Non-destructive analysis and testing of museum objects

Informazioni relative al progetto

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: G8

Data di avvio 21 Dicembre 2000

Data di completamento 8 Febbraio 2005

Finanziato da

• European cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research (COST), 1971-

Costo totale € 0,00

Contributo UE Nessun dato

Coordinato da

N/A
Belgium

Obiettivo

A. BACKGROUND

The conservation and preservation of our cultural heritage is one of the main concerns within Europe today. In particular the increasing need for non-destructive investigations has become a major issue, as sampling is in most cases restricted in view of the value or the uniqueness of the object. Even in the case sampling is allowed, non-destructive testing offers the possibility of obtaining more information on one specific sample as complementary techniques may be applied.

In the natural sciences many non-destructive techniques are available, such as e.g. ion beam analysis, autoradiography and X-ray based techniques, that can in principle be used in this field. In this regard there are however two problems. First, museums are not always aware of the existence of these techniques while natural scientists are not necessarily familiar with the needs that concern the study, preservation and conservation of museum objects. Second, many of the research instruments and analytical facilities are located in specialized research institutes, as they require very specific expertise.

Therefore the intention is to create an environment that enables the cooperation and interaction between museums and natural scientists. A first successful step in this direction has been provided by COST Action G1 (1995-2000). The focus of this action however was confined to the use of ion beam analysis for art and archaeological objects. The expansion to a multidisciplinary community and the use of additional non-destructive techniques will further provide complementary information, although some of the techniques still will need to be introduced and established.

A European cooperation in this field seems the most efficient way to address this task as European museums and related institutes face often similar problems regarding the preservation and conservation of their collections. In addition specialized research institutes are scattered all over Europe and are not necessarily available in every country. Other actions or programs centered on the European cultural heritage are active. Examples are the "Advanced artwork restoration and conservation methods using laser technology" and the "City of tomorrow and cultural heritage" framework. The specificity of the proposed new action and some connections that may exist with other European programs will enhance cooperation in this fundamental issue of European culture.

B. OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS

The main objective of the action is to achieve a better preservation and conservation of our cultural heritage by increasing the knowledge in museum objects through non-destructive analysis and testing and by improving the synergy between art historians, archaeologists, conservators and natural scientists. A 50:50% balance will be aimed at between the activities of both groups, which will result in an improved interest to problems related to the preservation of valuable museum collections.

The expected benefits are twofold. First the capability of answering questions related to museum objects, which can not be readily solved now, will be enhanced. This includes the exchange of knowledge of the available non-destructive techniques and the requirements to perform investigations on valuable or unique objects. In addition museums and similar institutes will get easy access to universities and research facilities that provide such techniques. Second the accumulation of data and knowledge for potential databases and means of comparison will be established. This information will be readily available via an Internet forum, which will allow a better and more efficient use.

C. SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM

The main task is to create a European wide environment, in which on the one hand a group of people directly concerned with the maintenance of our cultural heritage, i.e. art historians, archaeologists and conservators, and on the other hand natural scientists (i.e. physicists, chemists, material scientists, etc.) can exchange knowledge relevant for the study, preservation and conservation of museum objects. Today many questions within this field remain unsolved not only because of the lack of exchange of this knowledge, but also because several investigation techniques still need to be introduced and established in this interdisciplinary field. In addition there is often no access for art historians, archaeologists and conservators to the appropriate research facilities.

Within cultural heritage often issues such as conservation, historical manufacturing (ancient technology), painting techniques, provenance, dating, and deterioration processes are addressed. Techniques, which can help solve questions in these fields, include amongst others ion beam analysis, neutron autoradiography, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. It is realized that at this point these lists are only tentative and can therefore be expanded during the action according to the needs of the problems to be solved.

To reach the goal of the Action there are several steps to address. First, there exists already a group of natural scientists who is interested in collaborating with art historians, curators and conservators to encourage the use of analytical techniques for studying, preserving and conserving museum objects. They will as a first step inform the art historians, archaeologists and conservators about the availability of non-destructive investigation techniques within Europe, which are today standard methods in material science. This will be done by announcing this Action in relevant newsletters and journals in the field of humanities and conservation. At the same time this group of natural scientists will be expanded by also announcing the Action within natural science journals and on the Internet.

The second step will be the organisation of a first workshop in which both groups of scientists will be introduced to each other. The aim of this workshop is to inform art historians, curators and conservators about the non-destructive techniques available and to inform natural scientists about the specific questions and problems concerning museum objects. The workshop will also allow manufacturers of non-destructive techniques to get better acquainted with the needs of the field, so that scientific equipment can be optimized for the analysis of museum objects. The results of this workshop will be published in a proceeding to have the information available in a printed form for further distribution.

Third, different working groups will be formed depending on the problem/s that need/s to be solved and the technique/s used to do this. This will allow a close collaboration for an extended and efficient exchange of knowledge within a specific topic and therefore also a more efficient way to publish the obtained results.

From that point on, in order to enhance further exchange of knowledge, there are three major tasks to address:

Short term scientific missions:

-to train scientists of both groups in the others field as well as to transfer practical experience between the European countries,

-to address specific problems concerning museum objects as well as to collect and to compare data,

-to compare the use of standing facilities and portable equipment,

-to exploit the advantages and limitations of the different techniques also in comparison to techniques commonly used today in the field of cultural heritage,

-to give access to art historians, archaeologists and conservators to research instruments.

Regular meetings in the form of workshops announced European wide:

-to exchange (obtained) knowledge in a broader group,

-to prove the non-destructive properties of the techniques to the art historians, curators and conservators,

-to discuss certain (new) themes in more detail,

-to enhance the interest and give the possibility of new collaborations,

-to assist the art historians, archaeologists and conservators in choosing the method/s best suited for a specific problem.

Publications to advertise the COST Action and to attract new people will appear:

-in appropriate journals to distribute the obtained information on a wider scale,

-in proceedings of International Conferences,

-on an Internet forum which will give access to recently obtained knowledge,

-in a monograph which will summarize the results of the Action.

D. ORGANISATION AND TIMETABLE

The Action will be divided into a number of working groups who will report directly to the management committee meeting. At the time of writing this proposal, the number of working groups is not yet known, as it will strictly depend on the type of research topics. Once the Action is running, this number however should become clear and the creation of the working groups will therefore be discussed at the first workshop. The management committee (MC) will coordinate the research work, including the short-term scientific missions, the workshops and publications and will therefore meet every 6 months. The timetable of the Action is divided in three phases, covering a total time period of 4 years.

E. ECONOMIC DIMENSION

The following COST countries have actively participated in the preparation of the Action or otherwise indicated their interest: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and the UK.

On the basis of the national estimates provided by the representatives of these countries and taking into account the coordination costs to be covered by the COST budget of the European Commission, the overall cost of the activities to be carried out under the Action has been estimated, in 2000 prices at roughly 1,5 million Euro per year.

This estimate is valid under the assumption that all the countries mentioned above, but no other countries will participate in the Action. Any departure from this will change the total cost accordingly.

F. DISSEMINATION OF THE RESULTS

The results of short-term scientific missions and working groups will be published on a regular basis in appropriate journals and proceedings of international conferences. Co-authored papers will be encouraged and all publications should list the support from COST.

In addition an Internet forum will make results and activities available to the public. To accomplish this, each participant will be requested to contribute to a central web site to which relevant information will need to be provided. A clear outline will be made between the different working groups and topics, so that information will be easily available.

Once a year the Action will organise a workshop on a specific theme. The results of these workshops will be published in proceedings to have the information available in a printed form for further distribution.

At the end of the Action the results will be published in a specific monograph.

G. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AES
Auger Electron Spectroscopy
ERDA
Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis
EXAFS
Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure
FTIR
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry
HPLC
High Pressure Liquid Chromatography
IR
Infrared
NRA
Nuclear Reaction Analysis
OES
Optical Emission Spectrometry
PAA
Proton Activation Analysis
PIGE
Particle Induced Gamma-ray Emission
PIXE
Particle Induced X-ray Emission
PIXRF
Proton Induced X-Ray Fluorescence
RBS
Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy
SEM
Scanning Electron Microscopy
SIMS
Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry
TRXRF
Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence
XRD
X-ray Diffraction Analysis
XRF
X-ray Fluorescence

Programma(i)

• IC-COST - European cooperation in the field of scientific and technical research (COST), 1971-

Argomento(i)

Data not available

Invito a presentare proposte

Data not available

Meccanismo di finanziamento

Data not available

Coordinatore

N/A

• Contributo UE: Nessun dato
• Indirizzo: Belgio
• Costo totale: Nessun dato