Forgers, Dealers, Experts (1960)

Title: Forgers, Dealers, Experts: Strange Chapters In The History Of Art

Author: Sepp Schüller

Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons

Year: 1960

Pages: 264

Download: http://www.archive.org/... (pdf, 24.4 Mb)

Note: Resource kindly indicated by Goran Budija

Here is a comprehensive study of the most notorious art forgeries in history: the artists who employed their talents in imitating the talents of others, the dealers who wittingly or unwittingly sold their wares, and the experts who exposed, or were taken in by, their duplicity. Calling upon his substantial professional knowledge and his personal interest in the subject, Sepp Schüller has turned the investigation of art forgeries into a field of lively speculation having artistic, social, and psychological implications.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

1. Egypt, the Forgers' Paradise

2. The Cardiff Giant

3. Fame comes to the village of Glozel

4. The Venus of the Turnip Field

5. Counterfeits of Durer's works

6. Works forged as by Griinewald, Holbein and Cranach

7. The much admired Bust by Bastianini

8. The Renowned Sarcophagus of Cerveteri

9. The Tiara of Saitaphernes

10. The Bust of Flora

11. Alceo Dossena

12. Wacker's Van Goghs'

13. Forgeries of French Paintings

14. Art Forgeries under the Third Reich

15. Han van Meegeren

16. The Liibeck art forgery scandal

17. Modern Masterpieces by a Museum Attendant

18. Art Forgers at Naples

19. The Vienna Madonna scandal

20. Antique Furniture is not always old

21. 'Real' and 'Imitation' Carpets

22. The Lure of Profit

23. In the Shadows

24. Fame versus X-Rays

25. 'Counterfeit Counterfeits'

26. The Campaign against Fraud

27. Forgery Detection as a Fashionable Complaint

28. 'Take up the Shield of Mistrust!'

Thesis: A Study of Ideological Division in the Field of Conservation-Restoration (2006)

Title: Heritage, Hermeneutics and Hegemony - A Study of Ideological Division in the Field of Conservation-Restoration
Author: Frank Hassard
University: Brunel University
Type of document: PhD
Year: 2006
Link: http://hdl.handle.net/... (pdf)


Abstract

In recent times, the concept of ‘intangible heritage’ has gained credence within the international heritage community, reflecting wider concerns relating to the cultural impact of global economic, technological and political forces. For many, intangible heritage represents a vital living mediation of the material past (i.e. tangible heritage) which deepens its significance and meaning-conferring qualities. This thesis explores how in recent times, the intangible heritage became ‘separated’ from the tangible heritage in such a way as to bring about ideological division within the field of heritage preservation and a sense of discontinuity with the past – particularly relating to the practice of restoration and its patrimony of expertise. The thesis argues that this has been attributable to an ‘institutionalised’ conception of heritage based essentially on a historiography of materials located in the ideological site of the museum – the repository where tangible heritage is housed, organised, interpreted, conserved, restored and displayed in such ways as to confer meaning upon the material world. By drawing extensively upon evidence from the literature and engaging the conservation-restoration field, the thesis develops discussion around the emergence (and subsequent institutionalisation) of a relatively recent scientific paradigm of practice – ‘scientific restoration’ – largely shaped by this ‘museological’ vision of heritage. It also considers how the work of Cesare Brandi came to be instrumental in the formulation of this vision but argues that such conceptions have been predicated upon a misappropriation of his ideas and a misreading of historical heritage preservation ideologies that has done much to contribute to tensions evident within the heritage community. To this end, the thesis aims to redress this historical impasse by reconsidering the function of restoration – especially in terms of what is added to the historical document – and reconciling the competing claims of the tangible and intangible by developing the concept of ‘authentic process’.

Safe Handling of Plastics in a Museum Environment (2010)

Title: Safe Handling of Plastics in a Museum Environment
Author: Jia-sun Tsang
Citation: WAAC Newsletter 32(2), pp. 16-22
Year: 2010
Link: http://hdl.handle.net/10088/11186 (pdf, 3.64 Mb)


Abstract:

Research on the theory and mechanics of plastics degradation and conservation has made steady progress over the years, yet regarding the safe handling of plastics, current knowledge and practices are long overdue for an update. The purpose of this paper is to translate the science of plastics degradation into practical guidelines for the safe handling and conservation of plastics in a museum environment. The safety practices outlined here are based on an analysis of naturally aged plastics in museum collections, and are relevant to the specific problems faced by conservators, curators, and museum specialists who must handle and evaluate many types of plastic materials.

Advances in Raman mapping of works of art (2010)

Title: Advances in Raman mapping of works of art
Authors: Polonca Ropret, Costanza Miliani, Silvia A. Centeno, Crtomir Tavzesab and Francesca Rosi
Citation: Journal of Raman Spectroscopy (Special Issue: Raman spectroscopy in art and archaecology), Volume 41, Issue 11, pages 1172–1177, November 2010

Link: http://hdl.handle.net/... (pdf, 553 Kb)


Abstract

Raman mapping can provide molecular information to complement data derived from other analytical techniques in works of art and other objects of cultural significance. Raman mapping can be performed using a motorized microscope stage that moves a sample or an object point by point in two spatial directions. The method can be used both noninvasively in works of art that fit under a microscope objective and in microsamples when, for example, obtaining information on the samples' layering structure is necessary. This paper reports on the development of a Raman mapping approach based on a set of scanning mirrors that direct the laser beam in two spatial directions, vertically through the microscope head or through a horizontal exit on the Raman microspectrometer. The first configuration still has limitations in terms of the size of the work of art that can be analyzed, as it has to fit under the microscope objective, but considerably larger objects can be studied when using the scanning mirrors placed in the horizontal exit. In this paper, the advantages and limitations of these two Raman mapping approaches are compared and discussed on the basis of an example of a contemporary oil painting on canvas.

Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings (1991)

Title: Art in Transit: Handbook for Packing and Transporting Paintings
Authors: M. Richard, Marion F. Mecklenburg, and Ross Merrill
Publisher: National Gallery of Art
Year: 1991
Pages: 172
Link: http://hdl.handle.net/...


Table of contents:

1. Assessing Risks
2. Transit Climate Conditions
3. Temperature Protection
4. Relative Humidity Protection
5. Shock and Vibration Hazards
6. Shock Protection
7. Vibration Protection
8. Packing Cases
9. Role of the Courier
10. Glossary