Register to join us at the Library of Congress on September 13th from 10 am - 4 pm. Speakers will address the history of the Irish manuscripts, complementary research projects in which they are involved, and the results of the analytical techniques involved in the research. As Inks&Skins is a collaboration between heritage science and humanities, the importance of a visualization platform to share the results with humanities scholars will also be discussed.
My summer at the Library was spent capturing data from colored pigments in order to build a reference database. Using a high-tech portable FTIR instrument, I prepared samples and collected infrared readings from 50 pigments in the Library’s collection using three of the portable instrument’s attachments. I compiled 150 measurements in order to create the database’s foundation.
Smudges on pages aren't always a bad thing. Cultural Historian Bénédicte Miyamoto and preservation scientists at The Library of Congress analyze dirty books to learn more about their prior owners.
Scientific analysis of an unusual image of the face of Christ in a late 15th C German devotional manuscript has revealed critical and surprising information about its current condition, its original making, and its meaning.
Some of the colorants traditionally used for dyeing textiles or making paints and inks are also found in foods and drinks. This post describes a festive fall meal using several such ingredients, with examples of the colors and their use in art.
Conservator Betsy Haude describes the complex treatment carried out on eight tightly rolled 19th-century Chinese scroll maps. The project was to treat the maps so that they could be easily handled and consulted by Geography and Map (G&M) staff and researchers.
It’s Fall! Time to break out those comfy sweaters. Time to hold a mug of warm cocoa in two hands and watch yellow tinted leaves slowly topple to the ground. Perhaps some of us are looking at the rich textures and thinking “I wonder if I could get a great color out of that leaf?” …
