I am sending the following announcement to the members of the list interested
in archaeological corrosion. While space in the Freer gallery of Art's
Conservation Library is limited, we would be pleased to see any of you who
wish to attend.
Sincerely,
Tom Chase
Research Associate, Department of Conservation and Scientific Research
The Freer Gallery of Art and The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian
Institution
Washington, D.C.
SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT
Anders Nord and Kate Tronner
(The Central Board of National Antiquities of Sweden)
The Deterioration of Archaeological Material
This will be followed by a brief presentation on Pigments of Medieval Mural
Paintings in Sweden
Monday, November 16
10:00 AM
The Freer Gallery of Art
Department of Conservation and Scientific Research Library
The Swedish Central Board of National Antiquities (Riksantikvarieambetet) has
for many years been studying the conditions of material recovered from
archaeological excavations. It seems that bronzes excavated 50-100 years ago
are less corroded than those from more recent excavations. Modern
anthropogenic pollution may be the cause. To assess the problem more exactly,
an interdisciplinary research project has been established to study the
conditions and artifacts from four archaeological sites near Stockholm.
Sixty-six bronze samples and about 200 soil samples have been studied,
yeilding about 20,000 numerical data. Multivariate statistical evaluation
indicates that the moisture retention of the soil around the object, as well
as high concentrations of soot and phosphate in the soil, lead to accelerated
corrosion. The depth and ramifications of this study are impressive. The
present state of knowledge and future directions for research will be
discussed.
The authors have also been doing a pilot project on paint pigments in Medieval
mural paintings and will share the results with us.
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