28/08/2015

“On Some Terms for Leatherworking in Ancient Mesopotamia" by Scurlock (2008)

Scurlock, JoAnn, “On Some Terms for Leatherworking in Ancient Mesopotamia”, in Robert D. Biggs, Jennie Myers, e Martha T. Roth (eds.), Proceedings of the 51st Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, held at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, July 18–22, 2005, Chicago, The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (2008) 171–176.
URL / PDF

21/08/2015

Evaluation of Consolidants for the Treatment of Red Rot on Vegetable Tanned Leather by Mahony (2014)

Caitlin Carol Mahony, Evaluation of Consolidants for the Treatment of Red Rot on Vegetable Tanned Leather: The Search for a Natural Material Alternative, Master of Arts Thesis in Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials, Los Angeles, University of California, 2014.
URL / PDF

Abstract: 
Inspired by an interest in finding both a natural material alternative as well as a successful treatment approach to powdering leather surfaces on a Native American object, a comparative study of two novel treatment materials and two established consolidants for leather with red rot was undertaken. Natural material consolidants have been demonstrated to be preferred by tribal members for use on materials other than leather. One of the materials tested as a potential consolidant was neri, an aqueous mucilage most commonly extracted from the roots of the aibika plant that is used in the traditional production of Japanese paper. The other material selected was chitosan, the main derivative of the natural polymer chitin, which has recently been applied in treatments of archaeological silk and paper. The performance of these potential materials as leather consolidants was compared against the performance of established modified organic consolidants, i.e. mixtures of Cellugel and Klucel G with the acrylic wax SC6000. The study focused on evaluating each material's consolidation performance, the visual and physical changes observed on the leather, and the chemical stability of the consolidant following heat and light aging. Although neri proved to have excellent chemical stability, it is not recommended for leather due to unavoidable water content and unsatisfactory working properties. Though chitosan had no adverse effects towards the appearance and feel of the leather, it is not recommended as a consolidant until further research is conducted on its chemical stability. The Klucel G with SC6000 mixture had great application properties but the wax component is questionable due to the opacity change of the aged wax. Cellugel demonstrated the most desirable properties in performance and chemical stability; therefore it was selected as the consolidant for the treatment on the Native American object. Experimental results indicate that the natural materials evaluated may be recommended as alternatives to synthetic consolidants following additional research.

14/08/2015

Alterations within the structural hierarchy of parchment induced by damage mechanisms by Thomas (2009)

Katherine Thomas, Alterations within the structural hierarchy of parchment induced by damage mechanisms, PhD Thesis on Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, 2009.
URL / PDF (ORCA)

Abstract:
Collagen plays an important role in many biological tissues, including skin, which, once dried and treated, forms parchment and leather. The structural alterations that occur in collagenous materials due to X-ray radiation damage, fluctuation of relative humidity, and mechanical deformation (with a special focus on historical parchment) are the focus of this thesis. The primary aim of this thesis is to investigate major structural changes to collagen within parchment when exposed to inappropriate levels of relative humidity during conservation treatments, and cyclic-humidity during long-term storage in archives, museums and libraries. This study led to the discovery that each parchment sample reacted to the application and removal of moisture in a different way, indicating the fundamental need to treat individual parchment documents as in-homogeneous materials. This thesis investigates the changes that fibrillar collagen undergoes and describes the creation of computational models capable of reproducing the X-ray diffraction patterns for collagen. Previous structural models have been created that sufficiently account for native collagen, however, models created as part of this thesis succeed where previous models have failed in explaining the X-ray diffraction patterns collected from damaged collagen. This study provided the opportunity to contribute towards a large-scale international collaborative project on the hugely important historical resource, the Domesday Book. X-ray diffraction was used to provide unprecedented analysis of Domesday Book samples, providing a structural survey at a molecular level. This analysis produced the conclusion that the majority of samples displayed the presence of collagen axial structure, and were generally of a degraded state as a consequence of the method used to source them the samples were scrapings from the surface, which was less intact than the bulk of the parchment.

08/08/2015

“Boîtes en peau non tannée”, dans Encyclopédie berbère, par Dudot (1991)


Dudot, B., “Boîtes en peau non tannée”, in Gabriel Camps (ed.), Encyclopédie berbère 10, Aix-en-Provence, Éditions Édisud (1991) pp. 1559–1563.
URL (Revues.org)  

07/08/2015

“Les boîtes en cuir moulé du Soudan” par Zeltner (1932)


Zeltner, F. de, “Les boîtes en cuir moulé du Soudan”, Journal de la Société des Africanistes 2 (1-2) (1932) pp. 23–34.
Doi:10.3406/jafr.1932.1520 (Persée)