Pilgrim Trust Conservation Awards

This year's shortlist for the 2004 Award for Conservation, the UK's
leading award in the conservation field, includes the conservation
of a breath-taking Victorian painting of the Battle of Hastings, the
size of a double-decker bus, the revival of the Carved Room at
Petworth House containing Turner watercolours and rare carvings, and
the conservation of a 14th-century altarpiece, one of Britain's
greatest surviving mediaeval treasures.

Liz Forgan, Chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund, who is chairing the
Awards Judges, said:  "I am deeply impressed by the calibre of the
shortlisted projects this year.  Each and every one of them displays
an incredibly high standard of conservation skills and
professionalism. Conservation plays an integral role in our heritage
and the Conservation Awards continue to highlight this."

The Award for Conservation 2004. Shortlist for the Award for
Conservation, worth UKP15,000.  This Award celebrates excellence in
completed conservation or restoration projects in museums,
galleries, historic buildings, libraries and archives.

    The Carved Room at Petworth House

        The conservation and historical re-arrangement by the
        National Trust of the contents of the Carved Room, including
        the reinstatement of carvings, chimneypieces and four Turner
        landscapes commissioned for the room, and installation of
        under-floor environmental controls.

    Restoration of the 1829 JC Bishop Organ at St James Bermondsey

        Restoration to full working order by Martin Goetze and
        Dominic Gwynn of a derelict 19th-century organ, a large and
        unique survival from a period of rapid change in musical
        tastes, through reconstruction in the style of the original
        organ-builder.

    Conservation of the Thornham Parva Retable

        Conservation of the 14th-century altarpiece and
        reinstallation in St Mary's Church, Thornham Parva, in a
        specially-designed display case. A joint project between the
        parish of St Mary's and Hamilton Kerr Institute.

    Conservation of the Battle of Hastings Painting

        Conservation and display by the former English Heritage
        Conservation Studio of a monumental history painting after
        120 years of unsuitable storage and neglect, using both
        traditional and innovative methods and techniques. Now
        re-installed at its original location at Battle Abbey,
        Sussex.

    Conservation of the Martyrs' Memorial

        The cleaning and repair of the monument by Nimbus
        Conservation Ltd., including re-modelling on ceramic
        supports of three statues of the martyrs, conservation of
        decorative stonework and restoration of twelve heraldic
        shields. A joint project between the Oxford Preservation
        Trust and the City Council.

    Improvements to a Historic Wallpapers Collection

        Major improvements to the environment and accessibility of
        an historic wallpapers collection at the Whitworth Art
        Gallery, Manchester, resulting in the development of two
        innovative products, which introduced better protection and
        removed barriers to access.

    The Art of Conservation Exhibition

        An exhibition at the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
        displaying paintings, drawings and prints from the permanent
        collection in need of conservation work, and explaining
        conservation processes in accessible language.

The Student Conservator of the Year Award 2004. The shortlist has
also been announced for the Student Conservator of the Year Award,
worth UKP10,000 to be divided between the winning student and their
training institution:

    Erica Kotze (Camberwell College of Arts)

        Conservation of a Samut Thai Khao in the Oriental collection
        of the Wellcome Trust: construction of a support structure,
        documentation and cleaning of a large Thai medical
        manuscript in concertina format.

    Christina Margariti (Textile Conservation Centre, Southampton
    University)

        Use of chelating agents in textile conservation: an
        investigation of the efficiency and effects of three
        chelating agents on the removal of copper and iron staining
        from artificially-soiled cellulosic textiles.

    Renata Peters (Institute of Archaeology UCL and the Horniman
    Museum)

        Conservation of a model for a lost-wax casting for a brass
        plaque from Benin in the Education Handling Collection at
        the Horniman Museum: assessment of the object within its
        current and original contexts and testing of a range of
        adhesives and materials to be used as fills or supports.

    Nanke Schellmann (RCA/V&A Conservation)

        Aqueous cleaning of photo-degraded Oriental lacquer: a
        preliminary investigation of the effect of different pH and
        ionic concentrations during aqueous cleaning on the gloss
        and colour of photo-degraded Oriental lacquer.

The Anna Plowden Award for Research and Innovation in Conservation.
There are two entries on the shortlist for the Anna Plowden Award,
worth UKP2000 for an outstanding project furthering conservation
research and innovation:

    David Howell (Historic Royal Palaces)

        Automated dust slide analysis: a method for assessing
        dustiness in historic houses, museums and libraries. Dust is
        a major concern in the preservation of cultural heritage.
        This project has developed a method of automatically
        measuring dust collected on microscope slides left in rooms,
        stores or display cases using digital image analysis.

    Martin Norgate

        CONSREC (a data standard for documentation of conservation
        work) provides a flexible methodology for recording
        conservation work, with an emphasis on clear readable
        records prepared to a common standard, which has been
        extensively field tested by conservators working within
        museum services.

The winners will be announced on 22 June 2004 at a presentation
ceremony at the British Library (invitation-only).

Sponsored by the Pilgrim Trust, the Awards are also supported by key
organisations in conservation - the Museums, Libraries and Archives
Council (MLA), English Heritage, the National Preservation Office,
the Institute of Paper Conservation and the United Kingdom Institute
for Conservation.

The Digital Preservation Award, sponsored by the Digital
Preservation Coalition, is part of the Pilgrim Trust Conservation
Awards. The full shortlist and details of the Judging Panel for the
Digital Preservation Award, worth UKP5,000, which recognises
leadership and achievement in the developing field of digital
preservation, are available at
<URL:http://www.dpconline.org/graphics/awards>.

Judging Panel members: Liz Forgan OBE, Chair of the Judges for 2004
and Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Heritage
Lottery Fund and the Scott Trust ; Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent
of The Times; Professor Jonathan Ashley-Smith, Senior Research
Fellow in Conservation Studies at the V&A Museum; James
Hervey-Bathurst, President of the Historic Houses Association, and
Rosalind Savill CBE, Director of the Wallace Collection.

The Anna Plowden Trust Award for Research and Innovation in
Conservation is judged by the Trustees.

Full details of the 2004 Conservation Awards are available from
<URL:http://www.consawards.ukic.org.uk>

Susan Hughes
Co-ordinator, Conservation Awards 2004
+20 7326 0995
Fax: +20 7326 0995


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 17:70
                   Distributed: Sunday, May 23, 2004
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