Contact TOm Chase.... I believe that he is on this list.
Jim Moss
PS: Tom... I am still thinking about the grinding machines
-----Original Message-----
>From: Francesca Bewer <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Feb 14, 2008 5:53 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: sources of lead for lead solder in 1930s
>
>Hello.
>
>My colleagues and I are currently doing research on a group of
>Chinese bronze mirrors and vessels dating from the Zhou Dynasty's
>Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 BCE) to the Tang Dynasty (618-906)
>that were acquired on the art market in NY in the 1930s by an
>American collector who bequeathed them to our institution in the 40s.
>We undertook the study not only with the hope of characterizing the
>materials and technology used to make these objects, but also to
>ascertain their true condition. A number of these objects turn out to
>have been very cunningly restored before our benefactor bought them.
>This spurred our interest in the history of restoration of such material.
>
>We would be curious to know whether they were restored in China, or
>in the West. In addition to analyzing the fake corrosion materials,
>we are wondering whether lead isotope analysis of the solder that
>appears to hold some of these pieces together (this can be see in the
>radiographs) might be useful in helping us to ascertain where the
>broken objects were reassembled. Before we contemplate digging into
>the restoration material, we think that it is important to find out
>whether there is any information about 1) the sources of lead used
>for lead solder in different countries in the early 20th c., and 2)
>what sources of info there might be regarding the international trade
>of Sn and Pb at the time.
>
>We would be most grateful for any suggestions or thoughts you might
>have regarding this matter.
>
>Yours,
>
>Francesca Bewer
>
>
>
>Francesca G. Bewer
>Research Curator
>Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies
>Harvard University Art Museums
>32 Quincy Street
>Cambridge, MA 02138
>tel. 617 495 1643
>fax. 617 495 0322
>http://www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/
|