Yana van Dyke | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (original) (raw)

Papers by Yana van Dyke

Research paper thumbnail of Practical Applications of Protease Enzymes in Paper Conservation

Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of ... more Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of works of art. Most commonly, hydrolase-type enzymes are employed in the conservation of works on paper to assist in the breakdown of adhesive residues from previous restorations or to facilitate the removal of secondary supports such as linings or mounts. The principal advantages of these enzymes are their specificity and efficiency in catalyzing hydrolytic cleavage of polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. The author evaluates the effectiveness of two protease enzymes while taking into consideration cost-effectiveness, optimal working conditions, and after treatment effects. The fruition of this research was realized in the successful conservation treatment of an Indian miniature utilizing the protease enzyme trypsin incorporated into an agarose gel. The conservation treatment of this item is discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of A Technical Study of a 17th-Century Manuscript of Muḥammad Bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī’s Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt

Journal of Islamic manuscripts, Nov 11, 2021

In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), ... more In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), acquired an Islamic prayer book, the Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt by Muḥammad bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī. This paper discusses the findings of a technical study undertaken in the museum’s Sherman Fairchild Center for the Conservation of Works of Art on Paper, focusing on the materials and techniques of one manuscript acquisition specifically, MMA 2017.301. The nature, properties, and characteristics of the text block paper, fiber and pigment identification, chemical compositions, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms within the palette are described. The colophon at the end of the manuscript mentions a patron, Sīdī Aḥmad b. Dirham al-Mālikī and identifies its calligrapher as Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān al-Riyāḥī and confirms its creation date as AH 1035/1625–1626 AD.1

Research paper thumbnail of The shape of a Gaussian mixture is characterized by the probability density of the distance between two samples

Let x be a random variable with density ρ(x) taking values in R. We are interested in finding a r... more Let x be a random variable with density ρ(x) taking values in R. We are interested in finding a representation for the shape of ρ(x), i.e. for the orbit {ρ(g ·x)|g ∈ E(d)} of ρ under the Euclidean group. Let x1 and x2 be two random samples picked, independently, following ρ(x), and let ∆ be the squared Euclidean distance between x1 and x2. We show, if ρ(x) is a mixture of Gaussians whose covariance matrix is the identity, and if the means of the Gaussians are in generic position, then the density ρ(x) is reconstructible, up to a rigid motion in E(d), from the density of ∆. In other words, any two such Gaussian mixtures ρ(x) and ρ̄(x) with the same distribution of distances are guaranteed to be related by a rigid motion g ∈ E(d) as ρ(x) = ρ̄(g · x). We also show that a similar result holds when the distance is defined by a symmetric bilinear form.

Research paper thumbnail of Practical Applications of Protease Enzymes in Paper Conservation

Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of ... more Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of works of art. Most commonly, hydrolase-type enzymes are employed in the conservation of works on paper to assist in the breakdown of adhesive residues from previous restorations or to facilitate the removal of secondary supports such as linings or mounts. The principal advantages of these enzymes are their specificity and efficiency in catalyzing hydrolytic cleavage of polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. The author evaluates the effectiveness of two protease enzymes while taking into consideration cost effectiveness, optimal working conditions, and aftertreatment effects. The fruition of this research was realized in the successful conservation treatment of an Indian miniature utilizing the protease enzyme trypsin incorporated into an agarose gel. The conservation treatment of this item is discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of Old Methods in a New Era: What can Connoisseurship Tell us about Rukn-Ud-Din?

A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture, 2012

Page 256. 10 Old Methods in a New Era: What Can Connoisseurship Tell Us about Rukn-ud-din? ... Se... more Page 256. 10 Old Methods in a New Era: What Can Connoisseurship Tell Us about Rukn-ud-din? ... Several of the pictures examined in this essay bear shorthand inscriptions that appear to identify them as Rukn-ud-din's. Others are uninscribed. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Sacred Leaves: The Conservation and Exhibition of Early Buddhist Manuscripts on Palm Leaves

Illustrated Buddhist manuscripts of South Asia are books that were produced in abundance througho... more Illustrated Buddhist manuscripts of South Asia are books that were produced in abundance throughout the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. These illustrated Buddhist books are monastic products transcribing Buddhist sutras, and nearly all of the manuscripts in existence cite the Ashtasahashrika Prajnaparamita or The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Leidy 2008, 137), one of the most important and earliest Mahayana texts put down in writing as early as the second century B.C.E. This vast body of literature referred to as the Prajnaparamita is essentially a compilation of philosophical and metaphysical teachings on the nature of reality and the universe. The basic premise is a radical non-dualism, in which every and any dichotomist way of seeing things is denied, so phenomena are neither existent, nor non-existent, but are marked by sunyata, emptiness, and an absence of any essential unchanging nature. The sacred character of the manuscripts is revealed not only in the writ...

Research paper thumbnail of A Technical Study of a 17th-Century Manuscript of Muḥammad Bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī’s Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt

Journal of Islamic Manuscripts

In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), ... more In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), acquired an Islamic prayer book, the Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt by Muḥammad bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī. This paper discusses the findings of a technical study undertaken in the museum’s Sherman Fairchild Center for the Conservation of Works of Art on Paper, focusing on the materials and techniques of one manuscript acquisition specifically, MMA 2017.301. The nature, properties, and characteristics of the text block paper, fiber and pigment identification, chemical compositions, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms within the palette are described. The colophon at the end of the manuscript mentions a patron, Sīdī Aḥmad b. Dirham al-Mālikī and identifies its calligrapher as Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān al-Riyāḥī and confirms its creation date as AH 1035/1625–1626 AD.1

Research paper thumbnail of On the formation of hörnesite in a Fatimid manuscript folio

Heritage Science

A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white cryst... more A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white crystals associated with the orange-brown and yellow paints. Raman spectroscopy identified a mixture of arsenic sulfide-based pigments in the orange-brown and yellow areas, along with vermilion in the outlines of the figures. X-ray microdiffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry identified the white crystals as hörnesite [Mg 3 (AsO 4) 2 •8H 2 O]. Synthesis of this compound at ambient temperature and elevated relative humidity over a period of 3 years, on paper painted with arsenic sulfide pigments and treated with magnesium carbonate, suggests the possibility that a magnesium-based deacidification treatment may have contributed to the formation of this phase on the folio fragment. This work highlights the potential damage that may be sustained by arsenic sulfide-based media through exposure to deacidifying suspensions such as the ones often used in the past to treat works of art on paper and historic documents.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Formation of hornesite in a Fatamid manuscript folio

Heritage Science, 2018

A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white cryst... more A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white crystals associated with the orange-brown and yellow paints. Raman spectroscopy identified a mixture of arsenic sulfide-based pigments in the orange-brown and yellow areas, along with vermilion in the outlines of the figures. X-ray microdiffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry identified the white crystals as hörnesite [Mg3(AsO4)2·8H2O]. Synthesis of this compound at ambient temperature and elevated relative humidity over a period of 3 years, on paper painted with arsenic sulfide pigments and treated with magnesium carbonate, suggests the possibility that a magnesium-based deacidification treatment may have contributed to the formation of this phase on the folio fragment. This work highlights the potential damage that may be sustained by arsenic sulfide-based media through exposure to deacidifying suspensions such as the ones often used in the past to treat works of art on paper and historic documents.

Research paper thumbnail of Old Methods in a New Era: What Can Connoisseurship Tell Us about Rukn-ud-Din?

A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Casting Light on the Surface, Scientific Exactitude Meets Poetic Inspiration

Hand Papermaking , 2012

A close look at six master works of art on paper from the Islamic Art collection of The Metropoli... more A close look at six master works of art on paper from the Islamic Art collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Research paper thumbnail of Practical Applications of Protease Enzymes in Paper Conservation

The Book and Paper Group Annual AIC, 2005

Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of ... more Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of works of art. Most commonly, hydrolase-type enzymes are employed in the conservation of works on paper to assist in the breakdown of adhesive residues from previous restorations or to facilitate the removal of secondary supports such as linings or mounts. The principal advantages of these enzymes are their specificity and efficiency in catalyzing hydrolytic cleavage of polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. The author evaluates the effectiveness
of two protease enzymes while taking into consideration cost-effectiveness, optimal working conditions, and after treatment effects. The fruition of this research was realized in the successful conservation treatment of an Indian miniature utilizing the protease enzyme trypsin incorporated into an agarose gel. The conservation treatment of
this item is discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of Preserving the Spirit Within: Bringing Twenty-Five Tibetan Initiation Cards into the 21st Century

The Book and Paper Group Annual AIC, 2015

This paper discusses the history and rarity of twenty-five fifteenth-century Tibetan Initiation c... more This paper discusses the history and rarity of twenty-five
fifteenth-century Tibetan Initiation cards; their methods of
manufacture as supported by an in-depth examination and
analysis; the development and implementation of a complex
conservation treatment plan designed to incorporate sensitivities
towards the objects’ sacred function, select specific
materials used in the conservation treatment, address former
inappropriate restoration campaigns, achieve aesthetic coherence
between three conservators treating twenty-five cards;
and identify the advantages and disadvantages of using a
web-based forum to convey a multifaceted decision-making
process to the public.

Research paper thumbnail of Sacred Leaves: The Conservation and Exhibition of Early Buddhist Manuscripts on Palm Leaves

During the summer of 2007, a collection numbering over a thousand leaves of rare and important In... more During the summer of 2007, a collection numbering over a thousand leaves of rare and important Indian paintings on palm leaf and paper were rediscovered during a renovation and storage relocation project within The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Asian Art Department. The first exhibition, in a series of permanent collection rotations, focused on a remarkable select group of forty-five early palm leaves that cite the Buddhist Sutra of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahashrika Prajnaparamita).
Historic evolution of the structure, the sacred ceremonial functionality and utility of the manuscript traditions, and technical background, material composition, support preparation, painting techniques, pigment analysis, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms of both the support and media will be examined and described. Conservation treatment materials and procedures such as structural stabilization of the aged palm leaf, including ethical considerations in compensation and reintegration of design, mounting, housing, display and storage; topics pertaining to the care and understanding of these early Indian paintings on palm leaf will be discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of Characterization of Bistre Pigment Samples by FTIR, SERS, Py-GC/MS and XRF

MRS Proceedings, 2014

ABSTRACT A combination of FTIR, normal Raman, SERS, Py-GC/MS and XRF was used to analyze commerci... more ABSTRACT A combination of FTIR, normal Raman, SERS, Py-GC/MS and XRF was used to analyze commercial bistre samples to determine specific biomarkers that will allow for a rapid identification of the pigment in works of art. The results of the XRF analysis showed that potassium, calcium and iron are the main elements present. Characteristic bands belonging to phenolic components of lignin were observed in the FTIR spectra. The SERS analysis provided a fingerprint that may originate in the polymerization of the phenolic components catalyzed by the presence of the nanostructured silver surface under alkaline conditions. The Py-GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of lignin and cellulose biomarkers and a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The similarities observed between the commercial samples studied suggest that both originate in the same raw material, hardwood. The results demonstrate the potential of the multi-technique approach used for the characterization of this complex black-brown pigment.

Research paper thumbnail of Practical Applications of Protease Enzymes in Paper Conservation

Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of ... more Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of works of art. Most commonly, hydrolase-type enzymes are employed in the conservation of works on paper to assist in the breakdown of adhesive residues from previous restorations or to facilitate the removal of secondary supports such as linings or mounts. The principal advantages of these enzymes are their specificity and efficiency in catalyzing hydrolytic cleavage of polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. The author evaluates the effectiveness of two protease enzymes while taking into consideration cost-effectiveness, optimal working conditions, and after treatment effects. The fruition of this research was realized in the successful conservation treatment of an Indian miniature utilizing the protease enzyme trypsin incorporated into an agarose gel. The conservation treatment of this item is discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of A Technical Study of a 17th-Century Manuscript of Muḥammad Bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī’s Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt

Journal of Islamic manuscripts, Nov 11, 2021

In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), ... more In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), acquired an Islamic prayer book, the Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt by Muḥammad bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī. This paper discusses the findings of a technical study undertaken in the museum’s Sherman Fairchild Center for the Conservation of Works of Art on Paper, focusing on the materials and techniques of one manuscript acquisition specifically, MMA 2017.301. The nature, properties, and characteristics of the text block paper, fiber and pigment identification, chemical compositions, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms within the palette are described. The colophon at the end of the manuscript mentions a patron, Sīdī Aḥmad b. Dirham al-Mālikī and identifies its calligrapher as Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān al-Riyāḥī and confirms its creation date as AH 1035/1625–1626 AD.1

Research paper thumbnail of The shape of a Gaussian mixture is characterized by the probability density of the distance between two samples

Let x be a random variable with density ρ(x) taking values in R. We are interested in finding a r... more Let x be a random variable with density ρ(x) taking values in R. We are interested in finding a representation for the shape of ρ(x), i.e. for the orbit {ρ(g ·x)|g ∈ E(d)} of ρ under the Euclidean group. Let x1 and x2 be two random samples picked, independently, following ρ(x), and let ∆ be the squared Euclidean distance between x1 and x2. We show, if ρ(x) is a mixture of Gaussians whose covariance matrix is the identity, and if the means of the Gaussians are in generic position, then the density ρ(x) is reconstructible, up to a rigid motion in E(d), from the density of ∆. In other words, any two such Gaussian mixtures ρ(x) and ρ̄(x) with the same distribution of distances are guaranteed to be related by a rigid motion g ∈ E(d) as ρ(x) = ρ̄(g · x). We also show that a similar result holds when the distance is defined by a symmetric bilinear form.

Research paper thumbnail of Practical Applications of Protease Enzymes in Paper Conservation

Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of ... more Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of works of art. Most commonly, hydrolase-type enzymes are employed in the conservation of works on paper to assist in the breakdown of adhesive residues from previous restorations or to facilitate the removal of secondary supports such as linings or mounts. The principal advantages of these enzymes are their specificity and efficiency in catalyzing hydrolytic cleavage of polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. The author evaluates the effectiveness of two protease enzymes while taking into consideration cost effectiveness, optimal working conditions, and aftertreatment effects. The fruition of this research was realized in the successful conservation treatment of an Indian miniature utilizing the protease enzyme trypsin incorporated into an agarose gel. The conservation treatment of this item is discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of Old Methods in a New Era: What can Connoisseurship Tell us about Rukn-Ud-Din?

A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture, 2012

Page 256. 10 Old Methods in a New Era: What Can Connoisseurship Tell Us about Rukn-ud-din? ... Se... more Page 256. 10 Old Methods in a New Era: What Can Connoisseurship Tell Us about Rukn-ud-din? ... Several of the pictures examined in this essay bear shorthand inscriptions that appear to identify them as Rukn-ud-din's. Others are uninscribed. ...

Research paper thumbnail of Sacred Leaves: The Conservation and Exhibition of Early Buddhist Manuscripts on Palm Leaves

Illustrated Buddhist manuscripts of South Asia are books that were produced in abundance througho... more Illustrated Buddhist manuscripts of South Asia are books that were produced in abundance throughout the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. These illustrated Buddhist books are monastic products transcribing Buddhist sutras, and nearly all of the manuscripts in existence cite the Ashtasahashrika Prajnaparamita or The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Leidy 2008, 137), one of the most important and earliest Mahayana texts put down in writing as early as the second century B.C.E. This vast body of literature referred to as the Prajnaparamita is essentially a compilation of philosophical and metaphysical teachings on the nature of reality and the universe. The basic premise is a radical non-dualism, in which every and any dichotomist way of seeing things is denied, so phenomena are neither existent, nor non-existent, but are marked by sunyata, emptiness, and an absence of any essential unchanging nature. The sacred character of the manuscripts is revealed not only in the writ...

Research paper thumbnail of A Technical Study of a 17th-Century Manuscript of Muḥammad Bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī’s Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt

Journal of Islamic Manuscripts

In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), ... more In the spring of 2017, the Islamic Art Department, within The Metropolitan Museum of Art (TMMA), acquired an Islamic prayer book, the Dalāʾil al-Khayrāt by Muḥammad bin Sulaymān al-Jazūlī. This paper discusses the findings of a technical study undertaken in the museum’s Sherman Fairchild Center for the Conservation of Works of Art on Paper, focusing on the materials and techniques of one manuscript acquisition specifically, MMA 2017.301. The nature, properties, and characteristics of the text block paper, fiber and pigment identification, chemical compositions, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms within the palette are described. The colophon at the end of the manuscript mentions a patron, Sīdī Aḥmad b. Dirham al-Mālikī and identifies its calligrapher as Muḥammad bin Aḥmad bin ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān al-Riyāḥī and confirms its creation date as AH 1035/1625–1626 AD.1

Research paper thumbnail of On the formation of hörnesite in a Fatimid manuscript folio

Heritage Science

A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white cryst... more A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white crystals associated with the orange-brown and yellow paints. Raman spectroscopy identified a mixture of arsenic sulfide-based pigments in the orange-brown and yellow areas, along with vermilion in the outlines of the figures. X-ray microdiffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry identified the white crystals as hörnesite [Mg 3 (AsO 4) 2 •8H 2 O]. Synthesis of this compound at ambient temperature and elevated relative humidity over a period of 3 years, on paper painted with arsenic sulfide pigments and treated with magnesium carbonate, suggests the possibility that a magnesium-based deacidification treatment may have contributed to the formation of this phase on the folio fragment. This work highlights the potential damage that may be sustained by arsenic sulfide-based media through exposure to deacidifying suspensions such as the ones often used in the past to treat works of art on paper and historic documents.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Formation of hornesite in a Fatamid manuscript folio

Heritage Science, 2018

A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white cryst... more A folio fragment attributed to the Fatimid period in Egypt was found to bear tufts of white crystals associated with the orange-brown and yellow paints. Raman spectroscopy identified a mixture of arsenic sulfide-based pigments in the orange-brown and yellow areas, along with vermilion in the outlines of the figures. X-ray microdiffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry identified the white crystals as hörnesite [Mg3(AsO4)2·8H2O]. Synthesis of this compound at ambient temperature and elevated relative humidity over a period of 3 years, on paper painted with arsenic sulfide pigments and treated with magnesium carbonate, suggests the possibility that a magnesium-based deacidification treatment may have contributed to the formation of this phase on the folio fragment. This work highlights the potential damage that may be sustained by arsenic sulfide-based media through exposure to deacidifying suspensions such as the ones often used in the past to treat works of art on paper and historic documents.

Research paper thumbnail of Old Methods in a New Era: What Can Connoisseurship Tell Us about Rukn-ud-Din?

A Companion to Asian Art and Architecture, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Casting Light on the Surface, Scientific Exactitude Meets Poetic Inspiration

Hand Papermaking , 2012

A close look at six master works of art on paper from the Islamic Art collection of The Metropoli... more A close look at six master works of art on paper from the Islamic Art collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Research paper thumbnail of Practical Applications of Protease Enzymes in Paper Conservation

The Book and Paper Group Annual AIC, 2005

Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of ... more Paper conservators have long recognized the benefits of enzymes in the conservation treatment of works of art. Most commonly, hydrolase-type enzymes are employed in the conservation of works on paper to assist in the breakdown of adhesive residues from previous restorations or to facilitate the removal of secondary supports such as linings or mounts. The principal advantages of these enzymes are their specificity and efficiency in catalyzing hydrolytic cleavage of polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. The author evaluates the effectiveness
of two protease enzymes while taking into consideration cost-effectiveness, optimal working conditions, and after treatment effects. The fruition of this research was realized in the successful conservation treatment of an Indian miniature utilizing the protease enzyme trypsin incorporated into an agarose gel. The conservation treatment of
this item is discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of Preserving the Spirit Within: Bringing Twenty-Five Tibetan Initiation Cards into the 21st Century

The Book and Paper Group Annual AIC, 2015

This paper discusses the history and rarity of twenty-five fifteenth-century Tibetan Initiation c... more This paper discusses the history and rarity of twenty-five
fifteenth-century Tibetan Initiation cards; their methods of
manufacture as supported by an in-depth examination and
analysis; the development and implementation of a complex
conservation treatment plan designed to incorporate sensitivities
towards the objects’ sacred function, select specific
materials used in the conservation treatment, address former
inappropriate restoration campaigns, achieve aesthetic coherence
between three conservators treating twenty-five cards;
and identify the advantages and disadvantages of using a
web-based forum to convey a multifaceted decision-making
process to the public.

Research paper thumbnail of Sacred Leaves: The Conservation and Exhibition of Early Buddhist Manuscripts on Palm Leaves

During the summer of 2007, a collection numbering over a thousand leaves of rare and important In... more During the summer of 2007, a collection numbering over a thousand leaves of rare and important Indian paintings on palm leaf and paper were rediscovered during a renovation and storage relocation project within The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Asian Art Department. The first exhibition, in a series of permanent collection rotations, focused on a remarkable select group of forty-five early palm leaves that cite the Buddhist Sutra of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahashrika Prajnaparamita).
Historic evolution of the structure, the sacred ceremonial functionality and utility of the manuscript traditions, and technical background, material composition, support preparation, painting techniques, pigment analysis, condition assessment, and inherent deterioration mechanisms of both the support and media will be examined and described. Conservation treatment materials and procedures such as structural stabilization of the aged palm leaf, including ethical considerations in compensation and reintegration of design, mounting, housing, display and storage; topics pertaining to the care and understanding of these early Indian paintings on palm leaf will be discussed in detail.

Research paper thumbnail of Characterization of Bistre Pigment Samples by FTIR, SERS, Py-GC/MS and XRF

MRS Proceedings, 2014

ABSTRACT A combination of FTIR, normal Raman, SERS, Py-GC/MS and XRF was used to analyze commerci... more ABSTRACT A combination of FTIR, normal Raman, SERS, Py-GC/MS and XRF was used to analyze commercial bistre samples to determine specific biomarkers that will allow for a rapid identification of the pigment in works of art. The results of the XRF analysis showed that potassium, calcium and iron are the main elements present. Characteristic bands belonging to phenolic components of lignin were observed in the FTIR spectra. The SERS analysis provided a fingerprint that may originate in the polymerization of the phenolic components catalyzed by the presence of the nanostructured silver surface under alkaline conditions. The Py-GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of lignin and cellulose biomarkers and a series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The similarities observed between the commercial samples studied suggest that both originate in the same raw material, hardwood. The results demonstrate the potential of the multi-technique approach used for the characterization of this complex black-brown pigment.