In this blog Kim Roche, MSDS Marine Conservator, reviews Metal 2019: the interim meeting of the Metals Working Group of the International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) .
On 2-6 September 2019, the Metals Working Group of the International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) held their interim meeting, Metal 2019, in Neuchatel, Switzerland hosted by the conservation-restoration training programme at Haute Ecole Arc (HE-Arc CR). 269 delegates representing 34 countries attended the triennial conference. Sessions on technical studies, analytical investigations, preventive conservation, corrosion studies, corrosion inhibitors, protective coatings, development of conservation practices, conservation treatments, composite objects, and modern metals were delivered over five days. The subject material covered decorative, sculptural, structural, and archaeological metals offering something of interest to every specialist in attendance. The conference also provided a forum for young conservation professionals (YCPs) to present their research and had a substantial and impressive range of poster presentations.
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- Figure 1. Metal 2019 Delegates at HE-Arc CR in Neuchatel (credit HE-Arc CR)
As an archaeological conservator specialising in marine artefacts, there were a number of papers directly relevant to my work on the Rooswijk excavation. Tamar Davidowitz from the Rijksmuseum presented on the re-treatment and analysis of the Hartog Plate, a historic Dutch East India Company artefact, in advance of its 400th anniversary.[1] Two papers, led by Blanca Ramirez Barat and David Thickett, examined commonly used acrylic and wax coatings for metal objects and evaluated their performance and conferred protection.[2],[3] Akinobu Yanagida delivered a thorough reporting of materials, techniques, and corrosion rates from reburial trials of marine iron.[4] Magali Brunet examined the metallurgy of aluminium alloys from an aviation context and their respective corrosion pathways.[5] Additionally, there were several presentations from conservators working on other notable shipwreck excavations – Will Hoffman and Laurie King on dry-ice blast cleaning artefacts from the USS Monitor, Johanna Rivera on deconcreting the H.L. Hunley, Paul Mardikian presented 3 case studies of composite artefacts from different underwater sites, and Vasilike Argyropoulos on marine composite swords.[6],[7],[8],[9] Highlights from each day of the conference, with selected slides from the presentations, can be found here.
Of particular interest were the number of presentations applying electrochemical techniques to corrosion studies, artefact treatments, and assessment of protection systems such as coatings and corrosion inhibitors. The applications of electrochemical techniques in the conservation sector have been expanding in recent years as evidenced by the breadth of studies at the conference. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used by Ramirez Barat to evaluate the performance of different coatings on copper alloy and iron surfaces. Hoffman, Rivera, and Mardikian discussed their respective applications of electrolysis and cathodic protection during treatment of marine metals.[10]
The full programme of papers and posters can be found here.
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- Figure 2. Cardiff University Department of Conservation Alumni and Faculty at Metal 2019 (from left: Johanna Thunberg, Laurie King, David Watkinson, Nicola Emmerson, Peter Meehan, Kim Roche, Jerrod Seifert, and Sarah James)
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- Figure 3. With Nicola Emmerson (left) touring one of Le Corbusier’s villas in La Chaux-de-Fonds
On Wednesday, 7 off-site visits were offered to nearby museums and cultural attractions – again covering a diverse range of subject matter from Art Nouveau architecture to the Charles Renaud Car Museum. I elected to join the walking tour in nearby La Chaux-de-Fonds to view Le Corbusier’s early villas. Fortunately, the weather was spectacular that day, and it served as a nice break from the presentations. Other events in the conference’s social programme included a tour of the HE-Arc CR laboratories and a poster session in the beautiful Neuchatel Town Hall.
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- Figure 4. With fellow marine archaeological conservators at the Farewell Reception (clockwise from bottom left: Anna Funke – Warren Lasch Conservation Center, Kate Morrand – US Navy Underwater Archaeology Conservation Lab, Will Hoffman – The Mariners’ Museum and Park, Laurie King – The Mariners’ Museum and Park, Kim Roche, and Johanna Rivera – Warren Lasch Conservation Center)
I was very impressed by the content and quality of the research presented and felt that they accurately represented the trends and priorities of the sector. Conserving marine metals is a niche subject within conservation, and conferences like Metal 2019 provide an excellent platform to exchange ideas and research. Whether to discuss a treatment conundrum I’ve experienced with a recent artefact (those tricky composites) or to lay the foundation for future collaboration, the conference served as a useful tool for my professional development and has immediately contributed to treatment decisions being made back home in the lab. The quick output of the conference proceedings greatly facilitates this dissemination as well. Upon my return home, I was able to swiftly share the proceedings with my colleagues and discuss relevant topics further with them.
Special thanks to the Anna Plowden Trust and Clothworkers’ Foundation for the funding that enabled me to attend this conference and to the Metal 2019 Steering Committee – Christian Degrigny (Program Chair), Laura Brambilla, and Edith Joseph – and Metals Working Group Coordinator Claudia Chemello for organising the event.
[1] Davidowitz, T. et al. 2019. Conservation and examination of an iconic 17th-century pewter object: The Hartog Plate’s history revealed through synchrotron analysis. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 108-116. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[2] Ramirez Barat, B., Letardi, P. and Cano, E. 2019. An overview of the use of EIS measurements for the assessment of patinas and coatings in the conservation of metallic cultural heritage. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 83-91. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[3] Thickett, D. and Stanley, B. 2019. The use and mis-use of Renaissance Wax. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 232-240. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[4] Yanagida, A. et al. 2019. Effect of reburial conditions on the corrosion of marine iron artifacts. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 185-192. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[5] Brunet, M. et al. 2019. Preserving aviation heritage: The need for an approach based on materials analysis. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 425-432. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[6] Hoffman, W. and King, L. 2019. Equipment identification and the development of dry-ice blasting parameters for cleaning archaeological wrought iron, copper alloys, and gray cast iron. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 265-272. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[7] Rivera, J. et al. 2019. Revealing the H.L. Hunley: The strategic planning and deconcretion process of an American Civil War submarine. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 338-344. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[8] Mardikian, P. 2019. Challenges and solutions for conserving non-separable marine archaeological composite objects. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 346-353. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[9] Argyropoulos, V., Papanikou, A.-A., and Mardikian, P. 2019. Conservation treatment and stabilisation of marine composite medieval swords from Rhodes, Greece, using ammonium hydroxide solutions. Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. pp. 354-360. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
[10] Hoffman, W. and McGath, M.K. 2019. A project with potential: Evaluating a new monitoring system for artifacts undergoing electrochemical treatment (poster). Metal 2019: Proceedings of the Interim Meeting of the ICOM-CC Metal Working Group, Neuchatel, Switzerland 2-6 September 2019. p. 445. Neuchatel: ICOM-CC and HE-Arc CR.
