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| MS 194 © The Fitzwilliam Museum |
My name is Sibel Ergener, the current ICON intern in the Conservation of Manuscripts department at the Fitzwilliam Museum, and I will spend the next 12 months surveying, conserving, and help with remounting a large amount of the collection of medieval illuminated manuscript fragments. This blog will function as a way to document progress of the project, which will proceed with supervision from Kristine Rose, Assistant Keeper (Conservator of Manuscripts and Printed Books), and help from the rest of the Manuscripts Department.
Readers can expect many beautiful photos of the fragments as well as explanation and discussion of conservation problems inherent in mounting techniques, parchment conservation, medieval pigments consolidation, and more.
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| MS 194 detail © The Fitzwilliam Museum |
I will aim to make all posts interesting and accessible to everyone, so if clarification on anything I say is needed, please let me know. For conservators visiting this site, I hope that my online documentation of this project will provide interesting insight into the ongoings of an intern at the Fitzwilliam Museum and can generate discussion on conservation practices.
Overall, my hopes for this blog are that it will create a space for more discussion about conservation, so feel free to comment, ask questions, provide suggestions, or interact however you want.
The next post explaining the context of this project will post on Friday the 18th of October.
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| MS 197 thread mount and detail of parchment cockling © The Fitzwilliam Museum |
These are beautiful even before they have been restored and remounted. Does it harm them to be photographed?
ReplyDeleteHello Susan! Photography itself if not a problem, but exposing the fragments, or any book or manuscript, to light can pose problems. A variety of damage can be caused by ultraviolet, infra-red, or even visible light. For example, when exposed to ultraviolet light collagen fibres in parchment will begin to crosslink, causing shortening, fraying, and flattening. This process is cumulative, and will lead to the parchment becoming increasingly fragile and discoloured. Pigments may also be fugitive or degrade when exposed to light. Because of this we are careful to not use flash when taking photographs(this is also why flash is not allowed in museums), and are also careful to adhere to guidelines such as the British Standards when deciding how long each fragment should be exposed to light every year.
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