Analytical Chemistry Applied to the Study and Preservation of Art and Cultural Works
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
8:30 a.m., Room 245 

Organizer:

Julie Arslanoglu, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Speakers:

8:30      Analytical Chemistry in the Museum World: Short Overview and Recent Advances in the Metropolitan Museum of Art  JULIE ARSLANOGLU, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 8:50      Peeling Back History with X-rays: How Confocal X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy Helped Re-attribute a 17th C. Flemish Masterpiece  ARTHUR R WOLL, Cornell University, Jennifer L Mass, Christina Bisulca, Matt Cushman, Carol B Griggs, Noelle Ocon, Tomasz Wazny 9:10      Single Sided NMR of Artists’ Materials   SILVIA CENTENO, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Eleonora Del Federico, Jacob Newman, Akiko Yamazaki-Kleps, Alexej Jerschow 9:30      UV-VIS Fluorescence Properties of Dyes and Lakes:  Implications for the Non-invasive Characterization of Polychrome Surfaces  COSTANZA MILIANI, CNR-ISTM 9:50      Recess 10:05    Application of EGA, PyGC/MS and TD-GC/MS for the Testing of Materials for Use in Storage and Display in Museums  NAOKO SONODA, National Museum of Ethnology, Japan, Shingo Hidaka, Hajime Ohtani, Chuichi Watanabe, Shihori Takeda 10:25    Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Studies on Paintings  KATRIEN KEUNE 10:45    Using DART-MS in Preservation Research at the Library of Congress  JEANETTE ADAMS, Library of Congress 11:05    Analysis of Art and Archaeological Materials Using Proteomics Techniques  CAROLINE TOKARSKI, UMR CNRS 8009, Caroline Solazzo, Nicolas Garnier, Christian Rolando

Overview:

Conservation science draws on analytical techniques from chemistry, biology and physics, applying these to the study and preservation of cultural and artistic works. The questions posed are usually complex due to variable composition of the object, as well as possible degradation and damage the object may have experienced over time. The conservation scientist is further challenged because the sources of many of these questions are priceless and irreplaceable works of art. This severely limits the sample size and forces the scientist to continually assess the analytical methods and look for new ones.

The challenges encountered in analyzing cultural works compel conservation scientists to look to other branches of science for solutions. This transfer of technology can be very challenging for the established instrumentation since the questions in conservation science often push the limits of detection and precision. In some cases these challenges and restrictions have been embraced by instrument manufacturers to adapt or develop instrumentation. In turn, these advances benefit other fields, which have similar limitations. In addition, the continued development of instrumentation within the field of conservation science and in other fields has spurred research within the field resulting in significant advances in materials analysis and identification without losing sight of the primary focus of the field: the preservation and study of art.

In this symposium, conservation scientists who are currently active in the museum and conservation world will present the use of x-ray, spectroscopic, chromatographic and mass-spectrometry techniques applied to the study and preservation of art and cultural works with an emphasis on instrument adaptation and development as well as advances in scientific research.