Risk-based decision-making informed by analysis of an early nineteenth-century manuscript containing smalt
Auteur ou éditeur
Moriarty, Maeve
Barnes, Stephanie
Bladek, Kamila
McNair, Christine
Maitland, Crystal
Eng Moore, Tiffany
Lieu de publication
London
Date de publication
April 2025
Collation
1-11
Titre de la source
Studies in Conservation
Numéro de la source
(2025)
Résumé
This paper reviews a collaborative examination and analysis of an early nineteenth-century music manuscript at the Canadian Conservation Institute. Collaboration between conservation scientists and conservators helped process scientific information, hazards, and treatment decisions to complete the arc of planning, treatment execution, and future care recommendations for the client. An unexpected result during the initial analysis of the pigments flagged the presence of arsenic on the painted and unpainted areas of the textblock. Initial hypotheses were that it could have derived from an application of pesticide on the binding or that it was part of the papermaking process. To characterize the nature of the arsenic more fully and to attempt to understand the level of risk during handling, further analysis was carried out. Through the analysis, it was determined that the source of arsenic in the manuscript is smalt – a blue glassy colourant, added to the paper during manufacture to make it appear whiter; there was no indication of an arsenical pesticide found. This case study provoked interesting discussions regarding the contextualizing of risk and analysis results when working with an unexpected finding of potential hazards, both during the execution of a conservation treatment, and in recommending care during handling and storage.
Langue
English = Anglais
Sujet
Arsenic
Smalt
Book conservation
Paper conservation
Risk-based decision-making
Paper - Preservation
Books - Conservation and restoration
Risk management
Papier - Preservation
Livres - Conservation et restauration
Gestion du risque
Pays
United Kingdom
Type de document
Online article = Article électronique
Localisation
PER #16852 (For internal use only = Pour usage interne seulement)
