Transparent Drawing Supports and Media Applied On It: Chemical Characterisation and Conservation Problems in Spanish Art Deco Jewellery Design
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Marta Plaza Beltran
Dr Marta Plaza Beltrán is professor of Conservation and Restoration at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid (Spain). She is currently the director of theMáster Universitario en Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural taught at the Universidad Complutense.She has worked as a restorer for several public and private institutions: Spanish National Heritage, Spanish museums, embassies, historic ecclesiastical buildings, etc.She has published several books on ethnographic heritage studies, and has published many articles on restoration. She has also taken part in conferences in Spain and abroad, and has worked in research centres in several countries.
Abstract
The aim of this study is to characterise the chemical composition of the support materials, binders and pigments used in sales catalogues of Spanish Art Deco jewellery to determine the source of the damage observed in the samples analysed, and to formulate an appropriate conservation method. The difficulty in maintaining these collections in good condition without dismantling them lies, on the one hand, in the use of gouache on a variety of supports not usually used with this aqueous media (nitrocellulose, casein formaldehyde, starched cotton fabric and sulphurised paper), and on the other, in the vulnerability of these materials to agents of deterioration found in archives and libraries. The analysis was performed on a collection of 500 drawings, using the following analytical techniques: optical microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX), and Raman spectroscopy. The study shows the problems arising from storing some of the before mentioned materials in the same container, and highlights the need to classify each sample by its component materials and not by designer, chronology or type of jewellery.
Zusammenfassung
Transparente Trägermaterialien und Malmittel: chemische Charakterisierung und Konservierungsprobleme am Beispiel von Schmuckentwürfen des spanischen Art Deco
Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Untersuchung der Trägermaterialien, die in den Schmuckdesigns des spanischen Art Déco verarbeitet wurden, um die Ursachen späterer Veränderungen besser zu verstehen und entsprechende Konservierungsstrategien zu erarbeiten.
Das komplexe Zusammenspiel von Maltechnik – Gouache – und unterschiedlichen Trägermaterialien wie Cellulosenitrat, mit Formaldehyd vernetztem Kasein, appretierte Textilien und Transparentpapier verursachte eine Reihe unterschiedlicher Schadensphänomene. Die größte Herausforderung dieses Konservierungsprojektes besteht darin, die Sammlung in ihrer Gesamtheit zu bewahren; darüber hinaus reagieren die eingesetzten Materialien besonders empfindlich auf die in Archiven und Bibliotheken vorhandenen Schadstoffe.
Als analytische Techniken kamen die folgenden Verfahren zum Einsatz: optische Mikroskopie, Fourier-Transform-Infrarotspektroskopie (FTIR); Gaschromatographie mit Massenspektrometrie-Kopplung (GC-MS); Raster-Elektronenmikroskopie/Mikroanalyse durch Röntgenstrahl-Dispersionsspektrometrie (SEM/EDX) und Raman-Mikrospektroskopie.
Die Studie zeigt die Gefahren der Aufbewahrung der genannten Materialien in direktem Kontakt zueinander, so dass die Objekte statt nach Künstler, Entstehungszeit oder gestalterischen Kriterien nach ihrer chemischen Zusammensetzung neu geordnet und entsprechend gelagert werden mussten.
Résumé
Caractérisation chimique de supports (picturaux) transparents et de leurs couches picturales d´une collection de dessins de bijoux datant de l´époque d´Art Déco en Espagne.
L’objectif de ce travail est de réaliser une caractérisation chimique des différents supports, liants et pigments, et des couches picturales utilisés pour des livrets de modèles espagnoles de bijoux datant de l’époque de l’Art Déco afin de déterminer l’origine et les causes des modifications observés sur les œuvres analysées. Ce travail a été réalisé au préalable de la conservation préventive, qui se fonde sur les résultats des analyses et des études des conditions de garde.
Il est difficile de préserver ces collections pour les raisons suivantes: l’utilisation de la gouache employée sur une diversité de supports (nitrocellulose, caséine, formaldéhyde, toile apprêtée et papier sulfurisé) peu conventionnels pour ce genre de technique picturale et la vulnérabilité de ces matériaux face aux agents de dégradation présents dans les archives et les bibliothèques.
L’analyse a été menée sur une collection composée de 500 dessins, qui ont été soumis aux techniques analytiques suivantes: microscopie optique, spectroscopie infrarouge à transformée de Fourier (FTIR), chromatographie en phase gazeuse – spectrométrie de masse (GC-MS), microscopie électronique à balayage – microanalyse par analyse dispersive en énergie (SEM – EDX) et spectroscopie RAMAN.
L’étude démontre le problème qui existe lors de la garde de certains de ces matériaux dans un même conteneur, d’où la nécessité d’une conservation selon les matériaux constituants chaque œuvre et non pas sur les auteurs, la chronologie ou les dessins.
About the author
Dr Marta Plaza Beltrán is professor of Conservation and Restoration at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid (Spain). She is currently the director of the Máster Universitario en Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural taught at the Universidad Complutense.She has worked as a restorer for several public and private institutions: Spanish National Heritage, Spanish museums, embassies, historic ecclesiastical buildings, etc.She has published several books on ethnographic heritage studies, and has published many articles on restoration. She has also taken part in conferences in Spain and abroad, and has worked in research centres in several countries.
Acknowledgements
Andrés Sánchez Ledesma and his team at ArteLab S.L. for performing the tests.
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© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The Potential of International Cooperation in the Digitization of Chinese Ancient Books
- Reconstituted Parchment: Its Physical Properties and Suitability as a Repair Material for Parchment Bindings
- Entomological and Thermo-Hygrometric Monitoring at the Angelica Library in Rome (Italy)
- Transparent Drawing Supports and Media Applied On It: Chemical Characterisation and Conservation Problems in Spanish Art Deco Jewellery Design
- Peacock Ink: Investigation into the Constituents of the Most Prized Ink of Persia
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The Potential of International Cooperation in the Digitization of Chinese Ancient Books
- Reconstituted Parchment: Its Physical Properties and Suitability as a Repair Material for Parchment Bindings
- Entomological and Thermo-Hygrometric Monitoring at the Angelica Library in Rome (Italy)
- Transparent Drawing Supports and Media Applied On It: Chemical Characterisation and Conservation Problems in Spanish Art Deco Jewellery Design
- Peacock Ink: Investigation into the Constituents of the Most Prized Ink of Persia
