Lecture on conservation of the Faddan More Psalter

Treasure from the Bog: The Faddan More Psalter
The Grolier Club of New York
47 E. 60th St.
6 pm
March 31, 2016

A lecture by John Gillis

This lecture tells the story of the discovery and subsequent
conservation of the Faddan More Psalter, an early medieval
manuscript unearthed from a peat bog in County Tipperary in the
summer of 2006.  Many new and exciting discoveries were made during
the lengthy and difficult task of conserving this important
archaeological find, which had survived in an extreme environment
for over a millennium.  In addition to describing the conservation
techniques employed, which in the absence of comparable case studies
were developed as work progressed, the lecture will examine the
content of the manuscript, including its illuminations and decorated
lettering.  The cover, which survives in remarkable condition, will
be discussed in the context of related early medieval and Egyptian
(Coptic) book structures.  Some surprising features of the cover
have raised new questions, but also point to new theories about the
history of book making and monastic life in early medieval Ireland.

John Gillis M.A is a Senior Manuscript Conservator and has worked at
Trinity College Dublin for over 20 years.  He also established and
headed the Delmas Conservation Bindery at Marsh's Library, Dublin.
In a private capacity he works for major manuscript collections at
University College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy, and consults
for a number of other institutions.  He teaches book conservation in
the training programs at Spoleto and Cremona, Italy, and has
lectured and published widely.  His major achievement to date has
been the conservation of the Faddan More Psalter at the National
Museum of Ireland Conservation Department, for which he won the
Heritage Council of Ireland Conservation Award in 2010.

Co-sponsored by the Grolier Club, the New York Chapter of the Guild
of Book Workers, and the Conservation Center of the Institute of
Fine Arts NYU, with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Please RSVP to mbrennan<-at->grolierclub<.>org

Maria Fredericks
Drue Heinz Book Conservator
Thaw Conservation Center
The Morgan Library and Museum
225 Madison Avenue
New York NY 10016-3403
212-590-0379
Fax: 212-768-5673


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:40
                   Distributed: Sunday, March 6, 2016
                       Message Id: cdl-29-40-008
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