Call for applications--Staffordshire Hoard Advisory Panel

The Staffordshire Hoard Conservation Project is seeking experienced
professionals in a range of disciplines to advise the conservation
programme, conservators/practitioners to contribute to the
conservation of the Hoard and conservation students who wish to take
up placement opportunities.

Deadline: 30 June 2010

Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and Stoke Potteries Museum are
seeking expressions of interest from Conservation Professionals,
Scientists, Archaeologists and related professionals to join the
Hoard Conservation Advisory Panel.

The Staffordshire Hoard represents the most significant
archaeological find ever uncovered in the West Midlands region.
Since the public disclosure of the  find in September 2009 there has
been an unprecedented level of public and  media  interest  in the
Hoard.  There is also the academic communities who  have specific
and significant expectations in relation to establishing a research
agenda around the Hoard.  Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery and the
Potteries  Museum  and  Art  Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent are the
Acquiring Partners  and  understand  the  need  to  address  the
varied  agendas and expectations  that  have  arisen since the
discovery and acquisition of the Hoard.

The  first  and  most important step is to conserve the Hoard so
that it is materially  stable  thereby  allowing  the  effective
investigation of the material by scientists, archaeologists and
historians. This call is part of the  Acquiring  Partners  strategy
to  meet their responsibilities in this area  and  how  they will
ensure that the democratic and open approach that has  typified  the
handling  of this most important of finds is maintained throughout
the process of conservation.

What is in the Hoard? Following initial assessment the Hoard was
found to contain 97 sword pommels (25% of the sword pommels are of a
cloisonne design with 60% constructed from fine filigree), 354 sword
and dagger hilt fittings, 9 pyramids, 4 pommel rings, 2 buttons and
a large amount of fragments.  The Hoard totals 5.094 kilos of gold,
1.442 kilos of silver including approximately 3,500 cloisonne
garnets (51 loose) and a large number of fragments some of which are
consistent with those found on helmets of this period.  In total the
Hoard contains 3,490 pieces/fragments and has no comparator in terms
of content and quantity in the UK or mainland Europe.

Conservation Advisory Panel (CAP): The panel is made up of a core
team of three formed from representatives for Birmingham Museums and
Art Gallery, Stoke Potteries Museum and Art Gallery and the British
Museum.  The CAP will be chaired by the Hoard Conservation Project
Manager (Deborah Cane). Seven further specialists areas including
metallurgy, archaeology, conservation, heritage science are being
sought to create a panel of up to ten advisors.

The CAP team will offer advice and support to the Hoard Conservation
Team on questions raised during conservation treatments and
conservation options and research requests raised by the Research
Advisory panel.

The CAP team will:

   Meet four times a year in Birmingham (occasionally Stoke and
   London)

   Participate in discussions via emails

   Particular specialists from the group may be requested to attend
   additional days relating to their specialism.

Time Scale:

   The conservation project has funding for two years and it is
   hoped that the conservation team will be in place by September
   2010.

   It is hoped to have the full CAP team in place by the end of
   August 2010

   It is hoped that a meeting to review the collection and suggested
   conservation strategies will be set for September/October 2010

   There will be four meetings from Sept 2010- Sept 2011 and four
   meetings from Sept 2011- Sept 2012.

   The four meetings a year will be approximately every two/three
   months

Funding: There is funding up to UKP100 per person, per visit.

Filming: National Geographic are producing three programmes on the
Hoard, the second of which will focus on the conservation and
research of the Hoard. The CAP team may be asked to participate in
filming.

Selection: The successful applicant will be selected by the core CAP
team and will be informed by the end of July 2010.

It is hoped that the participants will be informed by the end of
September 2010.

If you are interested in joining the CAP team please submit a
maximum of two sides of A4 containing your contact details,
specialist area and what experience and support you can offer to the
CAP team.

    Contact details Specialist area
    Brief outline of experience
    Why you would like to participate
    What you can bring to the project
    What you hope to gain from the project

Please return this form and one reference to

    Deborah Cane
    Collections Care Officer
    Collections Care and Conservation Department
    Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
    Chamberlain Square
    Birmingham B3 3DH
    +44 121 303 9080


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 24:4
                   Distributed: Sunday, June 13, 2010
                        Message Id: cdl-24-4-008
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