Paper

Jennifer Park Phelps

Paper

WWI Map of Belgium

Cardiff University

• This WWI era map was produced by the British War Office for use in the field. It depicts part of Belgium around the city of Namur and is from the collections of the Llandudno Museum in Llandudno, Wales. The map was soaked in the June 1993 flooding and subsequently frozen at Cardiff University. Staff and students from the Conservation program at Cardiff provided emergency response to the flood for the museum. The map required drying, disinfecting to neutralize pathogens from sewage contamination of the floodwaters, and re-adhesion of the fabric backing.
• Condition and Treatment Report (PDF), Photos (PDF), Risk Assessment (PDF)

Paper Liner from a Tibetan Thangka

The Field Museum of Natural History

• The Field Museum has a significant collection of Thangkas, almost all of which (373 of 382) were collected in Tibet by Bertrand Laufer (1874-1934), an early curator of Asian Anthropology at the Field Museum, during his first trip to Asia in 1908-1910. Laufer collected both new and used thangkas, representing a cross-section of Tibetan thangkas from that year. These devotional images consist of a painting done on fine cloth which is then framed in a mounting made of multiple layers and sections of heavier cloth. A major survey of the Field Museum Thangka collection was undertaken in 2009, with the goal of identifying items most in need of repair. Following the condition survey, the thangkas were rehoused, either flat or rolled around padded dowels in specially constructed boxes. Several thangkas in need of stabilization were also conserved at this time in order to develop suitable treatment methods and procedures and to estimate the time needed for conservation of the entire collection. A paper liner from inside a thangka done on especially thin cloth, was conserved as part of this project.
• Condition and Treatment Report: Report (PDF), Photos (PDF)

124392 BT Obverse (photo by T. Brown)

124392 DT Paper liner after removal (photo T. Brown)

124392 DT main section of paper liner

124392 DT Fragments of paper liner

124392 DT Fragments of paper liner being sorted

124392, DT Fragments of paper liner waiting for humidification

124392, DT Fragments of paper liner in humidification chamber

124392, DT post-humidification set up

124392, DT Fragments being flattened after humidification

124392, DT Final stages of adhering paper liner to tissue backing detail 1

124392, DT Final stages of adhering paper liner to backing tissue

124392, AT Obverse (photo T. Brown)

Chinese Rubbings Collection

The Field Museum of Natural History

• These objects are from the Field Museum’s extensive collection of Chinese rubbings. These rubbings are made by pressing wet paper into carved stone and applying ink to the raised portions of the surface. Thus it creates a negative image of the original carving. The vast majority of the Field Museum rubbings were collected by Bertrand Laufer during two trips to China in 1908-1910 and 1923. Since then, many of the rubbings had been stored folded in manilla folders, resulting in significant deterioration. The Chinese Rubbing Conservation project focused on flattening through humidification, repair of tears and losses, and proper storage in flat archival folders. As part of the project, a selection of the items were displayed in an exhibit at the Field Museum.
• These bei (stone stella) rubbings are undated, but are likely from the later Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) or Republic of China (1911-1949) when Laufer collected most of the rubbings. Eight rubbings were conserved as part of this project.
• Condition and Treatment Reports: