British Museum Technical Research Bulletin

British Museum Technical Research Bulletin

The Technical Research Bulletin published the results of collaborative work by the British Museum's curators, conservators and scientists covering a broad range of objects and materials from across the Museum’s collection.

Published once a year from 2007 to 2015, each issue aimed to encompass objects from different continents, historical periods and material types. The Bulletin was designed to appeal both to those with a general interest in the Museum’s collections and those with a specialist interest who wish to broaden their horizons.

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    Technical Research Bulletin Volume 1
    (2007)
    British Museum
    The first volume of the British Museum Technical Research Bulletin focuses on material aspects of the collection, encompassing a wide range of activities, from looking at objects carefully and in depth – often under magnification – during the course of a conservation treatment, to analytical studies to determine the chemical and physical properties of objects. Such examination is not an end in itself, but informs wider questions about, for example, the provenance, manufacture, use, history, treatment, deterioration and future preservation of these artefacts. Contents: A shell garniture from Gujarat in the British Museum (Barbara Wills, Susan La Niece, Bet McLeod and Caroline Cartwright) New visions of a new world: the conservation and analysis of the John White watercolours (Jenny Bescoby, Judith Rayner, Janet Ambers and Duncan Hook) The effect of ultraviolet-filtered light on the mechanical strength of fabrics (Capucine Korenberg) An elusive stone: the use of variscite as a semi-precious stone (Andrew Middleton, Susan La Niece, Janet Ambers, Duncan Hook, Richard Hobbs and Guy Seddon) The emperor's terrapin (Margaret Sax, Janet Ambers, Nigel Meeks and Sheila Canby) Aztec conch shell working: high-tech design (Caroline Cartwright and Nigel Meeks) Writing that cannot be erased: investigations of a box of pigmented inlays from the tomb chapel of an Old Kingdom noble (Janet Ambers, Rebecca Stacey and John H. Taylor) The black bronzes of Burma (Maickel van Bellegem, Philip Fletcher, Paul Craddock, Susan La Niece and Richard Blurton) Effects of relative humidity on the corrosion of iron: an experimental view (Quanyu Wang)
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    British Museum Technical Research Bulletin Volume 5
    (2011)
    British Museum
    This volume presents 10 articles that reflect the chronological depth and geographical breadth of the British Museum collection. From prehistoric Switzerland to twentieth century Oman and from the banks of the Thames to the banks of the Nile, each sheds light on the material aspects of objects as part of a wider study of their history of production, use or collection. A common theme across many of the studies is the value of examining and re-examining archaeological objects and assemblages, particularly as new techniques become available for their analysis and as the corpus of comparable examples grows, allowing this material to be placed more firmly in context and new connections to be made. Furthermore, the articles demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in the study of the Museum’s collection. Sometimes aspects of an object are interpretable only in the light of information from other fields, for example the complex iconography of seventeenth century Cretan painting is clarified when considered in the perspective of the longstanding co-existence of Orthodox and Catholic traditions and communities in this Venetian colony. Equally, the application of the term ‘authenticity’ to a Chinese bronze vessel can take on a new meaning when the object is seen in the context of a period in which older rituals and traditions were revived, leading also to the desire to reproduce the material culture of that epoch. Contents: Beauty and belief: the endangered tradition of Omani silver jewellery (Aude Mongiatti, Fahmida Suleman and Nigel Meeks) Evidence for shield construction from the early Anglo-Saxon cemetery site of Tranmer House, Bromeswell, Suffolk (Hayley Bullock, Alexandra Baldwin, Jamie Hood, Chris Fern, Caroline Cartwright, Janet Lang and Quanyu Wang) The Noli me Tangere: study and conservation of a Cretan icon (Lynne Harrison, Janet Ambers, Rebecca Stacey, Caroline Cartwright and Angeliki Lymberopoulou) Grimes Graves revisited: a new light on chalk ‘lamps’ (Satoko Tanimoto, Rebecca Stacey, Gillian Varndell and Tracey Sweek) Portrait mummies from Roman Egypt: ongoing collaborative research on wood identification (Caroline Cartwright, Lin Rosa Spaabà¦k and Marie Svoboda) A Chinese bronze gui vessel: genuine Western Zhou object or fake? (Quanyu Wang, Sascha Priewe, Kwang-tzuu Chen and Susan La Niece) Investigating technological and environmental evidence from plant remains and molluscs in cuneiform tablets (Caroline Cartwright and Jon Taylor) Defence and decoration: new findings on a late fourteenth-century ‘kettle-hat’ helmet found in London (Jamie Hood, Joanne Dyer, Janet Lang and Janet Ambers) Assessing the potential of historic archaeological collections: a pilot study of the British Museum’s Swiss lake dwelling textiles (Catherine Higgitt, Susanna Harris, Caroline Cartwright and Pippa Cruickshank) The history and conservation of the papyrus of Tuy (John Taylor, Bridget Leach and Helen Sharp)
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    British Museum Technical Research Bulletin Volume 3
    (2009)
    British Museum
    Although all 13 articles in the third volume of the British Museum Technical Research Bulletin present research conducted in collaboration with the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, the co-authors represent six of the eight curatorial departments in the Museum as well as other museums and universities in the UK and beyond. Almost half the objects examined and conserved shed light on cultures from the ancient civilisations of Egypt, the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean. Four articles present new findings on European gold coins, enamels, porcelain vessels and a rock crystal carving of a skull (although the last of these has sometimes erroneously been thought to be of ancient Mexican origin). Treatment and analysis of a porcupine quillwork bag and Tahitian canoe sail show the value of detailed examination and conservation in revealing the hidden stories of objects – in these cases rare survivals of cultures changed irrevocably by contact with Europeans. Finally, the volume is completed with a practical assessment of an issue faced by many institutions, how to deal with asbestos associated not with a building, but with the collection itself. Contents: Sailing through history: conserving and researching a rare Tahitian canoe sail (Tara Hiquily, Jenny Newell, Monique Pullan, Nicole Rode and Arianna Bernucci) Limoges painted enamels: evidence for specialist copper-smithing workshops (Susan La Niece, Stefan Rohrs, Dora Thornton and Antony Simpson) Egyptian stelae from Malta (Jeremy Young, Marcel Maree, Caroline Cartwright and Andrew Middleton) Analysis of a gold mancus of Coenwulf of Mercia and other comparable coins (Gareth Williams and Michael Cowell) Early porcelain in seventeenth-century England: non-destructive examination of two jars from Burghley House (Michela Spataro, Nigel Meeks, Mavis Bimson, Aileen Dawson and Janet Ambers) The manufacture of a small crystal skull purported to be from ancient Mexico (Margaret Sax and Nigel Meeks) Assyrian colours: pigments on a neo-Assyrian relief of a parade horse (Giovanni Verri, Paul Collins, Janet Ambers, Tracey Sweek and St John Simpson) A Great Lakes pouch: black-dyed skin with porcupine quillwork (Pippa Cruickshank, Vincent Daniels and Jonathan King) Bronzes from the Sacred Animal Necropolis at Saqqara, Egypt: a study of the metals and corrosion (Quanyu Wang, He Huang and Fleur Shearman) An unfinished Achaemenid sculpture from Persepolis (Tracey Sweek and St John Simpson) Scientific investigation of pottery grinding bowls from the Archaic and Classical Eastern Mediterranean (Michela Spataro and Alexandra Villing) Establishing best practice in asbestos removal: the management of unique Medieval floor tile assemblages (Maureen Mellor and Denise Ling) The Middle Bronze Age furniture from Tomb P19 at Jericho: wood identification and conservation challenges (Caroline Cartwright, Clare Ward, Jonathan Tubb and Helene Delaunay)
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    British Museum Technical Research Bulletin Volume 6
    (2012)
    British Museum
    Volume six of the British Museum Technical Research Bulletin comprises nine articles that encompass the examination of material from an extremely broad range of cultures and periods, from ancient Greece, Egypt and Afghanistan to Siberian and Native American objects, by way of voyages of trade and discovery in the latter half of the last millennium and the Isle of Wight. The articles frequently highlight the reasons that lie behind technical examination and analysis, and the role that these can play in fulfilling the wider aims of the Museum to present and preserve the collection. The studies presented here often accomplish both these aims; revealing the significance of an object through its materials and techniques, while providing a basis for decisions about its future care and treatment. Two articles in this volume illustrate the value of the unique collections of the reference materials available at the British Museum, in these cases to identify the fibre types in Native American clothing and to shed light on the archaeobotanical evidence of food, fuel and raw materials used in the ancient Egyptian settlement at Amara West. In addition, the opportunity was taken to study another reference collection (metal ingots from shipwrecks) to provide compositional data against which to make future comparisons when examining less well-provenanced or firmly-dated artefacts. Three articles demonstrate the importance of international, national or local collaboration and partnership: with the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul to examine and treat a series of ivories from Begram; with the Castle Museum in Norwich to unfold, conserve and examine an Egyptian shroud; and with Kew Gardens restore a statue of Hermes for display in an exhibition to coincide with the London Olympics. Content: The fall and rise of a Roman statue: the Kew Gardens Hermes (Kathryn Oliver, Peter Higgs and Michela Spataro) The Norwich shroud: conservation and investigation of a rare Eighteenth Dynasty shroud (Monique Pullan, Janet Ambers, Caroline Cartwright, John H. Taylor and Faye Kalloniatis) A radioactive shamanic apron with glass disease (Rachel Swift, Andrew S. Meek, Nicole Rode and Anouska Komlosy) Hidden, looted, saved: the scientific research and conservation of a group of Begram ivories from the National Museum of Afghanistan (Emma Passmore, Janet Ambers, Catherine Higgitt, Clare Ward, Barbara Wills, St John Simpson and Caroline Cartwright) Hidden history?: examination of two patches on John White’s map of ‘Virginia’ (Janet Ambers, Joanna Russell, David Saunders and Kim Sloan) An economic history of the post-Medieval world in 50 ingots: the British Museum collection of ingots from dated wrecks (Paul Craddock and Duncan Hook) Identification of hairs and fibres in Great Lakes objects from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries using variable pressure scanning electron microscopy (Caroline Cartwright and Jonathan C.H. King) Investigating and interpreting an early-to-mid sixth-century Frankish style helmet (Jamie Hood, Barry Ager, Craig Williams, Susan Harrington and Caroline Cartwright) Archaeobotanical research in a pharaonic town in ancient Nubia (Philippa Ryan, Caroline Cartwright and Neal Spencer)
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    British Museum Technical Research Bulletin Volume 7
    (2013)
    British Museum
    The contents of the seventh volume of the British Museum Technical Research Bulletin reflects the diverse collections held by the British Museum. The investigations they describe include not only studies made directly on objects but also encompass research that aims better to understand the history, technology and treatment of objects. A group of four Egyptian funerary portraits, a twentieth-century Bulgarian headdress, a Roman unguentarium and a highly decorated North American skin coat were all investigated during conservation treatment, taking the opportunity to analyse their component materials being taken while they were in the studio. These studies were not limited to the analysis of the materials and techniques, but also allowed practical, aesthetic and ethical issues associated with the collection and its preservation to be highlighted. Contributions also examine the way in which existing conservation practice can be developed, adapted, tested and re-evaluated in response to the challenges of individual objects and improvements in materials and techniques. Other papers allow the significance, authenticity or history of objects to be reconsidered, as in the case of a Yongle Buddha that proved to have separate elements dating to different periods, or an ironwood chair from KwaZulu-Natal that held an important place in the history of nineteenth-century collecting and display of African crafts. Although most of the articles focus on the study and treatment of objects from the British Museum collection, many result from a close collaboration with colleagues outside the Museum. International, interdisciplinary teams were behind both the reassessment and analysis of an Egyptian royal heart-scarab from the Second Intermediate Period and the extensive study of mining and metal processing practices in Mauryan India based on surveys, archaeological evidence and the analysis of vessels or waste. Contents: The study and conservation of four ancient Egyptian funerary portraits: provenance, conservation history and structural treatment (Nicola Newman, Lynne Harrison, David Thomas, Joanne Dyer and John Taylor) Maker, material and method: reinstating an indigenously made chair from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Catherine Elliott, Caroline Cartwright and Philip Kevin) A Bulgarian kukeri mask: a diplomatic gift and the conservation of its polyurethane foam decorations (Clare Ward, Nicole Rode, Marei Hacke and Judy Rudoe) A traditional Chinese method for weakening silk for use in the conservation of silk paintings (Vincent Daniels, Marei Hacke, Jin Xian Qiu and Valentina Marabini) Analytical study of the first royal Egyptian heart-scarab, attributed to a Seventeenth Dynasty king, Sobekemsaf (Gianluca Miniaci, Susan La Niece, Maria Filomena Guerra and Marei Hacke) Scientific analysis of a Buddha attributed to the Yongle period of the Ming dynasty (Quanyu Wang and Sascha Priewe) Examination and experimentation: conservation of an archaeological glass unguentarium for display (Julia Barton, Andrew Meek and Paul Roberts) Simple sophistication: Mauryan silver production in north west India (Paul Craddock, Caroline Cartwright, Kirsten Eckstein, Ian Freestone, Lalit Gurjar, Duncan Hook, Andrew Middleton and Lynn Willies) An unusual decorated skin coat from Canada: aspects of conservation and identification (Pippa Cruickshank, Caroline R. Cartwright, Jonathan C.H. King and Antony Simpson)
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    British Museum Technical Research Bulletin Volume 8
    (2014)
    British Museum
    The contents of the eighth volume of the British Museum Technical Research Bulletin reflects the diverse collections held by the British Museum, with subjects ranging from an Aleut cape and cap to Ming dynasty paper money. Contents: Technical study of a rare Venetian turquoise glass goblet from the Waddesdon Bequest (Dora Thornton, Ian Freestone, William Gudenrath, Martina Bertini, Andrew Meek and Denise Ling) Technological insights into madder pigment production in antiquity (Vincent Daniels, Thibaut Devièse, Marei Hacke and Catherine Higgitt) Sacred souvenir: the Holy Sepulchre models in the British Museum (Jonathan Williams, Philip Kevin, Caroline Cartwright and Jacob Norris) The study and conservation of the silk painting Death of the Buddha (Keisuke Sugiyama, Tim Clark, Janet Ambers and Giovanni Verri) Etruscan women’s clothing and its decoration: the polychrome gypsum statue from the ‘Isis Tomb’ at Vulci (Giovanni Verri, Margarita Gleba, Judith Swaddling, Timothy Long, Janet Ambers and Tomasina Munden) An Aleut cape and cap made of sea mammal intestine: from storage to display (Vanessa Sà¡iz Gà³mez, Caroline R. Cartwright, Jonathan C.H. King and Pippa Cruickshank) Xenon flash for reflectance and luminescence (multispectral) imaging in cultural heritage applications (Giovanni Verri and David Saunders) Polychromy in Roman Egypt: a study of a limestone sculpture of the Egyptian god Horus (Joanne Dyer, Elisabeth R. O’Connell and Antony Simpson) Microscopical examination of fibres used in Ming dynasty paper money (Caroline R. Cartwright, Christina M. Duffy and Helen Wang) Analysis of pigment palettes as evidence for room status in Nero’s Golden House (Emma Payne and Dirk Booms)
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    British Museum Technical Research Bulletin Volume 4
    (2010)
    British Museum
    The publication of this fourth volume of the British Museum Technical Research Bulletin coincided with the broadcast of the series A History of the World in 100 Objects, a joint project between the British Museum and BBC Radio 4. Technical examination and analysis were undertaken on many of the objects that featured in the radio series. The results allowed a deeper understanding of the creation, function and subsequent history of these artefacts, which contributed to the development of programme scripts. A particular theme that recurred throughout A History of the World in 100 Objects was the transmission of ideas and materials within and between cultures, through trade, exploration or incursion. Four articles in this volume explore the evidence for such cross-cultural diffusion, ranging from the Greeks trading in the port of Naukratis in sixth century BC Egypt to the convergence of Ethiopian and European iconography and pigments in a mid-nineteenth century Ethiopian painting of the crucifixion. Popular views of conservation and scientific examination often focus on questions of attribution or authenticity, and studies that lead to the exposure of a fake or pastiche make good stories. Two papers in this volume address questions of authenticity: examination clearly shows that swords attributed to the late second and first millennium BC from modern day Iran are not what they purport to be; while analysis of a polychrome Roman marble head from the mid-second century AD (the Treu head) has re-established it as a rare survival of original Classical polychromy. Contents: The image revealed: study and conservation of a mid-nineteenth-century Ethiopian church painting (Heidi Cutts, Lynne Harrison, Catherine Higgitt and Pippa Cruickshank) Coatings and contents: investigations of residues on four fragmentary sixth-century BC vessels from Naukratis (Egypt) (Rebecca Stacey, Caroline Cartwright, Satoko Tanimoto and Alexandra Villing) A gold four-horse model chariot from the Oxus Treasure: a fine illustration of Achaemenid goldwork (Aude Mongiatti, Nigel Meeks and St John Simpson) The 'Treu Head': a case study in Roman sculptural polychromy (Giovanni Verri, Thorsten Opper and Thibaut Deviese) Change and stasis: the technology of Dark Age metalwork from the Carpathian Basin (Paul Craddock, Michael Cowell, Duncan Hook, Michael Hughes, Susan La Niece and Nigel Meeks) Investigating the construction methods of an opus vermiculatum mosaic panel (Melina Smirniou, Giovanni Verri, Paul Roberts, Andrew Meek and Michela Spataro) Assessing the effects of alkaline desalination treatments for archaeological iron using scanning electron microscopy (Melanie Rimmer and Quanyu Wang) Colour holography of the oldest known work of art from Wales (Hans Bjelkhagen and Jill Cook) New light on old swords from Iran (St John Simpson and Susan La Niece)
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    British Museum Technical Research Bulletin Volume 2
    (2008)
    British Museum
    This second volume of the British Museum Technical Research Bulletin contains articles that address the assessment, examination, treatment and analysis of objects from across the Museum’s collections and beyond, reflecting the diverse role that conservation and scientific activities play within some of the Museum’s wider programmes. The articles focus not only on objects conserved and examined as part of gallery refurbishment programmes and temporary exhibitions, but also on the results of longer-term studies of the collection. The Museum’s international activity is reflected in the assessment of Neanderthal skeletal remains in Krapina, Croatia, while an article about a small Egyptian glass scarab demonstrates how studies that begin with a particular (perhaps narrow) focus frequently expand to consider different aspects of the preservation and interpretation of objects. Contents: A new look at an old cat: a technical investigation of the Gayer-Anderson cat (Janet Ambers, Duncan Hook, Neal Spencer, Fleur Shearman, Susan La Niece, Rebecca Stacey and Caroline Cartwright) A musical instrument fit for a queen: the metamorphosis of a Medieval citole (Philip Kevin, James Robinson, Susan La Niece, Caroline Cartwright and Chris Egerton) The manufacture and decoration of Parthian glazed 'slipper coffins' from Warka (Andrew Middleton, St John Simpson and Antony P. Simpson) Conservation assessment of the Neanderthal human remains from Krapina, Croatia and its implications for the debate on the display and loan of human fossils (Jill Cook and Clare Ward) Analysis and conservation of a weeping glass scarab (Philip J. Fletcher, Ian Freestone and Rainer Geschke) The photo-ageing behaviour of selected watercolour paints under anoxic conditions (Capucine Korenberg) Scientific aspects of ancient faces: mummy portraits from Egypt (Caroline Cartwright and Andrew Middleton) A Spanish Medieval altar 'set': new investigation and assessment of its date and manufacture (Maickel van Bellegem, Stefan Rà¶hrs and Bet McLeod) Wooden Egyptian archery bows in the collections of the British Museum (Caroline Cartwright and John H. Taylor)
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