26/09/2014

Piel sobre tabla. Encuadernaciones mudéjares en la BNE (2013)


Exposición organizada por la Biblioteca Nacional de España en 2013 (12/03/2013 al 19/05/2013).

El arte mudéjar se desarrolla en los reinos cristianos de la Península Ibérica, iniciado por artesanos musulmanes y judíos en un momento muy especial en la historia del libro – a caballo entre el manuscrito y el impreso - y de la Historia de España – el paso de una sociedad islamizada a una cristiana. Este estilo, que tendrá enormes repercusiones en la arquitectura y las artes decorativas, tiene un excelente campo de creación en el mundo del libro y, muy especialmente, en el arte de la encuadernación.



21/09/2014

Why Leather? The Material and Cultural Dimensions of Leather by AA.VV. (2014)

Veldmeijer, A. J.; Harris, S. (eds.), Why Leather? The Material and Cultural Dimensions of Leather, Proceedings of the Archaeological Leather Group conference held in 2011, Leiden, Sidestone Press (2014).
URL

http://www.sidestone.com/library/why-leather

19/09/2014

“Les adoberies d’època feudal a la ciutat de Lleida” per Payà (2010)

Payà, Xavier; “Les adoberies d’època feudal a la ciutat de Lleida”, Revista d’arqueologia de Ponent 20 (2010) pp. 27–92.
PDF 1 / PDF 2 / PDF 3 (Raco)

Resum:
En aquest article intentarem esbrinar l’organització, el funcionament i l’evolució de les adoberies d’època feudal documentades a la ciutat de Lleida. Des de començament del segle xiii formaven un veritable complex de petites indústries dedicades a la transformació de la pell en cuir pertanyents a quatre propietaris, segurament blanquers. Els clots, dipòsits i estructures de producció localitzats en cadascuna de les sis adoberies indica un alt grau tecnològic que finalitzava amb el tintat dels cuirs. Les adoberies es construïren a l’interior de la vila, als peus del vessant sud del turó de la Seu Vella, on hi ha abundants fonts d’aigua fàcils de foradar per obtenir aigua i, darrere del mur de tancament fluvial, des d’on les aigües residuals eren abocades a la sèquia d’Alcarràs o a l’areny del riu Segre i Noguerola. La unitat, la qualitat i les implicacions urbanístiques de la seva construcció apunten vers l’existència d’acords privats, gremials o decrets reials que n’estimularen la implantació. Són un excellent testimoni d’aquella societat de menestrals que féu possible projectes com la construcció de la Seu Vella i convertí Lleida en un dels motors econòmics de la corona durant els segles xiii-xiv. Dues d’aquestes adoberies s’han restaurat i integrat a la planta baixa del número 9 de la ramba Ferran i podran ser visitades properament. 

Abstract:
In this article we will attempt to investigate the organization, operation and evolution of the tanneries from the feudal period documented in the city of Lleida. From the beginning of the 13th century they formed a true group of small industries dedicated to the transformation of leather belonging to four owners, probably tanners. The production pits, deposits and structures located in each of the six tanneries indicate a high technological level that ended with the leather being stained. The tanneries were set up inside the town, at the base of the south slope of the Seu Vella, with abundant sources of water that were easily obtained, and behind the river dam, from where the wastewater was poured into the Alcarràs irrigation ditch or the sandy area of the Segre and Noguerola rivers.The unity, quality and the urbanistic implications of their construction point towards the existence of private agreements, trade agreements or royal decrees that stimulated their implantation. They are an excellent testimony to a society of workmen that made projects like the construction of the Seu Vella possible and they converted Lleida into one of the economic engines of the crown between the 13th to 14th centuries. Two of these tanneries have been restored and have been integrated in the ground floor of number 9, Rambla Ferran and they will be able to be visited soon.

14/09/2014

"...The Conservation of Over a Hundred Leather Shoes and Fragments" by Lafrance (2012)

Lafrance, Jessica; "Efficiency and Quality in a Batch Treatment: The Conservation of Over a Hundred Leather Shoes and Fragments", in K. Straetkvern and E. Williams, eds., Proceedings of the 11th ICOM Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials Conference: Greenville, 2010. ICOM-CC Working Group on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials (2012) pp. 611–621.
PDF

Abstract:
In late 2008 nearly 400 organic objects from the Old Songhees Reserve site in Victoria, British Columbia, arrived at the Canadian Conservation Institute for treatment. Over half of these objects were leather shoes and fragments covered with corrosion and heavily iron stained. The treatment of 112 of these objects is the topic of this paper. Treatment included individual mechanical cleaning of each shoe, followed by mass chloride removal, iron corrosion stain removal, impregnation with polyethelyne glycol, reshaping, freeze drying, and final consolidation and repair. Employing batch treatment methods for many of the conservation steps reduced time and material costs while careful planning, balanced decision making and monitoring meant that the quality of treatment was not reduced.

07/09/2014

Experiments in Cuir Bouilli by Levin (2014)

Samuel James Levin, Experiments in Cuir Bouilli: Practical Trials of Medieval Leathercraft,  BA Thesis on Archaeology, Wesleyan University, 2014.
URL / PDF

Abstract:
This thesis pursues an experimental investigation of cuir bouilli, a particular form of hardened leather used as armor in medieval Europe. In this exploration, I have produced a sample group of 30 distinct varieties of cuir bouilli. These samples represent the most commonly theorized and scientifically grounded production methods of this historic medium. Using a series of armor specific tests, broadly encapsulating the abuse of arrow fire, blunt force trauma, and slashing, I have measured the performance of each cuir bouilli sample. The data gathered from these tests can be used to infer physical properties about each sample, revealing the essential effects of each hardening method. Moreover, these tests indicate how cuir bouilli might have functioned in actual armor use. They demonstrate strengths and weaknesses of each variety, offering reasons for their eventual abandonment in certain contexts and the roles they might have continued to play in others.