanda Barnes

Stained GlassSherrie EatmanHelen Bower

Administration & InformationSystems

Tim Carpenter Laura Jiggins

StudentsSurface StudiesCharis Theodorakopoulos,PhDMarie Vest, PhD

Historical/Technical StudyAllyson McDermott, MPhilTimea Tallian, MPhil

Modern JewelleryCordelia Rogerson, PhD

Computer VisualisationNicholas Frayling, PhD

20th Century MaterialsFotini Koussiaki, PhD(with Tate)

TextilesAlice Cole, MAHazel Arnott, MA(with Historic Royal Palaces)

SculptureAnna Kagiadaki, MA

Conservation ScienceKonstantinos Ntanos, MA(with British Museum)Naomi Luxford, MA(with English Heritage)Tsing-Young Dora Tang, MSci9with Imperial College)

FurnitureKatja Gruber, MABarbara Schertel, MA

History, Ethics & ManagementMaria Troupkou, MPhilHelen Evans, MPhil

Natural HistoryMelissa Gunter, MA(with Natural HistoryMuseum)

Ethnographic MaterialsHeidrun Gassner, MA(with Horniman Museum)

PaperClair Walton MA(with Theatre Museum)

Metalwork (with othermaterials)Louise Parns, MA

RCA/V&A ConservationWilliam Lindsay (RCA)Alison Richmond (V&A)Alison Bracker (RCA)Vincent Daniels (RCA)Joanna Baden (RCA)Harriet Standeven (V&A)

InternshipsFurnitureMiho KitagawaTextilesGordana CarPaperMelanie NiefPaintingsAilke Schroeder

Editorial BoardSandra SmithHead of Department

Charlotte HubbardHead Sculpture Conservator

Fi JordanSenior Ceramics Conservator

Graham MartinHead of Science

Mike WheelerSenior Paper Conservator

Designed by V&A Design

Photographs are credited individually

All enquiries to:-Conservation DepartmentVictoria and Albert MuseumLondon SW7 2RL, UKTelephone +44 (0)20 7942 2133Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 2092e-mail conservation.journal@vam.ac.uk

The V&A Conservation Journal is an informal publication and references in articles are discouraged. Readers may contact authors for further information via the e-mail address above

Contents V&A Conservation Journal No.48

1 EditorialSandra Smith, Head of Conservation

2 A souvenir from GuangzhouPauline Webber, Head of Paper, Books & PaintingsConservation

5 Conservation Department Seminar reportDavid Thickett, Senior Conservation Scientist, EnglishHeritage

6 An away day to Belgium – washing tapestriesFrances Hartog, Senior Textiles Conservator

8 Yomeimon of ToshoguNigel Bamforth, Senior Furniture Conservator

10 Nasrid plasterwork: symbolism, materials andtechniques.

Victor Borges, Senior Sculpture Conservator

13 Mixed media object: large and fragile structure.Sofia Marques, Sculpture Conservator

16 Planning and estimatingNick Umney, Director of Collections Services Division,Tim Carpenter, Conservation Information Systems Manager,Sue Ridley, Head of Technical Services

18 RCA/V&A Postgraduate Conservation ProgrammeAlison Richmond, Deputy Head, RCA/V&A Conservation

22 New Staff and Interns

Staff Chart

Front Cover image: Architectural model of the Shrine &Mausoleum Gate of Yomeimon of Toshogu. (W.5-1918)Photography by Ian Thomas, V&A Photographic Studio

Graham Martin Albert Neher Pauline Webber Alan Derbyshire

Visiting ResearchersTitika Malkogeorgou

Key

Senior Management Team

2

A selection of approximately 200 Chinese export1

paintings from the V&A’s collection were exhibited atthe Guangzhou [formerly Canton] Museum of Art inChina from 28 September 2003 to 4 January 2004.

Very few export paintings of this type remain in thecollections in Guangzhou; consequently they areregarded with great interest by Chinese scholars asan invaluable documentation of the history, activitiesand socio-cultural exchanges that took place aroundthe Pearl River Delta during the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries. The paintings were produced inthe port cities of China and became popular souvenirssold to western travellers and merchants. Theyrepresent the images of Chinese culture taken back tothe West in an age that pre-dated photography.Appropriately, the exhibition was entitled Souvenirsfrom Canton.

During the eighteenth century no visit to Canton wascomplete without purchasing some artwork from oneof the new painting studios in New China Street.Watercolours had an added attraction because theywere of a convenient size, were relatively inexpensive,and could be bound into albums and books for easeof storage and display. The artists worked in bothtransparent and opaque colour on a surface of Europeanor Chinese paper, as well as silk, ivory and pith

2.

The paintings exhibited in Guangzhou date from the second half of the eighteenth century, the V&Apossessing very few from the first half of the century.The subjects include boats, trades, birds, flowers,insects, musical instruments, merchants, tea andsilk production, and porcelain manufacture.

Out of the ‘One Hundred Occupations’ series, animportant part of the collection, 53 were selected,illustrating the trades and occupations of Canton.They were acquired in 1898, not for their artisticcontent, but as pictorial documentation of the‘industrial arts’

3. The variety of street activities and

traders that could be seen at the time are illustrated-including cobblers, wok-menders, dumpling-sellers,glass grinders, porcelain repairers and street theatreperformers.

Out of the V&A’s collection of 50 boat paintings, 30were selected for exhibition. They illustrate the greatvariety of mainly riverboats in use in the lateeighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Transport byriver and sea was the most important means ofconnecting Ghangdong Province with other coastalcities of China. There were many shipyards in portcities such as Guangzhou and so boats were apopular subject matter. They were named according to their shape, function, place of origin or the cargothey carried. The Duck Boat (Figure 1) was used to transport ducks whilst the Flower Boats, aeuphemism for floating brothels, were elegantlydecorated boats moored permanently, with PimpBoats that ferried the clients to and fro.

The paintings of the ‘One Hundred Occupations’ wereexecuted on thin, good quality Chinese xuan paper,made from the fibre of the than tree. It was first sizedwith alum and animal glue and after drying, brushedwith a lead white (lead sulphide) ground. The imagesof the traders were traced from other copies orcopybooks, possibly with a metal stylus. The outlineswere filled in with colour and details added later.

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Earlier this month I went to the UKIC conference,‘Working with the Project Culture’, in Liverpool. Thevarious papers highlighted the need forconservators to be able to understand their rolewithin a project team, and to contexualiseconservation within a project culture. Organisationssuch as the National Trust, English Heritage andHistoric Royal outsource much of their work toprivate conservation studios and have thereforebecome quite adept as predicting and costingconservation within a project. National museums,like the V&A, whilst increasingly working within aproject culture lag behind our colleagues in theseproject planning skills. The Collections ServicesDivision has taken a leaf out of projectmanagement practice by creating an estimatingtool to predict resource requirements across theDivision from known and comparable data. NickUmney, Tim Carpenter and Sue Ridley explain howthis tool evolved and how it can be used to assessthe impact of projects on the divisional work loadand to negotiate for additional resources.

Though we may need to evolve the planningprocess, involvement with projects is very much partof our lives. Pauline Webber’s article shows theconservation input into an international project,Nigel Bamforth gives an insight into the fascinatingproject that we have been undertaking with theRIBA on their architectural models and plans andVictor Borges and Sofia Marques add theirknowledge to the development of this new gallery.Amid this we have been trying to sharedevelopment in joint research initiatives through adepartmental seminar, and we are grateful to DavidThickett of English Heritage for providing anexternal review of the day.

Autumn heralds a new intake of students for theRCA/V&A Conservation MA course and theirbiographies, together with those of contract staffand interns, show how departmental numbers areswelling even if it is only for a short time.

Sadly, this is also the point for saying goodbye tosome members of the Department; Maria Walklin,Production Editor of the Conservation Journal hasleft the Museum and her skills have already beenmissed by the editorial team, who she kept on thestraight and narrow with remarkable patience. Thesecond goodbye is to Jonathan Ashley-Smith.Although he technically left the ConservationDepartment in 2002 to join the V&A ResearchDepartment, he remained in contact withConservation, always offering support and advice.His work for the Museum, the Department and theconservation profession has been outstanding andwe will all miss seeing him around the Museum.Our best wishes to them both for a happy andsuccessful future.

EditorialSandra SmithHead of Conservation

A Souvenir From GuangzhouPauline WebberHead of Paper, Books & Paintings Conservation

Figure 1. Duck boat (8655:28), watercolour on paper

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open-weave canvas. The sides of the painting and theprotruding canvas were bound with strips of marbledpaper (Extra & Spanish Drag pattern 1850-1890),often extending over the edge of the painting. Thereis clear evidence from the pattern of dirt and damagethat these paintings were removed from strainersand may previously have been displayed as framedpictures. Underneath the marbled paper was apainted blue border 1.5cm wide on the canvasframing the painting. This is more in keeping withother contemporary export paintings, such as pithpaintings, which generally have borders of blue silk,or paintings of similar subject matter and techniqueincorporated into wallpaper schemes like those atSaltram House in Devon. I have also seen a set pastedsimilarly onto canvas and fixed onto woodenstrainers with paper mache frames. It could be thatthey were prepared this way in Canton, since after1780, many of the water-colourists also painted inoils, and so straining up canvas on a stretcher wouldhave been a familiar technique. Most of thesepaintings were in fair condition, but in the past hadbeen displayed unglazed. They were dulled byingrained and surface dirt which, after removal withchemical sponge and soft grated erasers, revealedblue skies, pink sunsets and green leafy landscapes.

The paintings of silk, tea and porcelain manufactureare interesting in that they are accurate in theirdepiction of technical detail, but are set in fancifuland idyllic surroundings far removed from therealities of where they would have been produced.Porcelain, for example, was manufactured in a townfive hundred miles north of Canton. Perhaps theartists wished to present an idealised setting in orderto appeal to the European imagination.

The majority of the paintings underwent someconservation treatment and all were remounted. Inthe museum’s large exhibition space, they weredisplayed in cases without frames using simplePerspex clips to hold them in place. The curators andtechnical staff were all extremely helpful andgenerous. Indeed, on the first day of installation itseemed as if the whole museum staff was inside thelong wall-cases, measuring and fixing. The displaysystem, however, was uncomplicated and theexhibition was installed smoothly.

Before the opening, we were treated to a day'sexcursion with colleagues from the GuangzhouMuseum of Art, Macau University and the ChineseUniversity in Hong Kong. We boarded a boat andtravelled the old trade route along the Pearl River!The opening of the exhibition was celebrated ingrand style with ribbon cutting, firecrackers,streamers, speeches and gifts, followed by a series oflectures and a lavish banquet of many courses.

The magnificent exhibition catalogue brings togetherscholarship from the V&A, the Guangzhou Museumof Art, the Guangzhou Museum, Sun Yat SenUniversity and the South China Institute of Botany.The exhibition curator was Ming Wilson from theV&A Asian Department. It was organised by the V&A,the Guangzhou Cultural Bureau and the BritishCouncil, and was sponsored by Swire Properties Ltd,Cathay Pacific Airways, and Mr and Mrs Edwin DaviesOBE. The exhibition was the first joint venturebetween the V&A and the Ghuangzhou Museum andwas met with great enthusiasm. The GuangzhouMuseum sees it as a landmark in their activities andit is hoped that it may encourage further exchangesbetween the two museums in the future.

References1. The term only came into use after 1949. Wilson, Ming,

Bridging China & The West - Chinese Export Art in the V&A

2. The inner pith of the tree Trexapanx Papyrifera (in ChineseTongacao) and frequently incorrectly called “rice paper”.

3. Clunas, Craig, Chinese Export Watercolours, V&APublications, 1984

4. Derbyshire, Alan, Hydrogen Peroxide and Gortex. PaperConservation News, No 67, 1993

5. An organisation producing paintings for the SongDynasty (960-1279). It stressed the importance of form-likeness and included paintings in imitation. Yin, Chen,Guangzhou Museum of Art Exhibition Catalogue pp64-69

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When the paintings were removed from their poorquality mounts, Chinese inscriptions at the bottom ofeach sheet were discovered. Large areas of the paperthat had been masked by the mounts revealed thatthe white lead carbonate ground had becomeblackened. A decision was made to treat some of themost disfigured areas. The Gortex™ and hydrogenperoxide method was used to alter the black leadwhite back to white

4. The most damaged of these

paintings were lined with a thin kozo Japanesemulberry paper, while others where flattened toremove creases and indentations caused fromprevious mounting methods.

The boat pictures were painted in gouache-typecolours (pigment bound with animal glue and somecolours mixed with lead white) onto a very thinChinese bamboo paper. Due to the fragile nature ofthe paper and losses and tears to the edges of thesheets caused by inappropriate mounting methodssome 50 or 60 years ago, it was decided to line eachpainting. The colours used in the paintings wereextremely sensitive to water and so, to minimise riskto the work, a treatment programme was devised tocontrol the amount of water used in the variousprocesses. The procedure involved flattening,removing discolouration, lining, drying and pressingbetween felts and boards. The lining was latertrimmed down to approximately 5cm and thepaintings hinged into new mounts.

Sixty paintings depicting birds, insects and plantswere exhibited. Botanical subjects represent animportant category in Chinese export painting. TheV&A collection of flora painting spans the periodbetween 1770 and 1840, and the exhibition presentedthe opportunity for some of them to be studied bythe South China Institute of Botany, ChineseAcademy of Sciences. The flora paintings wereproduced primarily for technical study in a standardformat, to include the subject with branch, leaves andblossoms. These paintings, categorised as belongingto the yuanti (Academy) style

5, were produced by

traditionally-trained artists. Whilst it is thought someguidance may have been received from the Europeancustomers in rendering the subjects as true to life aspossible, they still contain elements that are

inherently native, thus embracing aspects of bothwestern and Chinese traditional painting. Theycombine native vegetable colours such as indigo andmadder red, and mineral colours, including azuriteblue, malachite green, cinnabar red, and lead white.Although many botanical paintings in the collectionare on Chinese paper, there are a number onwatermarked paper made in England by J. Whatmanand dated 1812 and 1821.

Subject matter such as porcelain manufacture, teagrowing and harvesting, and silk production wasoften produced in sets of 12 or more sheets and thesewere very popular between 1785 and 1820. The loanincluded a set of 12 paintings depicting teaproduction, (Figure 2) 20 paintings of porcelainmanufacture, and a set of 16 watercolours illustratingthe stages of silk production.

The porcelain manufacture paintings are executedwith gouache-type colours on to a xuan paperprepared with a ground of lead white, alum andanimal glue. Some areas are glazed, possibly withvegetable gums, to add depth and richness to thepaintings. Several steps of the manufacturing processare often depicted on one sheet. Each painting hasbeen pasted onto a secondary support of coarse,

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Figure 2. Transporting tea by river (D.355-1894), watercolour on paper

6

On a bright sunny day in June the Textile ConservationSection set off on an away-day to Belgium to witnessthe washing of a tapestry. The process was beingcarried out in a specially designed facility using aninnovative system that we hope to employ on objectsfor the new Medieval & Renaissance Galleries.

One of the objects chosen for the galleries is atapestry from the ‘The War of Troy’ series woven inTournai 1475-90, in wool and silk and measuring 4.13 x6.80m. Over the years it has suffered a noticeableamount of damage and been poorly repaired. Indeedit has been cut into seven pieces and rejoined. Itscondition could be categorised as ‘fair’ to ‘poor’ andbefore it can be hung for display it is in need of fullconservation treatment. The first phase of treatmentwill be dedicated to cleaning, including washing. Thefragile condition of the tapestry and the relativelyrecent developments in wet cleaning, led us to re-evaluate past methods.

In the past, tapestries were most commonly washedin temporary baths made up in a large enough spacefor them to lie out flat. The baths were constructedfrom polythene sheeting with plastic drain pipes forthe sides. Large quantities of softened and de-ionisedwater were required on tap, as was adequatedrainage. This system allowed for the completeimmersion of the tapestry during the washing andrinsing processes. To facilitate efficient soil removal,

mechanical action in the form of sponging wasessential. In order for the whole surface of thetapestry to receive the same treatment, the tapestrywould be rolled on a roller in the bath as thesponging progressed across its entire surface. Tolessen the amount of rolling, some studios investedin specially designed gantries from which spongingcould be carried out. However, it was still necessary toroll the tapestry to clean the bath between washesand rinses. Though this method of washing is highlyefficient at soil removal, there are drawbacks.

Using this method the tapestry undergoesconsiderable physical stress as it is repeatedly rolledand re-rolled in its vulnerable wet state. The sponginginevitably dislodges damaged weft yarns and areas ofweak silk frequently suffer loss. It is a lengthy processtaking on average 10 to 12 hours. At the end of thewash the tapestry is blotted and laid out to dry.Drying can take anywhere between 12 to 24 hours,any fugitive dyes in the tapestry or repairs (it is usualfor tapestries to have undergone generations ofrepair over the centuries) have plenty of time tomigrate into neighbouring yarns. As the soiling isreleased into the bath there is a possibility of re-deposition. The complete immersion of the tapestryfor lengthy periods, though very effective at soilremoval, results in the swelling and realignment ofthe fibres which can cause dimensional change.

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The Victoria and Albert Museum hosted a jointmeeting with the Institute of Conservation Scienceon 5 May 2004. Over 50 people attended themeeting, which consisted of a series of fivepresentations on three topics.

Hannalore Römich gave an introduction to the LiDo(light dosimeters) project (EVK4-CT2000-00016) thathas developed the Lightcheck dosimeters over thepast three years. Two light dosimeters have beendeveloped - Light Check Sensitive, LCS, for light dosesup to 100,000 lux hours and Light Check Ultra, LCUfor doses up to 400,000 lux hours. Each dosimetercomes with a ‘calibration’ card to enable the lightdose to be read from it by eye. The LCU and LCSmainly respond to light, but are influenced by lightsource, temperature, relative humidity and theoxidising pollutants nitrous oxide and ozone. They donot respond to UV. Issues of quality control andproduction were discussed by Ron Buxton of ParticleTechnology Ltd., the company manufacturing thedosimeters. The LCU dosimeters are presentlyavailable at ¤40 for five, with LCS presumablyavailable in the near future. The dosimeters havemany obvious uses, but will need to compete withthe established blue wool standard methods, whoseuse has been pioneered by the National Trust. Theyare extremely useful to rapidly assess a location fordisplay and have already been used for this by theauthor. More detail on the LCS and LCU dosimeters isavailable at www.lightcheck.co.uk .

Boris Pretzel and Martin Hancock reported on thedevelopment of the OCEAN project at the V&A andthe new generation of Hanwell radio sensors andsoftware developed for this project. The extremelylarge scale of the monitoring planned (over 800sensors) has lead to some major developments in the hardware used. As is often the case in such work,these impressive improvements will not be obviousto the user who will only see a working system, butthe auto-registration function for sensors will beappreciated with those users with large systems.

The changes to the software are however bothobvious and significant. The most fundamental beinga CAD type system of scalable maps to view andinterrogate the sensors. This moves beyond thepresent limitations of the map views with largegalleries/buildings. Such a large-scale system willrequire considerable resources to ensure the sensorsare calibrated (which is all too often overlooked formonitoring systems) and functioning properly. TheV&A have negotiated a contract with Hanwell toundertake this work. It was interesting to note thatkeeping the system maintained will cost almost asmuch as the initial system cost over five years andrefreshing to see ‘lifetime’ costs built into a project.

The widespread availability of the data within theV&A drew some comment after the presentation,with questions about who had responsibility foracting when conditions moved outside those set for a particular gallery or display case. Clear lines ofresponsibility for reaction to ‘out of limit’ situationsneed establishing for any monitoring system ofcontrolled areas and higher tech solutions do notovercome this basic requirement.

Oliver Stahlman described the European CulturalHeritage Network website (see www.echn.net/echn/).This is funded by Cologne University and providestools for communication, file sharing and projectmanagement between researchers on a project andfor public dissemination of information from thatproject. The system allows both public and privateareas with seven different levels of access and seemsto be a much more user-friendly version of that usedby many EC projects. The software appeared toprovide several easy to use tools, to allow file sharingand controlled updating, news, and dissemination ofgraphics. As work becomes more collaborative tospread costs and risk amongst institutions, thisapproach seems an easy and very practical way tomanage communications for projects betweenpartners in several locations.

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Conservation Department Seminar reportDavid ThickettSenior Conservation Scientist, English Heritage

An away day to Belgium-washing tapestriesFrances HartogSenior Textiles Conservator

Figure 1. The ‘Gang’ on arrival in not-so-sunny Belgium.

8

There were a great many models conserved for theArchitecture for All Gallery, but none is more intricatethan that of the Shrine and Mausoleum Gate ofYomeimon of Toshogu, built for the founder of theTokugawa Shogunate (1603-1868) (W5-1918) (Figure 1).The splendour of Japan’s greatest architecture wasreplicated in scale and detail, testifying to the skills ofthe nineteenth-century craftsman. The model wasdisplayed at the Japan British Exhibition 1910 at theGreat White City, Shepherd’s Bush, London.

1

The substantial model (85 x 65 x 45cm) is constructedof a series of platforms, each supporting the next,terminating with the roof load. The galleried first floor,borne upon columns, exemplifies the fine quality ofthe urushi lacquer employed in the model. Theintricately carved tableaux set within the gallery rails,depict scenes from Japanese mythology and aredecorated with water based pigments. Copper depositsfound at Ashio, south-west of Nikko, used on thecelebrated mausoleum are reproduced on the model’scopper roof tiles.

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ConditionThe general structure, although retaining somestability, had suffered approximately two hundredlosses. A great many detached and fracturedarchitectural components were fortunately preservedin the V&A’s stores. Detached screens, doors, fencingand brackets, all elements undertaken by various

craftsmen, were generally complete. The losses to theantlers, lions, dragons and intricate miniature joinerywere more intrusive. Finger imprints found on the firstfloor had clearly etched into the translucent lacquersurface, sustaining unacceptable surface damage.

The loss of roof tilesaffected the overallappearance of themodel where verticaltimber beams areoverlaid with coppersheet to simulate tiles(Figure 2). Powderydiscoloration on theridges and flat tiles wascaused by birdexcrement. Minorcorrosion was evident on the metal mounts located onbeams and brackets, affecting blemishes on the surface.

The ground floor polychrome ceiling was in perfectorder, having sustained no deterioration from dust andmovement. The carved interior panels, due todislocation, had surface abrasions. The loss of thetemple guards aesthetically affected the visualstatement of the temple, a dominant force presidingover the whole.

TreatmentThe structural treatment needed to stabilise the objectrequired the total dismantling of the architecturalstructure. Brass rods rise uppermost through the plinthto screw into the roof beams allowing stability for theseparation of the construction levels. By gaining accessto the interior, it enabled a thorough survey of theconstruction methodology to be recorded. On closeinspection areas of architectural losses were revealed,enabling an identification process to be undertaken and a systematic component replacement schedule to proceed.

A gentle vacuuming was undertaken to remove visiblesurface dust. Working from the plinth upwards, majorhorizontal shrinkage across the floor was filled withpigmented (carbon black) Fine Surface Polyfilla(emulsion of poly (vinyl alcohol), poly (vinyl acetate),cellulose ethers and mineral fillers). The carved screenslocated on the ground floor within the guards’ quarters

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The alternative system that we visited in Belgium ishoused in, and operated by, the De Wit RoyalManufacturers in Mechelen. Set up in 1889 tomanufacture and restore tapestries, their washingexperience therefore stretches back for more than acentury. About 13 years ago they developed aninnovative new system which uses a combination ofaerosol spray and vacuum suction. It is fitted withintegral sensors to control pH, temperature, waterflow and pressure.

The facility consists of an enclosed chamber withglass panels. The base is a large suction table 5 x 9m.Ranged across the ceiling are 45 aerosol spraysapproximately 1.75m above the platform. During thecleaning process the tapestry is held in place bycontinuous suction. When the aerosol is turned on thewhole chamber fills with almost weightless micro-bubbles of water vapour which are drawn downevenly through the entire tapestry. A lowconcentration of a non-ionic detergent is introducedto the aerosol system for as long as is deemednecessary for soil removal. This is replaced by softenedand then de-ionised water during the rinsing process.In cases of extreme soiling sponging can be carriedout from a gantry. The tapestry is still held undersuction whilst being sponged, therefore there is nopossibility of movement which would result indamage to weak areas of silk.

The aerosol/suction combination creates a veryeven and intense cleaning system with theadvantage of the entire tapestry being treatedsimultaneously. The continuous flow throughthe tapestry means dirt is loosened from thefibres efficiently and then immediately drawnaway avoiding the danger of re-deposition.There is no movement of the tapestry, thereforeno mechanical damage from manoeuvring awet textile can occur. The tapestry is nevercompletely immersed in water thus avoidingdimensional change or shrinkage.

The pH, conductivity and temperaturereadings are displayed on a television monitor.The client is presented with the graph of the

readings, a very useful piece of documentation, and aDVD of the entire procedure which has been filmedvia a roving digital camera attached to a bridge.During washing, any part of the tapestry can beexamined in close up through this camera.

During drying there is continuous suction. Towelling isunrolled over the tapestry’s entire surface, coveredwith polythene and left for a few minutes. The processis repeated. Finally the towelling is replaced byabsorbent paper. After blotting the tapestry is leftuncovered with the vacuum on. The air beingcirculated through it is pulled in from outside, filteredand heated to 30˚C before use. After use it is extractedback outside.

The whole process takes approximately eight hoursincluding the drying. The speed of the process andcontinuous suction avoids the danger of fugitive dyesmigrating. For the historically important Troy tapestrywhich is pieced and heavily repaired with numerouspainted patches, this system would appear to offer avery safe, controllable and, most importantly, effectivemethod of wet cleaning.

The National Trust have been using De Wit to clean anumber of tapestries each year since 1996. Notably,the Hardwick Hall tapestries with a particular type ofblack, sticky soiling that is extremely difficult toremove. They have been very satisfied with the resultsand encouraged us to “go and see for ourselves”.Armed with away-day tickets from London toMechelen - we did.

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Figure 2. Paper towelling being unrolled over a tapestry during the drying process.

Yomeimon of ToshoguNigel BamforthSenior Furniture Conservator

Figure 1. Gate of Yomeimon of Toshogu

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Figure 2. Roof section showing losses of tiles

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As part of the display for the new ArchitectureGallery, and to represent the art in architecturewithin the Spanish Islamic style, five fragments ofplasterwork from the Alhambra Palace of Granada(Spain), were selected from the V&A Collection. Thesefragments date from the fourteenth century whenNasrid art was at its most splendid. This article, basedon the analysis

1of samples taken from mortars and

paint layers and on observations during conservationtreatment, forms an introduction to traditionalmaterials and techniques used in Nasrid plasterworkas well as explaining their style and symbolism.

The first Islamic invasion of the Iberian peninsulaoccurred in 711 AD; three years later almost the wholeIberian territory was under the rule of Berber troops.The occupation lasted almost eight hundred years,giving place to one of the most extraordinary periodsof art and culture in medievalEurope. Al-Andalus, the namegiven to the occupied Iberianterritories, was slowly re-conquered by the ChristianKings through the centuries.However it was not until 1492that the Catholic Kings finallyconquered the last standingMuslim kingdom in Europe,Granada, ruled at the time bythe Nasrid dynasty.Muhammad ibn Nasr I was thefounder of this dynasty, whichruled this kingdom from 1238to 1492. They originated themost monumental,sophisticated and lavishperiod within SpanishIslamic art, making Granadathe artistic centre of NorthAfrica (Marinid Art) and theIberian Christian Kingdoms(Mudéjar Art).

The best example of Nasridart is the Royal residence ofthe Alhambra (Al-hamra = the

red), a world of luxury and comfort, obtained through acombination of splendid architecture and formallydesigned gardens with numerous fountains and pools.The main architectural features within the buildings areceramic mosaics, plasterwork and carved woodenceilings all profusely decorated, reflecting the Islamictendency to cover all surfaces with complex ornaments(Horror Vacui), and blended together with subtle lighteffects, carpets, curtains and hanging textiles.

Nasrid plasterwork covers almost every single surfaceof walls, arches, vaults and ceilings, gaining an almosttextile quality through their intricate ornament andvibrant palette of colours. Its almost overwhelmingappearance is the result of the interconnection andsuperimposition of different ornamental elements:calligraphic inscriptions, geometric lazo, atauriqueand mocárabes.

The calligraphic inscriptionsfound in the Alhambracorrespond to two differentstyles: Kufic (dry style) andNashkhid-Thuluth (cursivestyle). Kufic calligraphy, whichusually refers to quotationsfrom the Holy Koran, consists ofa combination of square andangular lines with bold circularforms. When applied toplasterwork it tends to formpart of the decoration becomingalmost illegible. In Figure 1, thekufic inscription at the bottomof the panel elongates andtransforms its characters intodecoration. References to someinvocations as the “baraka”(blessing), with its elongated“kaf” and “ta’ marbut

’a” letters,

appear in the centre andcorners of the panel. And on topof the central baraka the letter“nun” makes an invocation tohappiness (yumn).

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required the removal of dust with a squirrel brush. Agentle surface clean with saliva-moistened swabsremoved surface dirt.

To remove the finger imprints, a fine cotton t-shirt clothwas dampened with Stoddard solvent (white spirit) viaa pipette, the lacquer surface was lightly wiped in 5cmareas. The heavy imprints were treated with de-ionisedwater using the same method.

The metal mounts were cleaned with Shellsol A(aromatic hydrocarbon) and reapplied to the joinerywhere necessary using Paraloid B-72 in acetone. Allloose and unstable roof tiles were re-attached withCanadian fish glue. Original roof and ridge tiles andgilded ridge elements were re-located and glued inplace. The tiles were surface cleaned with Shellsol Aapplied on swabs, taking care not to affect thepatination.

The loss of approximately 40 tiles distracted from theoverall appearance. Replacements were created from acopper sheet milled down to 25mm thickness, cut intothe required lengths and formed around dowelling.Tests were carried out on copper sheet to replicate thetile patination. A solution of 5g copper sulphate, 20gsodium chloride, 2g potassium sulphide in 20ml de-ionised water was applied by brush prior to gluing thereplacement tiles in place.

The missing temple guards were reproduced by JustinMcMorrow, Senior Conservator, National MaritimeMuseum. One figure was modelled in plasticine,working from monochrome photographs of the originalfigures on the model of the gateway. As insufficientvisual data existed to carry out an exact replica, it wasdecided after discussions with the gallery’s curatorsthat an impressionistic approach should be adoptedwith the aim of replicating the dimensions, posture andcolour of the original to blend within the model. Theplasticine model was cast in Sicovoss BL (siliconerubber), using a plaster casing to support a thin siliconelayer. Two figures were cast in polyester resin with fillersof <40% synthetic amorphous silica, flake white drypowder pigment and barium sulphate. The catalysedmixture was placed on the open mould. After the gelcoat had cured a fine layer of glass fibre and polyesterresin was laid into each half of the mould. A catalysedmixture of gel coat was applied to the joining edge and

both halves of the mould were quickly assembled andheld together (Figure 3). The beard was removed fromone figure to comply with the original, the detailsdrawn in pencil and painted in acrylic artist’s paint. Thebody armour and floral decoration on the trousers werecoated in yellow oil-based paint and gilded using tintedoil size. The gilded surface was distressed using acrylicpigments and airbrushed with a fine spray of whiteacrylic paint (Figure 4).

ConclusionThe conservation treatment aimed to preserve theoriginal decorative order. It was felt inappropriate toreplace the losses of the carved gallery tableaux as norecord of the design is available. The loss of roofingmaterial and several lions did not intrude upon thevisual appreciation of the gateway. However, the re-inclusion of the figures contributes to the appreciationof the overall scale of the model.

References1. Official Report of the Japan British Exhibition 1910. Unwin

Brothers, Surrey.

2. Strong, K. Ox against the storm, Japan Library, Kent, 1995, p65.

AcknowledgementsWe are grateful for the work of Justin McMorrow, SeniorConservator at the National Maritime Museum, whocontributed by superbly replicating the seated figures.

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Figure 4. Figures re-instated within the model

Nasrid plasterwork: symbolism, materialsand techniquesVictor BorgesSenior Sculpture Conservator

Figure 1. Plaster fragment with ataurique and calligraphic inscriptions combined

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different levels with the most important on top. Tofinish off, several white washes of lime or gypsumwere applied to soften the edges of the carving andblur the transition between light and shadows. Onlygypsum was found on Figures 1 and 3.

With Muhammad III (1302) the technique becamemore standardised: moulds began to be used. Thedesign was drawn and cut in sections in order tomake moulds on wood or plaster. The casts obtainedwould be set in place while damp with dabs of clayand sealed in with a gesso slurry. Finally thewhitewash and the polychromy, when required, wereapplied. All the fragments studied were cast.

Mocárabes were produced following a moreelaborate process depending on whether the designwas intended for a capital, frieze, arch or vault. Thenumber and variety of prisms ( jairas) required for thedesign were calculated. The variety of cuts on theends of the prisms created different geometricalshapes (called adarajas). The cut prisms were thenjoined with liquid gesso into rectangular sections(medinas), reinforced with a rougher plaster mixtureand set in the final destination with clay (Figure 3).

Nasrid masons loved playing with light and coloureffects in their plasterwork designs. Some panelswere simply whitewashed (Figures 1 and 3), whileothers were richly painted, using high quality

pigments in a wide range of colours: red,blue, green, purple and black combinedwith gold and silver leaf. The paintingtechnique, as seen in Figure 2, wasextremely delicate and precise: plainbackground colours, silver or gold leafon the high relief, and carefullyexecuted sgraffito and fine paintedminiatures creating exquisite effects.

In the case of the fragment in Figure 2,traditional pigments were found. The

high degree of fluorescence obtained withthe Raman analysis in all samples could be

due to the presence of an aged binding medium,probably gum arabic or egg. Two of the mostsignificant pigments traced are: red vermilion,probably produced by the so-called dry process, usedin China in antiquity and thought to have beenintroduced in the West by the Arabs; and bluelazurite, which is obtained from lapis lazuli. Thismineral, mainly extracted in Afghanistan, was soexpensive at the time that its value was equivalent togold, reflecting once more the luxury of thispolychromy and the sophistication of Nasridplasterwork. Traces of other materials were found, butfurther analysis of these is required

Reference1. Burgio, Lucia. ‘04-27-lb Alhambra - Microscopy analysis

of Hispano-Moresque samples from the Alhambra’ V&AScience Report, June 2004.

Further readingPuertas Fernández, A. The Alhambra Vol. 1., Saqi Books, 1997.García Bueno, A., and Medina Flórez V. J., The NasridPlasterwork at “qubba Dar al-Manjara l-kubra” in Granada:Characterisation of materials and techniques, Journal ofCultural Heritage 5, 2004.

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Nashkid-Thuluth calligraphy is a more elegant styleused for describing the function of the rooms or as areference to poetic quotations. In later periods, theNasrid used it as a vehicle for their propagandisticaims, displaying their dynastic motto “Wa la ghalib ilaAla” (“There is no conqueror but God”) in keylocations of the design (bottom centre of Figure 1).

Geometric lazo: These geometric compositions (sopopular in Islamic art) appear in Granada with suchdistinctive, accurate and rigorous design that theyform a western school within Muslim art. Creationspeculiar to Nasrid art are the square grid, thegeometric lazo of eight and the eight pointed star.These stars were the central point for biggercompositions called “ruedas” (wheels) where the lazocreates a geometric composition around the star(Figure 2).

Ataurique (al-tawrıq = leaves, foliage, flora) is thename given to Nasrid floral and vegetal decorations.These patterns come from classic decorativeelements, such as fruits, flowers and acanthus leaves,which evolved into more typical Hispano-Muslimabstractions. These are found as free decorations onarches and windows, or filling spaces created by thegeometric lazo (Figure 2) and the calligraphicinscriptions (Figure 1). During the time ofMuhammad V (1354) more themes and variationsappear: complex palm leaves (background of Figure 1),shells (symbol of the origin of life, Figure 3),peppercorns, pine cones, and for the first time, theybegin to appear intertwined with calligraphicinscriptions.

Mocárabe is a type of ornament built up from verticalprisms applied one over another. They would bejoined in multiple different arrays resemblingstalactites, probably relating to the cave where theprophet Mohammed received the inspiration for theKoran. The mocárabe is found located on capitals(Figure 3) and friezes, expanding to windows, archesand vaults at the time of Muhammad V. Nasridmocárabes are characterised by their immensevariety of geometrical shapes and precisemathematical proportions, making them unique inwestern Islam.

The main component of Nasrid plasterwork isgypsum (hydrated calcium sulphate). Retardants suchas salts, glue or calcium carbonate were added toslow the setting and permit carving while panelswere still damp. Sometimes the back would bereinforced with a rougher gypsum plaster containingsand and fibres. On the samples taken from themortars, only gypsum was found. As a retardant, saltsor glue may have been used. No trace of calciumcarbonate was found.

During the first period of Nasrid Art (1232-1314) thecarving process took place in situ with the “naqchhadîda” technique (sculpture with iron tools). Thegypsum plaster was applied and then carved,following the design previously outlined with drypoint. The ornamental motifs were then carved at

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Figure 2. Section of a 16 pointed star rueda

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but effective: a plywood board, longer than the baseof the model and with handles at each end, was cutso the object could be moved and transportedaccording to the need without touching the velvet.

The second consisted of building an “L” structure inplywood padded with two lengths of Plastazote®, oneat the top and one at the bottom edge of the back ofthe model. This enabled the model to be tilted on itsback so that work could be carried out on the base ofthe model, where three of the feet were detached orloose. This way, handlers did not touch the model andinstead, only two points of the velvet were in contactwith Plastazote® covered with acid-free tissue.

Finally, a template, provisionally made of plywood,was sprayed three times with a polyurethane coating(Selabond RJ119) and left to cure for two weeks. It wasto go underneath the model and in between the feetthat are at the base (Figure 2). The board was a fewmillimetres thicker than the height of the feet. It tookthe weight off the four feet that even after treatmentwere still considered to be too weak to carry thewhole weight of the object. A permanent structurewas to be made of sprayed metal and an acrylicsheet.

Some precautions were taken prior to tilting the objectto stabilise the base. X-ray radiographs (Figure 3)showed nails and screws of different sizes and shape inthe wood indicating that the wooden structure hadmany times been repaired. In order to ensure that the

plaster model would be able to sustain its ownweight in a horizontal position, balls of acid-freepaper were closely packed to fill the inside spaceof the model.

Having overcome the problem of handling themodel, the next difficulty was the fixing of theloose wooden velvet-covered mouldings to themain body of the case. The mouldings wereoriginally fixed to the main body with nailspassing through both the velvet and the wood.The nail heads were cut off to be less obtrusiveand no glue had been used. Most of the nailsprotruding from the loose mouldings wereremoved, but some were simply pushed back intheir original hole. Stainless steel brads werealso used on existing holes. Wooden dowels andHigh Tack Fish Glue were used where wood wasin contact with wood.

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The architectural model, signed by Enrique Linares, ofthe Tower of the Captive in the Alhambra’s palace,Granada, will be one of the many curious objectsselected for the Architectural Gallery, (Figure 1).This model aims to reproduce one of the greatachievements of Hispano-Muslin architecture.

The model of the tower, built in the 14th Century inSouthern Spain, was made around 1880 with velvet,wood, paper, painted plaster and marble.

The variety and fragility of the materials, the weight(99kg) and the size (95 x 92 x 63.5cm) makes thisobject a complex one in conservation terms. As aresult of this complexity, the conservation treatmentvaried in nature and degree of difficulty. Overcomingthe handling of this object in order to sort outstructural problems was a major concern.Consolidating the structure was also a challenge.

The model is made of painted plaster and consists ofthree walls and a ceiling. A wooden case, coveredwith red velvet, houses the model. Torn paper hasbeen placed in between the wooden case and theplaster model to secure the plaster within its caseand also to absorb any potential impact. This caseresembles, in shape and colour, the original towerwith plain walls of a reddish colour. The red colour ofthe velvet enhances the polychromy, which decoratethe walls and ceiling of the interior. The painting onthe plaster aims to represent painted tiles just abovefloor level, painted and gilded stucco panels abovethe tiles and the wood ceiling and door. The floor, thecolumns dividing the windows and the windowsillsare made of white marble. Like a painting, a framesurrounds a big opening that is in place of the fourthwall, inviting the viewer to look inside. The two lateralwindows offer different views on the interior.

The velvet, which covers the wooden case thathouses the model is unfortunately in a very poorcondition. Textile conservators of the V&A wereconsulted for advice that stated that theconservation of the velvet is practically impossible.Even the use of Parylene

1as a consolidant was ruled

out. The method of application of Parylene takesplace in vacuum and creates a thin (less than 1µm),even and transparent film. It has been used to rescuevery fragile objects such as leaves! To ensure asuccessful consolidation, removing the velvet fromthe case would have been ideal but was an operationpresenting high risks. Consolidating the velvet in situbrought other problems for the rest of the object.Further this co-polymer is renown for having badageing properties and reversing the treatment isimpossible

2. The velvet, therefore, was not

consolidated and was only lightly vacuumed using avery soft natural hairbrush.

Before any further decisions are made this non-intervention will require regular assessments in orderto monitor the rate of degradation once it is ondisplay.

Three steps were established to address the object’sstructural problems whilst minimising contact withthe badly damaged surface. The first step was simple

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Mixed media object: large and fragilestructureSofia MarquesSculpture Conservator

Figure 2. Bottom of model showing structural problems. The feet on which the case stands are missing

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Figure 1. Model of Portion of theTower of the Captive, Alhambra,Granada, Spain.

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Responsible project management requires broadunderstanding of costs before commitment.Traditionally, the Collection Services Division havefound it difficult to assess their capacity to deliver amixed programme of gallery displays, exhibitions,publications and loans in the absence of object lists.From a planning perspective waiting until an objectlist appears is too late because a commitment toproceed with a project has generally been made wellbefore this point. We therefore needed a tool thatwould allow us to make credible predictions aboutthe resource implications of medium to long-rangeprogramme proposals.

The bringing together of the Departments ofConservation, Exhibitions, Photography, and Recordsand Collections Services into a Collections ServicesDivision (CSD) at the beginning of 2002 createdopportunities for more joined up thinking aboutthese museum operations. A Planning Grouprepresenting all CSD departments was quickly set upto help achieve this. As a first step, a document, thePublic Programme Chart (figure 1) was created tobring together in one place a list of all the planned,public-facing, object-based activities over the nextfive years.

The group then turned its attention to long rangeestimating and forecasting of our capacity to deliverthe projects listed on the programme. The aim was tocome up with a simple method of predicting theresource implications of proposed projects based onprevious experience. One way this might be achievedwas by looking at statistical averages of numbers ofobjects per square metre in different types of displayand the average treatment times for objects andbring this together into a framework that wouldenable predictions to be made. The challenge wasthen to apply this to a different population of objects.

Given the bewildering range of different object typesand materials, the Planning Group first reduced thiscomplexity to just six simple, easily recognisablegroupings based on size and object complexity. Asimple matrix of small vs large and 2D vs 3D wasestablished and tested against sample groups ofobjects in the Museum to see if this would provide areliable basis for classification. This then led to theadoption of the following six categories of object:

1 Small and simple 2D2 Large and/ or complex 2D3 Small and/or simple 3D4 Large and simple 3D5 Large and/or complex 3D6 Outsize or complicated (exceptional)

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In some cases two loose pieces of moulding werefixed together from the inner angle with an “L” shapemetal plate before being fixed back to the main body.The metal plates are made of mild steel (previouslycoated twice with Paraloid B72 in acetone). A piece ofspun bonded polyester fabric was fixed with rabbitskin glue onto the metal plate and the visible woodto avoid the metal scratching the velvet covering thecase. As the space between the two sections ofmoulding was tight it was possible to place themouldings in position using a light pressure. Acid-free tissue was used to fill voids that couldpotentially cause further structural problems,following the principle of torn paper mentionedbefore.

Several strategies were formulated in order tomaintain the present condition of the velvet, i.e. avoidhandling the object while solving urgent problemssuch as the structure of the wooden case supportingthe velvet without conserving it. Both being in directcontact made the challenge even greater. The poorcondition of the velvet is one of the reasons why themodel won’t be seen in its entirety when exhibited.Nevertheless, this article provides an opportunity toanalyse the integrity of this object as a whole.

I am grateful to Tim Miller, Frances Hartog, MarionKite and Boris Pretzel from the ConservationDepartment, Tanishka Kachru from the Word andImage Department and the handlers from TechnicalServices for their contribution towards this project.

References:1 Grattan, David W. – Parylene at the Canadian Conservation

Institute. An initial survey of some applications. Preprintsof ICOM 9th Triennial Meeting, Dresden, 26-31 August 1990,Vol 2, Edited by Kirsten Grimstad (pp551-557)

2 Halvorson, Bonnie G. and Kerr, Nancy – Effect of light onthe properties of silk fabrics coated with Parylene C.Studies in Conservation, vol.39, no 1, 1994 (pp45-56)

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Planning and estimating Nick Umney, Director of Collections Services Division, Tim Carpenter, ConservationInformation Systems Manager, Sue Ridley, Head of Technical Services

Figure 1: Extract from CSDPublic Programme

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It is always a pleasure to reflect on the manyachievements of our students over the academicyear just passed. Yet again, one of our students wasshort-listed for the Pilgrim Trust StudentConservator of the Year Award. Nanke Schellmann’ssubmission for the award was based on herresearch into the influence of pH on the cleaning ofEast Asian lacquer, and the short-listing is also arecognition of the support and guidance shereceived from her supervisors in the V&A.

At the Convocation ceremony held in the AlbertHall, the Rector of the College requests theaudience to give the graduating students a roundof applause. This year we applauded:

• Iwona Jurkiewicz-Gotch – MA Paper Conservation:Architectural Works (with the V&A)

• Emma Schmuecker – MA Conservation of SocialHistory Objects (with the Museum of London)

• Sherrie Eatman – MA Stained Glass Conservation(with the V&A)

• Nicole Ingram – MPhil Risky Business? HeritageHospitality: The impact of special events on thecontents of historic buildings (with EnglishHeritage)

• Harriet Standeven – PhD The technical andhistorical development of alkyd-based glosshousepaints, with reference to 20th centuryartists

The range and depth of learning, teaching andresearch undertaken on the programme is certainlyreflected in this list. The quality of our programmeis reflected in two recent appointments: SherrieEatman MA to the position of Stained GlassConservator at the V&A following the departure ofher supervisor, Drew Anderson – himself a graduateof RCA/V&A Conservation – for the MetropolitanMuseum in New York and Dr. Harriet Standeven topart-time Tutor on the programme.

We are looking forward to welcoming the newstudents, whose biographies you will find on thefollowing pages.

Alice ColeTextile Conservation3 Year MABA(Hons) Textile Design: Chelsea College ofArt. LINST

During her degree Alice studied a wide range oftextile and garment production techniques. Shespecialised in knitwear design and particularlyenjoyed the dyeing of yarn. Her studies took her toItaly and New York where Alice began to get a senseof textiles in a wider historical context whilst alsodeveloping an interest in stained glass andecclesiastical art.

After graduating two years ago Alice began trainingas an oriental rug restorer with a studio in London.This introduced her to a diversity of different textilesincluding tapestries and upholstery fabrics. Alicehopes that her time with the V&A will be the startof a lifelong career in textile conservation. Shewishes to continue learning about as broad a rangeof textiles as she can and the cultures that producedthem. She would particularly like to develop agreater understanding of ecclesiastical artefactsand also the migration of dye stuffs. Alice wouldlove to travel with her work and gain experience of conservation practices around the world.

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The group then asked conservators, photographersand technicians to predict how long it would takethem to conserve, photograph, move and installobjects in the different categories.

To achieve good predictions it was also necessary totake account of the purpose of the work for whichthe estimate was being made. This was formallyexpressed as class of activity. The five classes ofactivity were established as: loans and acquisitions,exhibitions, new gallery displays, gallery/storeclearances, publications. Once this was adopted, moreconsistent and reliable estimates could be produced.

Each CSD section then determined the averageamounts of time required to carry out their work onthe different categories of object for the differentclasses of activity. Each activity was given a separatecalculation matrix (figure 2).

The Public Programme was used to identify projectsthat required resource calculations. Information onthe number and category of objects for a project wasthen obtained by either research or assessing theobjects in situ. The resource required was thencalculated by entering the data onto the Template(figure 2).

The figures from each project were thenautomatically transferred to a master sheet showingcumulative levels of resources required to service allprojects within a given period of time. Units of timewere reported on in quarters of a year. Levels ofavailable resource are put into the master sheet: thisenables spare capacity or over-scheduling to behighlighted.

The model aims to provide a rational basis fordecision making in the overall museum planningprocess. It provides base line figures but can beadjusted where more accurate assessments ofobjects are required or where a certain project breaksthe ‘norm’ (e.g. when all of the objects in a project arelarge tapestries). Data from areas outside the CSD(e.g. Collections) can also be incorporated into thistool. As projects are completed, actual data can beinput to increase the validation of the results.

We have used the Estimator already to demonstratewhere there is insufficient staff time to delivermuseum projects. This has not only helped insecuring additional staff resources, but has alsoenabled managers to review priorities and deadlinesfor work. Responses such as moving opening datesand changing resource focus have also been possible.

Since the Public Programme Chart was first created, ithas been adopted by a wide range of colleagues. Atfirst the brightly coloured programmes were acuriosity at meetings, but others quickly saw theiruse and began asking whether they might takecopies. Now a circulation list exists and monthlyupdates are spread around the institution. It is hopeda similar pattern of interest and adoption will be seenwith the Estimator. There is already interest outsidethe Division, with requests for projects to be runthrough the Estimator to see what the resourceimplications are.

Our long term vision is for the Estimator to become acore tool in the overall planning process. To achievethis, we must simplify the inputting process forproposed projects and agree a managementstructure for reviewing the output. This will thenprovide a simple and easy to read interface which willgive clear predictive messages for managers toengage with and make decisions.

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Figure 2: CSD Resource Estimator: Estimator Template with Gallery/Store clearance data

Postgraduate Conservation Programme Alison RichmondDeputy Head, RCA/V&A Conservation

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Hazel E ArnottConservation of Tapestries and Textiles inHistoric Interiors3 Year MA

Born and brought up in West Yorkshire, textiles andneedlework combined with history has always beena passion of Hazel’s. Attending the University of Yorkto complete a BSc degree in Archaeology, the studyof material culture and the ethics surroundinghistorical archaeology were of particular interestto her.

After graduating in 1999 Hazel applied to, and wassuccessful in gaining a place on the Royal School ofNeedlework Apprenticeship. This three yearApprenticeship teaches the fundamentals oftraditional embroidery skills with a strong emphasisplaced on the high standard of workmanship. A workexperience placement during the third year of theApprenticeship was undertaken with the TextileConservation Department of the National Trust. Thisexperience confirmed that training as a conservatorwithin the field of textiles was the perfectopportunity to combine her interests.

A further two years have been spent working forthe Royal School of Needlework since completingthe Apprenticeship in 2002, before moving on tostudy for a MA in the Conservation of Tapestriesand Textiles in Historic Interiors.

Helen Evans“An Analysis of the Ethical Concerns Raised bythe Conservation of War-Damaged Objects”2 year MPhil

After graduating in 1998 with a History of Art degreefrom the University of Warwick Helen spent threeyears working in the financial conferences sectorbefore returning to higher education to do a post-graduate diploma and MA in paper conservation atCamberwell College of Arts. It was during her timeat Camberwell that she developed an interest inconservation ethics in general and the conservationof war damage objects in particular.

Museology was an integral part of the Camberwellcourse and during her post-graduate diploma shestudied the ethics of vehicular conservation anddisplay in order to broaden her horizons beyond the boundaries of paper conservation. Visits to theImperial War Museum and the National ArmyMuseum over the years resulted in an MA essay onthe ethics of the conservation and display of war-damaged objects and provided the catalyst for hercurrent research.

This work aims to explore the myriad of moralissues presented by objects damaged by war and to assess how these can best be approached. Herintention is for this work to be used as a referencetool by practical conservators rather than being anacademic treatise irrelevant to the realities of a realconservation studio.

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Naomi LuxfordConservation Science in the Care of HistoricInteriors (with English Heritage)2 Year MAMsci Chemistry, University of Bristol

Naomi was unsure whether to study art orchemistry at the end of her A-levels. Having chosenand completed a chemistry degree she decided tocombine the two areas. Conservation offered thisopportunity.

During a year out she worked as a volunteer two daysa week in Conservation Science in the ConservationCentre, NMGM, Liverpool. Here she learnt aboutenvironmental monitoring, which led to a threemonth internship studying environmental conditionsat the Lady Lever Art Gallery. She also spent a week atBirmingham Museum and Art Gallery learning aboutthe effects of light in galleries. Both experiencesdeveloped an interest in collection care.

She is looking forward to gaining a betterunderstanding of how science can be used inconservation, particularly within historic collections.

Barbara SchertelFurniture Conservation2 Year MAHND Furniture Restoration, London GuildhallUniversityBSc Restoration and Conservation, LondonMetropolitan University

Barbara gained her first experience in furnitureconservation during a placement in a furniturerestoration workshop in Munich. Her interest instudying abroad combined with the wish to gainmore practical experience led her to the HND inFurniture Restoration at the London GuildhallUniversity in Autumn 2000.

After completing the HND in Furniture Restorationand in order to gain more knowledge and experienceshe enrolled in the BSc Restoration and Conservationat the London Metropolitan University. As part of theBSc course, and in order to learn about conservationpractice abroad, Barbara went on a placement to theAustrian Museum of Applied Art (MAK) in Vienna.During the two and a half months placementBarbara enjoyed experiencing museum conservationpractises first hand.

Barbara is looking forward to studying at theRCA/V&A. The MA course will complementBarbara’s wish to deepen and broaden herexperience in the field of furniture conservation.This will be further enhanced by the uniquepossibility to work at the V&A with the guidance of the present experts and its unique collection ofmodern and old objects.

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Eoin KellyOCEAN Support Scientist

I came to London four years ago to study for an MA in Paper Conservation at Camberwell College of Arts.In Ireland, I had initially done a Fine Art degree, andspent the rest of the 90s working as an artist andtheatre designer. Following the MA, I spent a pleasantsummer in Oxford working on a book conservationproject at the Queen’s College. As an Intern, I hadspent the previous summer working on the DeanAldrich Conservation Project of seventeenth centuryprints and drawings at Christ Church College. FromOxford, I spent two happy years as a ConservationMounter & Framer in the Paper Conservation Sectionof the National Maritime Museum. This involvedworking with items as diverse as Augustine Ryther’sArmada Charts of 1590, to Hergé’s twentieth centurydrawings of Tintin. In addition to preparing items forloan out and display, I became involved in strategiesto protect and improve the reserve paper collectionsin store. Greenwich convinced me, once and for all,that museum work was definitely for me andprovided an invaluable grounding in the mechanicsof working with a large and varied collection.

Whilst at the V&A, I’ll be working on the OCEANProject and welcome the opportunity of approachingcollections care from a different perspective. I lookforward to gaining further insights into thedeveloping technology involved in monitoring theenvironmental conditions of the various V&A sites.

Gates TurnerMetals Conservator

I have come to work in conservation through aprocess of elimination. Having completed a BA inMandarin Chinese, I decided I did not want to work asa translator. At this point I produced a list of qualitiesI wanted my career to encompass; independent ofone another, two trusted friends both came up witharchaeology (surprisingly, neither of them had anyconnection to archaeology or the museum world!).

After working on a field excavation in China, I decidedI was more interested in the objects rather than thevast amount of soil and strata. I completed a MA inPrinciples of Conservation from the Institute ofArchaeology at UCL and went on to be awarded aPostgraduate Diploma and Professional DevelopmentDiploma in Conservation/Restoration of FineMetalwork at West Dean College, Sussex.

I am now involved in Metals Conservation at the V&Ato help prepare objects for the upcoming Brass,Pewter & Cutlery Gallery opening in November 2004.

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Louise Parris MA Conservation of Metalwork with OtherMaterials

Louise worked for 10 years in Barbados makingand selling jewellery in Bridgetown Cruise ShipTerminals and from her gift shop Poro Mariama,which sold items of art exclusively handmade inBarbados.

Louise left Barbados in 2000 to do a 2-yeardiploma in Design, Silversmithing, Jewellery andAllied Crafts, at the end of which she wasawarded a Commendation from the WorshipfulCompany of Goldsmiths for commercial designand manufacture. She went on to study aPostgraduate Diploma in the Conservation andRestoration of Fine Metalwork at West DeanCollege, where she was awarded The BritishAntique Dealers Association Frank GutteridgePrize for her research project on the ancientdecorative metalwork technique of Granulation,as well as the British Antique Dealers AssociationHarold Davies Prize. She then enrolled on theProfessional Development Diploma Course in theConservation and Restoration of Fine Metalworkat West Dean, during which she did a six- weekinternship in the Metals ConservationDepartment of the British Museum.

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Tsing-Young Dora TangMSci Chemistry with Conservation Science,RCA/V&A Conservation with Imperial Collegeof Science, Technology & Medicine

Dora has always possessed an interest in art,archaeology and science; being an active memberof an amateur archaeology society taking part indigs, field walking and documentation andstudying art alongside science at school. Afterstudying A-levels in Hertfordshire, Dora studied aBTEC diploma foundation studies in art anddesign at Middlesex University. She specialised infine art for eight months, during which Dora wasable to experiment and learnt to manipulate anduse oil paints, black and white photography andprint making as visual devices.

Dora is currently studying Chemistry withConservation Science at Imperial College, Londonand will begin the third year of a four year course.She recently spent eight weeks in the Departmentof Conservation, Documentation and Science atthe British Museum.

Dora is very interested in the links betweenscience and art, with a passion for art specificallypainting and a knowledge of chemistry she looksforward to studying Conservation Science withthe RCA and the V&A.

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Amanda BarnesCeramics and Glass Conservator

After working for a number of years at a largeinsurance company in Norfolk, firstly in InformationTechnology and then as Personal Assistant to theirMarketing Director, I came to the decision that itwas time to make a change in my career. I studiedfor a degree in History of Design and Architecture at the University of Teesside, Middlesborough andthen decided to develop my interest in ceramics byundertaking a two year postgraduate diploma inceramics and glass conservation at West DeanCollege, Sussex. I then returned to Norfolk to set upmy own workshop. Together with my private work,I have also undertaken a number of contracts withthe National Portrait Gallery, London and ClivedenConservation Workshop Ltd, Berkshire.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to work atthe V&A for the next ten months and to contributeto the new Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art, which isscheduled to open in 2006.

Miho KitagawaFurniture Conservation Research Intern

I studied Japanese lacquer (urushi) at Tokyo NationalUniversity of Fine Arts and Music, and also studied at Goldsmiths’ College, London for a year while I wasan MA student. After finishing, I worked at privateconservation workshops as well as freelance. Iworked in the Museum Science Section of theNational Museum of Japanese History and in theConservation Section of the Tokyo National Museumbefore coming to London to study western lacquer(also called japanning) with a grant from theJapanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.

I attended the Conservation Post Graduate Diplomacourse and then became a Research Fellow at theCity and Guilds of London Art School. I have taughtshort courses on Japanese and western lacquer forstudents there. In April, I was accepted by my olduniversity in Japan as a PhD candidate onConservation Studies. My research at the V&A is focussed on historical manuscripts relating to western lacquer.

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Anne Kwaspen Textiles Conservator

I’m very pleased to introduce myself a second timeon these pages. After two years study in TextileConservation in Antwerp, internships in SouthBohemia and Hampton Court Palace, and the sevenmonths internship at the V&A, this is my firstcontract as a textile conservator.

For just over five months I shall be working on acostume from the Theatre Museum’s DiaghilevCollection. It is the Coronation Coat worn byChaliapin in the Mussorgsky opera Boris Godunov.This opera was the first production that Diaghilevbrought to Paris in 1908. The coat is in such poorcondition that it has not been possible to display itbefore. The entire duration of my contract will beneeded to carry out the treatment of this object.

From December 2004 till March 2005 the costume willbe on display at the Working for Diaghilev exhibition inthe Groningermuseum (The Netherlands).

Anja BayerTextiles Conservator

For long time I cherished the wish to become anarchaeologist. I wanted to dig out and reveal theremains of ancient daily life, and it was alwaysexciting for me to imagine how people lived informer centuries. At some point in my life, I had tomake the decision what to do and finally I found thefield of conservation. Here you really handle theobjects and may discover interesting facts about theobject’s history. As a textiles conservator, I still have aspecial interest for archaeological finds.

I started my career in 1995, spending two and a halfyears in a private workshop in northern Germany,working on a wide range of textile objects.Afterwards, I had the opportunity to study textileconservation at the Berner Fachhochschule – Abegg-Stiftung in Switzerland. After two contracts at theAbegg-Stiftung and a number of short contracts atthe private workshop, I applied for a six monthcontract at the V&A to gain a broader view aboutconservation outside Germany.

I consider myself lucky to have a contract here andam now preparing some amazing and colourfulDiaghilev Ballet costumes to go out on loan. I enjoythe work and find it interesting to work in such agreat museum!

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