“A whole mitochondria analysis of the Tyrolean Iceman’s leather provides insights into the animal sources of Copper Age clothing” by O’Sullivan et al (2016)

O’Sullivan, N. J.; Teasdale, M. D.; Mattiangeli, V.; Maixner, F.; Pinhasi, R.; Bradley, D. G.; Zink, A., “A whole mitochondria analysis of the Tyrolean Iceman’s leather provides insights into the animal sources of Copper Age clothing”, Scientific Reports 6 (2016) 31279. 

Doi:10.1038/srep31279 (Nature.com, open access)

Abstract: 

The attire of the Tyrolean Iceman, a 5,300-year-old natural mummy from the Ötzal Italian Alps, provides a surviving example of ancient manufacturing technologies. Research into his garments has however, been limited by ambiguity surrounding their source species. Here we present a targeted enrichment and sequencing of full mitochondrial genomes sampled from his clothes and quiver, which elucidates the species of production for nine fragments. Results indicate that the majority of the samples originate from domestic ungulate species (cattle, sheep and goat), whose recovered haplogroups are now at high frequency in today’s domestic populations. Intriguingly, the hat and quiver samples were produced from wild species, brown bear and roe deer respectively. Combined, these results suggest that Copper Age populations made considered choices of clothing material from both the wild and domestic populations available to them. Moreover, these results show the potential for the recovery of complete mitochondrial genomes from degraded prehistoric artefacts.

“Feasibility of ultrafast picosecond laser cleaning of soiling on historical leather buckles” by Elnaggar et al (2016)

Elnaggar, Abdelrazek; Fitzsimons, Paul; Lama, Anne; Fletcher, Yvette; Antunes, Paula; Watkins, K. G., “Feasibility of ultrafast picosecond laser cleaning of soiling on historical leather buckles”, Heritage Science 4 (2016) 30.

DOI:10.1186/s40494-016-0104-3 (SpringerOpen, open access)

Abstract:

The aim of the research is to present a system recently developed and used for automated cleaning of artworks and to examine the suitability of using this ultrafast and precise computed-scanning picosecond laser (1064 nm) with a repetition rate of 10 kHz and a temporal pulse length of 10 ps for the removal of soiling from leather buckles without damaging the leather substrate. Preliminary tests will be performed with the model artificially aged vegetable tanned samples to determine the leather damage threshold fluence and the soiling ablation threshold fluence before using a laser for the removal of the soiling from a historical leather buckle. As laser cleaning requires a physical parameterization for optimization of cleaning accompanied with an assessment of the morphological and chemical changes of leather, an investigations were performed to determine the leather damage and ablation threshold fluences of artificially aged and historical vegetable tanned leather using a number of analytical techniques including differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscope with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, colorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy have been used. Following optimization trials of the picosecond laser cleaning parameters on model leather samples, satisfactory removal of the soiling over the historical leather surface is achieved.

“Trois centres de ganterie : Millau, Niort, Saint-Junien" par Meynier (1934)

 Meynier, A., “Trois centres de ganterie : Millau, Niort, Saint-Junien”, Annales de Géographie 43(246) (1934) 648–652.

Doi: 10.3406/geo.1934.10752 (Persée)

Textes sur cuir et peau dans l'oeuvre L'alun de Méditerranée (2005)

The book L’alun de Méditerranée, edited by Philippe Borgard, Jean-Pierre Brun and Maurice Picon, published in 2005 by the Centre Jean Bérard, was recently made available on line through OpenEdition Books. Some of the texts describe the use of alum to preserve animal skins (tawing, mégissage, hongroyage, concia). The authors and the titles are as follows:

- Cheryl Porter,
“The use of Alum in the preparation of tawed skin for book covers in the 11th – 15th centuries: advantages and disadvantages for the book structure”, pp. 293–298.
URL

- Claire Chahine,
“L’utilisation de l’alun dans la transformation de la peau en cuir”, pp. 299–309.
URL

- Eva Halasz Csiba,
"Le cuir de Hongrie en France entre les XIVe et XVIIIe siècles: Histoire et problématique d’un transfert technique basé sur l’usage de l’alun", pp. 311-322.
URL

- Fulvia Lo Schiavo,
"La concia delle pelli nella Sardegna nuragica: un problema aperto", pp. 343-352.
URL
 

“La préparation de la peau du renne chez les Lapons de Kautokeino” par Roué et Delaporte (1978)

Roué, Michèle; Delaporte, Yves; “La préparation de la peau du renne chez les Lapons de Kautokeino”, Journal d’agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée 25(4) (1978), pp. 219–244.
URL / PDF (Persée)

Skin Clothing from the North, edited by Schmidt & Pedersen (2010)

Anne Lisbeth Schmidt and Karen Brynjolf Pedersen (ed.); Skin Clothing from the North, Abstracts from the seminar held at the National Museum of Denmark, November 26-27, 2009, Copenhagen, National Museum of Denmark (2010)

PDF

A brief description about the "Skin Clothing from the North" Project (2009-2012) can be read here.

“An unusual decorated skin coat from Canada: aspects of conservation and identification” by Cruickshank et al (2013)

Cruickshank, Pippa; Cartwright, Caroline; King, Jonathan C.H.; Simpson, Antony; “An unusual decorated skin coat from Canada: aspects of conservation and identification”, British Museum Technical Research Bulletin 7 (2013) pp. 95–104.
PDF

Summary:

A skin coat (Am1949,22.175), which has recently been examined and conserved, belongs to a group of about perhaps 30 surviving within museum collections and made around James Bay and Hudson Bay in northern Canada. They date to around 1760–1860 and were made by the Cree people, with possible additions by the Ojibwe/Anishaabeg in the region of the northern Great Lakes. As this group of coats is poorly understood and the coat stimulated some discussion while undergoing treatment in the conservation studio, further investigation was carried out on the materials of which it is composed. Fibre samples were identified using variable pressure scanning electron microscopy. The coat is thought to be made of moose skin but as it has been de-haired no moose hairs survived for identification. The few hairs remaining in situ on the collar and cuffs were identified as wolverine and river otter respectively. Conservation treatment enabled the cuffs to be gently folded back outside the sleeves. As the coat would originally have looked very different, before almost total loss of hair on the collar and cuffs due to past insect attack, a digital reconstruction was made to give an idea of its original appearance. The epaulettes have been quite roughly attached to the shoulders of the coat with coarse thread, suggesting that they may well have been added later, possibly from an older garment, as evidenced by the very fine but faded loom-woven quillwork and the presence of clear glass beads. The fur collar and cuffs could also have been added to the coat at this time.

Material Traditions - Sewing Salmon, Smithsonian Institution's Arctic Studies Center at the Anchorage Museum (2012)

In December 2012, a five-day Material Traditions: Sewing Salmon Residency was held at the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center at the Anchorage Museum in Alaska. During the residency Alaska Native fish skin artists Coral Chernoff (Alutiiq/Sugpiaq), Marlene Nielsen (Yup’ik), and Audrey Armstrong (Koyukon Athabascan) gave demonstrations and documented the processes involved in creating objects made of fish skin.

Along the way from fish to completed work, they shared their knowledge with students and visitors, and with curators and conservators who care for museum collections.
For information on the Sewing Salmon Residency please watch the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center video post.

Adhesive treatments: skins and leathers by Dignard (2013)

Carole Dignard, conservator from the Canadian Conservation Institute, organised two valuable documents on adhesive backing treatments of leathers and skins. They were recently made available on-line at the ICOM-CC Ethnographic Collections Working Group web page.

The titles of the documents and the links are as follows:

- Annotated Bibliography on Adhesive Treatments of Skins and Leathers
PDF

- Literature Survey Tables on Adhesives, Backings and Application Methods for Treatments of Skins and Leathers
PDF

Leather mini-dress by Paco Rabanne, 1968, Victoria & Albert Museum

Pair of gloves, ca.1600, The MET Museum of Art

 

Pair of gloves [English] (28.220.7,.8)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/28.220.7,.8 (October 2010)

Fur coat, Revillon Frèrès, c.1920, The MET Museum of Art

Leather Work by Wilson (1908)

Wilson, W.; Leather Work, New York (1908)
URL (Internet Archive)


Table of contents:
Foreword

Kinds of Leather and Their Treatment

Design

Tracing and Design

Pyrography

Carving and Incising

Engraving

Modeling and Embossing

Stamping and Tooling

Cut Work

Appliqué

Inlay or Mosaic

Coloring and Gilding

Illustrations

Patterns

Gilt leather chasuble, 17th century, The MET Museum of Art

"Microstructural, chemical and isotopic evidence for the origin of late neolithic leather recovered from an ice field in the Swiss Alps" by Spangenberg et al (2010)

Spangenberg, J. E.; Ferrer, M.; Tschudin, P.; Volken, M.; Hafner, A.; “Microstructural, chemical and isotopic evidence for the origin of late neolithic leather recovered from an ice field in the Swiss Alps”, Journal of Archaeological Science 37(8) (2010) 1851-1865

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2010.02.003 (restricted access)

Abstract:

Archaeological leather samples recovered from the ice field at the Schnidejoch Pass (altitude 2756 m amsl) in the western Swiss Alps were studied using optical, chemical molecular and isotopic (δ13C and δ15N of the bulk leather, and compound-specific δ13C analyses of the organic-solvent extracted fatty acids) methods to obtain insight into the origin of the leather and ancient tanning procedures. For comparison, leathers from modern native animals in alpine environment (red deer, goat, sheep, chamois, and calf/cow) were analyzed using the same approach. Optical and electron microscopically comparisons of Schnidejoch and modern leathers showed that the gross structure (pattern of collagen fibrils and intra-fibrils material) of archaeological leather had survived essentially intact for five millennia. The SEM studies of the hairs from the most important archaeological find, a Neolithic leather legging, show a wave structure of the hair cuticle, which is a diagnostic feature for goatskins. The variations of the bulk δ13C and δ15N values, and δ13C values of the main fatty acids are within the range expected for pre-industrial temperate C3 environment. The archaeological leather samples contain a mixture of indigenous (from the animal) and exogenous plant/animal lipids. An important amount of waxy n-alkanes, n-alkan-1-ols and phytosterols (β-sitosterol, sitostanol) in all samples, and abundant biomarker of conifers (nonacosan-10-ol) in the legging leathers clearly indicate that the Neolithic people were active in a subalpine coniferous forest, and that they used an aqueous extract of diverse plant material for tanning leather.

Leather trousers (breeches),1800-1820,The Met Museum of Art

Buff leather coat, 17th century, Victoria & Albert Museum

"A Great Lakes pouch: black-dyed skin with porcupine quillwork" by Cruickshank et al (2009)

Cruickshank, P.; Daniels, V.; King, J.; “A Great Lakes pouch: black-dyed skin with porcupine quillwork”, British Museum Technical Research Bulletin 3 (2009) 63-72

PDF

Summary: 

A late eighteenth-century North American pouch (1937,0617.1) represents an important type of a black-dyed skin bag decorated with porcupine quillwork. The pouch was made by women of the Ojibwa or Ottawa people and was probably used in medicine ceremonies. It came to the British Museum in the mid-twentieth century and when first examined in detail in the 1970s had already deteriorated. The skin has degraded due to the presence of a black dye, although an early watercolour painting of the bag discovered in the 1990s illustrates how the bag once looked. Black dyes containing both iron and tannin are well known to increase the rate of deterioration of many organic substances and the pouch was found to contain 1.63% iron. Experiments with a series of brain-tanned skin samples stained with various iron-tannin solutions and artificially aged showed that the presence of iron accelerated the deterioration of the skin.

A conservation treatment carried out in the 1970s, which included consolidation with soluble nylon and backing with nylon net adhered with an early thermoplastic adhesive, was no longer succeeding in keeping the bag intact, and further conservation was carried out to protect the 75% of the bag that survives. As the pouch is of a rare type it was decided to infill the missing areas to make it more suitable for display. The use of adhesives was kept to a minimum and solvent-reactivated adhesives were chosen in preference to those reactivated by heat. No further chemical stabilization was attempted in this treatment.

"The re-treatment of an Inuit beaded skin parka" by Dumka (2006)

Dumka, Heather; "The re-treatment of an Inuit beaded skin parka", Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation (J. CAC) 31 (2006) 23-32

PDF

Abstract:

This paper describes the treatment of a badly damaged Inuit parka made of caribou skin and decorated with heavy, beaded fabric panels. The parka was originally repaired in 1967 when most of the panels were restored by re-beading and lining with new fabric, and the skin was repaired with sewn leather patches. This earlier restoration distorted the shape of the parka and did not stabilize the skin, resulting in further tears. The re-treatment of the parka involved removing all of the previous skin repairs as well as the beaded panels. Tears and losses in the skin were patched using BEVA 371 sprayed onto a spun-bonded nylon fabric (Cerex). The parka was then lined with Cerex to provide additional support for the beaded panels, which were stitched back into place. One of the panels, which had not been previously restored, was stabilized and lined onto new fabric prior to reattachment.

Resumé:

Cet article décrit le traitement d'un parka inuit très endommagé, fait en peau de caribou et orné de panneaux en tissu sur lesquels se trouvent de lourdes broderies en perles de verre. Un traitement datant de 1967 avait occasionné la pose de nouvelles perles sur presque tous les panneaux de broderies ainsi que de tissus de soutien sous les panneaux, et la réparation de la peau à l'aide de pièces de cuir cousus aux endroits endommagés. Ce traitement provoqua des distortions à la conformation du parka et ne réussit pas à stabiliser la peau; au contraire de nouvelles déchirures apparurent. Le re-traitement de ce parka consista à retirer les anciens rapiéçages ainsi que les panneaux perlés. Un non-tissé en nylon (Cerex) sur lequel fut pulvérisé du BEVA 371 servit à réparer les peaux déchirées et à combler les lacunes. Ensuite, le parka dans son ensemble fut aussi renforcé au moyen d'un doublage, à l'aide de Cerex et de BEVA 371, afin de mieux soutenir le poids des panneaux perlés, qui furent ensuite recousus en place. Un des panneaux, qui n'avait pas fait l'objet d'une restauration antérieure, fut stabilisé et doublé sur un tissu neuf avant d'être recousu en place.

Purse, 1630, The MET Museum of Art