Wood Science for Conservation of Cultural Heritage – Florence 2007

Abstract

The financial contribution of COST Action IE0601 and of University of Florence for covering the publication costs of this volume are gratefully ackwnoledged Main objectives and resultsThe main objectives of the Workshop, which have been achieved at a quite satisfactory level, can be summarized as follows:a) To present a "state of the art" about selected subjects dealt with by the Action (From the program: "Historic wood -structure and properties", "Wood material -ageing and non-biological degradation", "Assessment & Diagnosis", "Diagnosing the surface of painted wood" "Diagnosing the efficiency of object treatments", "Contributions from Wood Science to conservation issues", "Expressing needs in the field of conservation, of objects and/or monuments, in matter of Wood Science"); b) To improve mutual knowledge and acquaintance between MC Members, and WG members; c) To present current ongoing research, and inform specialists of different fields, all working towards conservation of WCHOs (Wooden Objects belonging to the Cultural Heritage), about the work of their colleagues and the scientific work being carried out in different Institutions; d) To provide an opportunity for discussing interdisciplinary subjects, which are very important for study and conservation of WCHOs; e) To identify the main subjects to be discussed in forthcoming activities.In fact this Workshop was instrumental for defining and addressing the future activities of the Action; a very good atmosphere, full of enthusiasm and of availability towards cooperation, emerged, and has been maintained during successive activities. The previous meeting (in Tervuren) and this one were both organized at short notice, as is normally the case at the beginning of an Action. They allowed interactions between scientists who often met for the first time and exchanges of general information from subjects of other fields. In the plenary meetings which followed, scientific contributions on well-focused subjects have been made possible by the longer time allowed for submission of papers. In this occasion several topics were also suggested for future general or focused meetings. Allocating and refereeing the PapersFor this Workshop, the Steering Committee (see Annex 2) fulfilled the role of Scientific Committee, preparing and managing its scientific aspects, and organising the refereeing process of the submitted papers, all of which have been peer-reviewed for this publication. Emphasis should be given to the fact that all accepted paper were deemed of high scientific calibre and deserved the same "dignity", no matter whether they were allocated as Oral presentations or Posters, such allocation being dictated by inescapable time constraints. Unfortunately some Authors were not able to submit their paper for publication; the titles of their presentations can be found in the Programme (Appendix 2). In some cases, the screen presentations they offered can be found on the Action's website <http://www.woodculther.org>. Others, not being of English mother tongue, submitted...

Once upon a Time, There Was a Piece of Wood: Present Knowledge and Future Perspectives in Fungal Deterioration of Wooden Cultural Heritage in Terrestrial Ecosystems and Diagnostic Tools

“…Among the non-invasive methods of analysis widely used in wooden cultural heritage, colorimetry and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy play a fundamental role in the diagnosis of the conservation status and possible alteration of artworks [218][219][220][221][222].…”

Wood science and conservation: Activities and achievements of COST Action IE0601

“…The activities supported by COST funding were international conferences (ICs) combined with Management Committee (MC) meetings, focused meetings (FMs), training schools (TSs) and short term scientific missions (STSMs).The ICs (Table 2) gathered annually 70 to 100 scientists covering all areas, with approximately 50-60% of them attending all ICs. Abstracts, articles and presentations from the various meetings were made available on the website of the Action 3 , and, in the case of two ICs, the Florence and Braga meetings, final proceedings were produced [1,2]. FMs (Table 3), with a variety of addressed subjects, gathered specialists to identify state-of-the-art and research needs.…”

Experimentation of a PVA-Borax hydrogel for the removal of Paraloid B72® from artifacts of archaeological interest from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy

“…The degradation process of polymer resins consists of chemical transformations due to the action of factors such as light, temperature, interactions with the substrate, humidity, and atmospheric pollution. They cause embrittlement of the protective film, decrease in solubility, yellowing of the resin, increase in polarity and decrease in adhesive strength [1], [7], [8]. For the above reasons, polymer films can cause irreversible damage to artworks, drastically altering the physicochemical properties of the surface to which they have been applied.…”