Conserving the Baillieu’s dragon

Funding from the Miegunyah Bequest enabled the Baillieu Library’s most requested work of art, The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus (c.1588), to be conserved. Treatment was carried out by paper conservators Peter Mitchelson and Adele Barbara, who explain this intricate process.

The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus
Hendrick Goltzius after Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem, The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus, engraving, (c.1588)

While Hendrick Goltzius’ 16th century engraving, The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus, arrived to the laboratory in a good condition for its age, a thorough conservation treatment was required to bring the print back to its former glory.

The print itself was mounted onto acidic backing board, which prevented access to the back of the work and was potentially a catalyst for degradation into the future. Edges of white paper visible along an edge of the print indicated that it had also been lined in the past to repair tears and strengthen the work. In order to discover what was hidden behind these layers, and allow the print to be repaired and cleaned effectively, these backings had to be removed.

To remove the mount board backing, the engraving was placed face down on a flat, even surface. As the support was adhered in all four corners, most of the board could be cut away. What remained was carefully pared back with a scalpel. Beneath this backing, however, another layer or partially removed backing, with the hint of an inscription showing through, was uncovered. This backing differed from the first in that it had mostly been removed. Due to the presence of an inscription, though, it was decided that these final layers had to be removed. A poultice of methylcellulose was used to gently moisten the remainder of the backing before it could be carefully scraped away.

Once this final layer was removed, the lining paper adhered to the back of the work could then be considered. After trialling the use of a high-pressure steamer to remove the lining with little success, testing was conducted investigate what was adhering the lining so strongly to the back of the print. Spot testing using a potassium iodide solution revealed that a starch-based adhesive was used during the previous treatment. Consequently, it was decided that the most effective way of removing the lining would be while both the lining and the print were wet.

Paper conservators at work
Paper conservators treating the engraving

To achieve this, the print was placed in a bath of warm deionised water face down. Using soft brushes and hand tools, we were gradually able to carefully peel back small sections of the lining until it was completely removed. After the lining was removed, however, a sticky residue remained behind. To quickly remove the adhesive before the print dried, the back of the work was carefully swabbed with small cotton swabs.

Once this process had been completed, the print could then be thoroughly washed in deionised water. This process allowed for any remaining dirt or degradation products to be released, stabilising and cleansing the print. Once washed, the print was flattened to allow for repairs to be made to the tear on the front of the work.

During the removal of the lining, a historic infill was removed from the top right corner of the work. We have selected to retain the original fill, but will instead secure it with discreetly with Japanese tissue.

Once the repairs are complete and the engraving is mounted, The Dragon Devouring the Companions of Cadmus may return to the Baillieu Library Print Collection to be displayed and enjoyed for years to come.

Adele Barbara, Paper Conservator
The Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation

 

Hexed – discoveries and challenges in archiving born-digital records

Lachlan Glanville, Assistant Archivist, Germaine Greer Archive

5 ¼ inch floppy disks from the Germaine Greer Archive
5 ¼ inch floppy disks from the Germaine Greer Archive

Removable media such as floppy disks from the early days of PC ownership are now degrading rapidly and becoming increasingly difficult to access. Without swift action, years of unique records could easily become irrecoverable. Archivists at UMA have been collaborating with colleagues across the University such as Research Platforms, Digital Scholarship and the ESRC on a pilot project on how to extract and preserve digital records. The Greer Archive removable media is one case study. Continue reading “Hexed – discoveries and challenges in archiving born-digital records” →

Elisabetta Sirani: Artist of Bologna

Women artists working during the 16th and 17th centuries were few, or that is, only a small number came to prominence in the Western canon of art. This may be explained by the many obstacles placed in the way of aspiring female artists, for unlike their male counterparts, they had no guild to support them, which in turn made earning a living through the sale of their art very difficult. [1.] Students of art history are frustrated by this, and lament their under representation in both the history books and in the Baillieu’s Print Collection. Thus, it is a pleasure to highlight one of the women who triumphed over the challenges and became a renowned artist of Bologna: Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665).

She was taught by her father Giovanni Andrea Sirani (1610-1670) who was also an artist, one that she surpassed in both reception, and in the number of works produced. When he became ill, Elisabetta ran the family studio, and she went on to found a school for women painters. Paintings make up most of her corpus, however, she also made drawings and was a printmaker.

Etching by Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani, Holy Family with St Elizabeth and St John the Baptist, etching (1655-56)

The etching Holy Family with St Elizabeth and St John the Baptist (1655-56), is not after another famous work of art by a male artist, but is rather a design of her own. It conveys an intimate domestic scene with the Virgin Mary nursing Christ and amusing the infant Saint John by dangling an object from her hand. An aging Saint Elizabeth is perhaps winding swaddling cloth, and in the background, Saint Joseph is at work with wood and axe. The architectural devices that dynamically intersect the backdrop are a clever compositional feature.

Reference

[1.] Caroline P. Murphy, ‘The economics of the woman artist,’ in Italian women artists: from Renaissance to Baroque, Milano: Skira; New York, NY: Distributed in North America by Rizzoli International, c2007, p. 23

Considering the literary archive: William Gosse Hay

Dr Rachael Weaver
School of Culture and Communication, University of Melbourne

William Hay and pet magpie Jampot, undated, William Gosse Hay Collection, 2005.0025, University of Melbourne Archives, Unit 24, 9/4/12

I first became interested in the Australian writer William Hay ten years ago, when Ken Gelder and I re-published Hay’s 1921 story, ‘An Australian Rip Van Winkle,’ in our Anthology of Colonial Australian Gothic Fiction (2007). The tale is a delightfully strange one, about a stockman named Jake, a romantic figure who resembles the writer R. L. Stevenson; only he is ‘slightly more melancholy.’[1] It begins with a meditation on the idea of the ‘nowhere road’ – the kind of mysterious sandy white track that winds its way into the Australian bush and seems to promise all kinds of imaginative destinations. Hay’s quaint story was published a little late in the day to be considered strictly colonial, but something about it seemed to belong to the nineteenth century. Like much of Hay’s writing, it has qualities that are anachronistic and modern at the same time. Continue reading “Considering the literary archive: William Gosse Hay” →

Anniversary of the Chinese Republic

Katherine Molyneux

It is a photograph of an dusty street in an unnamed city. There are bicycles and a blurry power line. In the background is a low-rise building that might be a market. In the foreground – dominating the scene – is a ceremonial gate, which appears to be made of wood. It is topped by a large dome.

"10 October: Anniversary Chinese Revolution", c1920s
“10 October: Anniversary Chinese Revolution”, c1920s. University of Melbourne Archives, Una Porter album, 1997.0002 item 7/1

Continue reading “Anniversary of the Chinese Republic” →

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