OPPORTUNITIES

Jane Malcolm-Davies (Project Leader, Knitting in Early Modern Europe), Beatrice Behlen (Senior Curator, Fashion and Decorative Arts, Museum of London), and Paula Nabais (Junior Researcher at LAQV-REQUIMTE Research unit)
May 18th, 2023
11AM EDT/3PM GMT

Since 1924, the Museum of London has had an undergarment, knitted of fine silk, said to have been worn by King Charles I at his execution in 1649. Several attempts have been made to analyse stains on the front of what would then have been called a waistcoat, and to fill gaps in its provenance. A new research project has brought together a curator, a knitting historian, a conservator, scientists, and expert craftspeople, including knitters. Different methods have been used to broaden knowledge of this rare garment: detailed object examination and description, comparison with other extant garments, radiocarbon dating, various dye analysis techniques, and silk sample knitting. In this talk, the challenges and advantages of this work will be discussed: from discoveries that can be made by looking at objects together to the difficulties of grappling with science for those unfamiliar with laboratory techniques.

Click "Explore" below to learn more about the project!

Laura Hendriks, Branco Weiss Fellow at the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg (HEIA-FR), Switzerland
April 20th, 2023
11AM EDT/3PM GMT

Join us for a 20-minute presentation by ABM member Laura Hendriks, Branco Weiss Fellow at the School of Engineering and Architecture of Fribourg (HEIA-FR), Switzerland. Laura’s presentation will be followed by a discussion/Q&A with current ABM members. For more information, click “Explore” below to view her abstract.

NEH Fellowships are competitive awards granted to individual scholars pursuing projects that embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis, and clear writing. Applications must clearly articulate a project’s value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.

Sofie Dierickx, Research Assistant at Royal Museum for Central Africa
March 16th, 2023
11AM EST/3PM GMT

In an effort to research the wealth of tropical wood species present in the Congolese art collection, the conservation team of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium set up the TOCOWO project (Tomography of Congolese Wooden Objects). In collaboration with the University of Ghent, X-ray micro-computer tomography could be used on the objects to obtain wood identifications non-destructively. Over the past two years, over a hundred objects have been scanned at very high resolutions. These scans provide an unprecedented insight into the objects in our care, helping us better understand their material and history. On the other hand, this unrestricted insight into every inch of the objects demands we ask ourselves whether possible privileged or sacred knowledge, kept hidden by the objects all these years, is really ours to uncover. In this short talk, both the possibilities and challenges of scanning African heritage objects will be illustrated by the uniquely large dataset of their 3D renderings.

Dan Kirby, Conservation Scientist, MFA, Boston and Private Practice
January 19th, 2023
11AM EST/4PM GMT

An unusual, never before seen coating on 1st – 3rd CE Romano-Egyptian funerary portraits has been characterized by Peptide Mass Fingerprinting and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry, as well as other techniques. Radiocarbon dating of the coating from two of the portraits indicated that the coating is approximately 2,000 years old--it is not a modern conservation intervention! Most interesting, however, is not discovering what the coating is, but trying to discover why it is there. This talk will briefly introduce the materials and practices of funerary portraits, summarize the examination and analytical characterization of this unusual coating, and offer speculation as to its original purpose.