Blogs and Articles

#AskAConservator

Posted on 12th November 2019

On November 4 2019, conservators around the world participated in Ask a Conservator day. A day that encourages international collaboration and knowledge exchange. 

Tutors and students from our School of Conservation tweeted via the College’s Twitter profile to answer questions and share insights into their experiences in the Conservation sector.

  • New Science Lab Opens

    Posted on 24th October 2019

    The College has welcomed new and returning students to a brand new facility for science teaching and research in support of conservation. The new science lab features considerably more space for laboratory teaching and analytical work than was previously available, as well as dedicated workspaces for analytical equipment and room to grow as new capabilities are added in the future. 

  • Ceramics & Glass

    Maiolica Madness: Conserving a tin-glazed maiolica dish from Savona, Italy for The Courtauld Gallery, London

    Posted on 9th August 2019

    In 2018, we were delighted to be asked by The Courtauld Gallery in London during their temporary closure for a major refurbishment known as 'Courtauld Connects', to treat a large maiolica dish, possibly made in the 17th century in Savona, Italy. The dish had been previously restored, and after an unknown number of years, the adhesive had begun to fail. Read the full blog by students Derrin Compton, Rosie Blay, Kate Galatian and Shawn Kwan.

  • Conservation of nineteenth century machine-made endbands

    Posted on 24th July 2019

    MA Conservation Studies: Books and Library Materials student Maria Borg, alongside her colleague Nayla Maaruf, worked on the conservation of a Cartes-de-Visite Victorian photo album. Find out more about the project in this blog post.

  • Reverse engineering a late 16th century wooden-board binding

    Posted on 14th June 2019

    Book conservators are often faced with the challenge of working with unfamiliar, idiosyncratic, and complex books. In such cases making a model of a binding can be of great benefit and insight into previous binding practices. This is especially true when presented with a book found in a fragmented state.

  • Metalwork

    A stab in the dark: Conserving a mysterious knife at West Dean

    Posted on 10th May 2019

    Zora Sanders takes us through her investigation into a mysterious knife; as she tries to uncover its origins and purpose.

    When I began my studies in Metalwork Conservation at West Dean last October, the first object I was given to treat appeared to be a fairly ordinary knife. Which just goes to show that looks can be deceptive....

  • 'Not all that glitters is gold' - metallic pigments in a Victorian scrapbook

    Posted on 23rd April 2019

    One of the items I treated this year was a late 19th Century Victorian scrapbook. The scrapbook was made for a child and the contents directly reflect this. It was filled with clippings from magazines, stickers, poems that referenced children stories, animals, and other imagery which might have appealed to a child at the time. Additionally, it was filled with elaborate, original artwork by the woman who created it...

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