Sri Harmandar Saheb Ji
Namita Jaspal Wall paintings: Tough decision making Beautiful wall paintings of sacred Sri Harmandar Saheb Ji were flaking off and crumbling when a professional advice was at last sought in 2013. Till 2013, these paintings were retouched or repaired by random staff or artists. They would just touch up the white areas left by flaked off paint. More damaging has been such touch up over … Continue reading Sri Harmandar Saheb Ji
Sikh Art- Sri Harmandar Saheb Ji
Sikh art developed around middle of nineteenth century. It has borrowed extensively from Hindu and Muslim traditions and art forms but depicted them in their own way and in a new setting. Not much research has been done on this highly developed form of art which has its own class. I know of very few references and one PhD thesis on the art work of … Continue reading Sikh Art- Sri Harmandar Saheb Ji
Vice Regal Dining Car, Restoration Project and a scene from ‘Ki and Ka’
Earning sheer Joy out of work!! Continue reading Vice Regal Dining Car, Restoration Project and a scene from ‘Ki and Ka’
Vice Regal Dining Conservation
The vice regal dinning car built by Ajmer workshops of the BB & CIR (Bombay, Baroda and central India railway) in the year 1889 is juxtaposing the luxurious special rail carriage used by the Viceroy of India then during his travel around the country. This wooden bodied dinning car was part of a five-car Vice regal train. The car bears a striking white enamel finish. … Continue reading Vice Regal Dining Conservation
Patiala Monorail Restoration
It was a unique experience restoring the monorail at National Rail Museum in 2013. Not only the structure was restored, it was made functional too and we all took a ride on the day of inauguration. Continue reading Patiala Monorail Restoration
Old Research on Paper infecting Microbes
Namita Jaspal Some two decades back, (i) was not so good and patient with writing stuff, but the study and research that i pursued was unique and real hard work. That time, was not keen on getting pictures of myself clicked, so not much of Pictorial/Photographic record. A part of my independent research was later published in 2002 when i presented it in a conference. … Continue reading Old Research on Paper infecting Microbes
Cracks in a canvas painting due to Fungal growth
Cracks in the paint layer are a usual observation in case of Oil on Canvas paintings. They are generally due to ageing and the oil content and composition. This particular video discusses an unusual case where the cracks are mainly localized to the region that revealed many fungal colonies at the back of the canvas. Continue reading Cracks in a canvas painting due to Fungal growth
Mending
While preserving old acidic and brittle paper, we come accross torn areas that need transparency in the mending material used because of the text or illustrations, and there are torn areas like corners or edges where transparency is not required as much as the strength to bear handling.. We have perfect solutions for both.. Continue reading Mending
Conservation of a Janam Saakhi
Janam Saakhi is basically the story of life of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. This particular Janam Saakhi that we treated in our lab seems to be from eighteenth century copy hand written and illustrated by a very interesting artist with his style imprint spread all over the paintings. We at Heritage Preservation atelier have some interesting details from the observations during assessment of condition of … Continue reading Conservation of a Janam Saakhi
A little video record of condition and treatment plan…
Types of Records we keep of Conservation Projects
We at Heritage Preservation Atelier, keep detailed records (paper documentation and video clips) of condition and treatment of the collection or objects. Following pictures are about records of a Photograph Conservation Project: Following is an example of one informal video clip. Continue reading Types of Records we keep of Conservation Projects
Chola Saheb Ji: Bandi Chhod
Conservation of an object that is an integral part of the culture of a village and is a pride possession of the villagers who have protected it for centuries, calls for a lot many additional considerations in decision making for conservation methodology. Conservation of such object of faith requires involvement of community and religious bodies for decision making at various stages. It is a challenge … Continue reading Chola Saheb Ji: Bandi Chhod
Open and healthy discussions are fun and Welcome
Transparency about the treatment procedures is what we strive for. But, this is not always so easy when you are sharing info with people who are trying to judge without paying attention to the details of the science and many interrelated issues. At times we do come across people and teams that are more curious and keen to learn without any bias. Here , discussions … Continue reading Open and healthy discussions are fun and Welcome
Snippet from a discussion on textile conservation
Lab-work for on-site project
Namita Jaspal At first look, one finds damaged, broken tile work and might think of replacing the broken tiles. But, on closer examination and assessment, we find that the broken tiles cannot be taken out without damaging the strength of the mosaic pattern and the structure. So, we had to look out for some in-situ strengthening methodology that would consolidate the structure while restoring the … Continue reading Lab-work for on-site project
Panj Mandir: Another example from bygone era speaking of oneness, co-existence, love and mutual respect
This monument, a temple and the paintings adorning the walls … hundreds of years old…. These are non-living, but full of life. They speak of the love, respect, tolerance, peace, humility and most of all co-existence of different faiths or should we say different chapters of the (ultimate) faith. How, with time, we travel into the diverging paths, and not only forget the core of … Continue reading Panj Mandir: Another example from bygone era speaking of oneness, co-existence, love and mutual respect
Krishna Temple :Beauty of what is left
Very gratifying experience conserving these mesmerizing paintings from nineteenth century…….. Continue reading Krishna Temple :Beauty of what is left
CONSERVATION OF MUGHAL SARAI, DORAHA: Tile Work
Namita Jaspal Tile work at the gates of Mughal Sarai, Doraha, are quite unique in their make. They seem to be made with a technique that was popularly known as Kashi work. Kashi work consists of a layer of glass spread on a hard kind of plaster; sometimes on a material porcelaneous in structure. The glass was found to be an ordinary silicate colored by … Continue reading CONSERVATION OF MUGHAL SARAI, DORAHA: Tile Work
Conservation Science is a unique combination of Art, Technology, History and Science…
Art and Heritage conservators, work on various kinds of materials. Surfaces like lime mortar, paper, fabric, canvas, wood, metal etc. We use technology to study the properties of the material, their deterioration and ageing, protection, cleaning and curative treatments. We are at times involved in unique decision making situations where we have to do conservation of a faith and intangible cultural heritage rather than the … Continue reading Conservation Science is a unique combination of Art, Technology, History and Science…
Research prospects: Durability and Anatomy of the wall painting
We have found two different kind of anatomy and material composition in the wall paintings of the same built structure. The extent of deterioration over the last century and a half might say a lot about the durability of the different materials. We have just started working here and the study and research in next few months is expected to provide some concrete results.. Continue reading Research prospects: Durability and Anatomy of the wall painting
Stone, Mud plaster amd Wall painting
Religion and Art
Brick, Mud plaster and Creativity
Conservation of Chola Saheb Ji
Conservation of Chola Saheb Ji
Textile_Conservation_A_case_study_of_Cho(1) Continue reading Conservation of Chola Saheb Ji
What to do about damaging acidic mountboard of old photographs
There can be different views about keeping or discarding a damaging mount-board or backing. It can be great if we can share our ideas. This an old video, but i found it relevant even today when we receive similar problems in case of photograph collections. Continue reading What to do about damaging acidic mountboard of old photographs
Importance of knowledge of the Conservation material used
Inappropriate material used for restoring paintings can cause deformities like these in near future. Continue reading Importance of knowledge of the Conservation material used
Experience at Sri Harmandar Sahib Ji
Of all the conservation experiences the one that has taught most is the one at Sri Harmandar Saheb Ji (The Golden Temple). There is so much to talk about this work experience that we’ll take it up in parts. It can be a guide for those who are interested in art, heritage, religiousness and conservation and preservation of all of these. We encourage a discussion … Continue reading Experience at Sri Harmandar Sahib Ji
Anoxic Treatment of Textile Collection
A telephone call from an organization regarding their concern over the insect infestation in the building where they had one of their precious textile collection stored, was the beginning of this work-plan. To be sure about what i am suggesting my clients and to be accurate in my knowledge about the latest research in the area, i read almost all the relevant material that was … Continue reading Anoxic Treatment of Textile Collection
Preliminary examination
Some initial observations in Bound Manuscript Conservation
Basic Conservation of a print- Part 1
This video demonstrates some basic steps of paper conservation Continue reading Basic Conservation of a print- Part 1
fox marks
why concentrated at edges? Continue reading fox marks
Conservation of *Chola Saheb Ji*
“…..Having realised his mistake Jahangir ordered the release of Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. In spite of this the Guru refused to leave unless all the captive rulers and princes were also set free. Emperor Jahangir was taken back by Guru Ji’s refusal for freedom and desperately tried to convince him to leave the Fort. At last Jahangir agreed to free as many captives as … Continue reading Conservation of *Chola Saheb Ji*
Dicovering the real Picture by removing dark layers of grime and varnish
a little portion of an old oil painting is being cleared off the grime and varnish to expose the actual paint layer intended by the artist Dicovering the real Picture by removing dark layers of grime and varnish Continue reading Dicovering the real Picture by removing dark layers of grime and varnish
Special Folder
After Conservation Treatment, the manuscripts/documents are stored in a special folder till the time they go on final display (or storage) Continue reading Special Folder
We Preserve Tangible Heritage
Stories of life live in the form of letters, documents and photographs even hundred years after the life leaves the mortal body!! Continue reading We Preserve Tangible Heritage