(by Amulya Shrestha, Engineering Student)

The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore was one of the first museums to implement an art conservation program. Last Thursday, the SCIART team received a behind-the-scenes tour of the art conservation labs there and discussed our ideas with the conservators.

We started the tour by learning about the history of the Walters Museum. We were introduced to Dr. Glenn Gates, one of the conservation scientists, who gave us a tour of his lab. There we saw the equipment used to perform the analysis of the different artworks. The lab consisted of an x-ray fluorescence imaging machine which allows you to meticulously examine the image of the different materials used on the artwork.

We were then allowed to to examine different artworks such as Japanese sword guards (tsuba), the elopment of Helen of Troy, and the ancient artifacts from the Aztecs. We also visited three additional labs where the art conservation and restoration took place. The paintings conservation lab contained one of a set of three paintings of the elopment of Helen of Troy, they were able to use infrared and ultraviolet imaging analysis to analyze how the painting was constructed in order to use the proper restoration techniques.

The book and paper conservation lab showed us the different gels and techniques used to conserve historic books that were written on parchment paper. The object conservation lab showed us how ultraviolet imaging can be used to observe below the surface or the paint. The trip was then summarized with a presentation by the conservator on the projects they are currently working on. One such project was analyzing the scratches on Macuilxochitl, the god of gambling and another was the originality of the rays emitting from a painting of the Madonna. We also got a chance to discuss the constraints and the design of the resistance temperature detector sensor with experts including Dr. Terry Weisser.

Currently in our research, we are working on designing the resistance temperature detector on a 3-D modeling program called solid works. We have also been working on the signal conditioning circuit design to ensure that the proper signal is propagated to the micro-controller for data analysis. We have also been doing literature review for the different scholarly articles we read on fabrication and characterization of the temperature sensor, signal conditioning circuits for temperature sensors, wireless signal acquisition and processing, and temperature and humidity monitoring in museums to further our knowledge on art conservation.