Effect of low temperature on paintings

Belin Lahoz Soler <b-lahoz [at] ono__com> writes

>I work in a private conservation studio; for the last months we have
>been using a system to eliminate any kind of biological attack to
>organic materials. We put the infected material in a hermetic
>chamber. It slowly lowers temperature down to -23 deg. C, then holds
>it for 12 hours and starts raising till it reaches the same
>temperature out and then we open the chamber. Humidity is also
>controlled.
>
>The problem we have is that we are not sure of the safety of this
>system on polychromatic wood or canvas with or without preparation.

Since your concern is about the safety of pest-eradication methods
such as freezing for composite polychromed, varnished, gilded or
lacquered material, it may interest you to know that I am conducting
my MA dissertation research on this subject. The dissertation should
be completed and submitted by October, 2001, and the main types of
objects to go into experiments will be ethnography and natural
history specimens.

If you, or anyone else reading this message, has any particular
knowledge of other research on the same subject, it would be very
interesting for me to know. The literature I have collected so far
seems to show a gap in the research of effects of pest-eradication
on object materials, especially where composite objects are
concerned.

Gali Beiner
Conservation Intern
Bristol City Museum




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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:49
                  Distributed: Friday, March 23, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-14-49-009
                                  ***