39 research outputs found
Paper Feature Extraction from Digital Images
Digital archives are very useful to readers. However, they do not give enough information, such as paper, ink, and pigment, to satisfy researchers of materials and conservators of the documents. In this research, we describe paper feature extraction, such as laid and chain line pattern, watermark, syanome pattern, and itame pattern from digital images of paper
An assessment of multimodal imaging of subsurface text in mummy cartonnage using surrogate papyrus phantoms
Ancient Egyptian mummies were often covered with an outer casing, panels and masks made from cartonnage: a lightweight material made from linen, plaster, and recycled papyrus held together with adhesive. Egyptologists, papyrologists, and historians aim to recover and read extant text on the papyrus contained within cartonnage layers, but some methods, such as dissolving mummy casings, are destructive. The use of an advanced range of different imaging modalities was investigated to test the feasibility of non-destructive approaches applied to multi-layered papyrus found in ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage. Eight different techniques were compared by imaging four synthetic phantoms designed to provide robust, well-understood, yet relevant sample standards using modern papyrus and replica inks. The techniques include optical (multispectral imaging with reflection and transillumination, and optical coherence tomography), X-ray (X-ray fluorescence imaging, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, X-ray micro computed tomography and phase contrast X-ray) and terahertz-based approaches. Optical imaging techniques were able to detect inks on all four phantoms, but were unable to significantly penetrate papyrus. X-ray-based techniques were sensitive to iron-based inks with excellent penetration but were not able to detect carbon-based inks. However, using terahertz imaging, it was possible to detect carbon-based inks with good penetration but with less sensitivity to iron-based inks. The phantoms allowed reliable and repeatable tests to be made at multiple sites on three continents. The tests demonstrated that each imaging modality needs to be optimised for this particular application: it is, in general, not sufficient to repurpose an existing device without modification. Furthermore, it is likely that no single imaging technique will to be able to robustly detect and enable the reading of text within ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage. However, by carefully selecting, optimising and combining techniques, text contained within these fragile and rare artefacts may eventually be open to non-destructive imaging, identification, and interpretation
The portrait drawings of Hans Holbein the Younger: function and use explored through materials and techniques
This thesis examines the materials and techniques of sixteenth century artist Hans Holbein the
Younger, with particular reference to his portrait drawings. The research reinstates the drawings
as the primary source-material for investigation, thereby demonstrating the link between the
materials and techniques chosen by Holbein, and the function or end-use of the drawings.
Although around one hundred Holbein portrait drawings survive, the focus of this research is the
eighteen that relate to currently attributed oil and miniature paintings. By focusing the research
in this manner, it is possible to establish how Holbein constructed and used the drawings in the
preparation of the finished oil painting. Furthermore, it explains how his choice and use of
materials and techniques can help to establish the original context and function of the drawings.
An important outcome of this research is a detailed description of the eighteen drawings that
relate to a painted portrait. Having developed an effective method of examining and describing
Holbeinâs drawings, this research provides a thorough analysis of the materials and techniques
used by him. This not only increases our understanding of his drawing processes, but also
broadens the limitations of traditional connoisseurship by offering a more accessible tool,
allowing objective visual analysis of an artistâs technique. This method of investigation can be
applied to drawings in a wider context of sixteenth century artistic production. Moreover, it can
also be used as a potential model for how to effectively âreadâ a drawing in order to better
understand its function and method of production. The results inform art historical and
conservation research.
A comprehensive, systematic visual examination of the drawings has helped to reveal new
information on Holbeinâs methods and materials, and offers insights into 16th century workshop
practice. In many cases examination has clarified the sequence in which the media was laid down.
Holbeinâs emphasis on the contours that define sittersâ features has been much disputed, and their
role, media, and application methods were unclear. What has previously been described as
metalpoint marks were discovered by the author to be indentations, which have become filled
with loose media, thereby giving the appearance of a drawn line. The indentations actually show
evidence of tracing of the salient lines that capture likeness for transfer. The research has also
revealed that red chalk was the preliminary media for defining features, and that Holbein
developed standardised techniques for rendering flesh tones, making the drawing process more
efficient. It is apparent that Holbein chose techniques to fulfill a particular role, and that there are
clear links between these techniques and their location on a drawing
The Neapolitan Presentation Manuscripts of Tinctorisâs Music Theory: Valencia 835 and Bologna 2573
Despite the scholarly attention that has rightly been paid to Universitat de València, Biblioteca Històrica, MS 835, and Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 2573, as crucially important textual sources for Tinctorisâs music theory, insufficient regard has so far been given to these two Neapolitan presentation manuscripts as historical artefacts that encode information about the priorities and concerns of those who brought them into existence. This thesis presents the first complete physical descriptions of these manuscripts, and employs detailed palaeographical, iconographical, and historical analysis to establish the likely circumstances of, and reasons for, their production. In the course of proposing identifications of the scribes and artists involved, analysing in fine detail their sequences of preparation, considering the organisational structure articulated by the decorated initials, interpreting the iconography of the portrait miniature on the frontispiece of Valencia 835, and marshalling complex heraldic evidence, many other Neapolitan manuscripts are brought into discussion. By analysing and contextualising Valencia 835 and Bologna 2573, therefore, the thesis functions also as a significant contribution to anglophone scholarship on the wider output of the Neapolitan scriptorium in the late fifteenth century.
A newly enriched account is proposed of Tinctorisâs arrival and period of employment in Naples, and of his and the wider courtâs involvement in the preparation of music theory manuscripts as instruments of political expression. This thesis, therefore, offers a re-appraisal of the genesis and later history of these two high-value music theory manuscripts. By presenting detailed codicological analysis and using it to construct and reshape historical narratives, it also provides a firm basis for future scholarly investigation into Tinctoris and music theory within the intellectual, cultural, and political climate of late fifteenth-century Italy
A 'philosophical storehouse': the life and afterlife of the Royal Society's repository
PhDIn June 1781, the Royal Societyâs repository was transferred to the British
Museum. Though ostensibly as a result of the limited space in the Royal Societyâs
purpose-built accommodation at Somerset House, the Society were perhaps also a
little relieved to relinquish a collection that had proved to be somewhat burdensome
during its residence at the Society and which was frequently criticised for its decaying
specimens, broken items and missing, possibly stolen, objects. However this seems to
be only part of the story. Drawing upon manuscript material in the Royal Society and
the British Library, this study will examine the repositoryâs pattern of usage,
collecting strategies and intellectual output throughout its life, in addition to exploring
its afterlife at the British Museum using the British Museumâs, Royal College of
Surgeonâs and Natural History Museumâs extensive archives. This thesis will seek to
reveal an alternative account of the Royal Societyâs repository arguing that it was
comprised of a substantial and significant collection that the British Museum, at least
initially, appears to have been grateful to receive and which, periodically, played a
central role in the Societyâs and naturalists' work