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Guus Verhaar is a post-doctoral researcher at the Rijksmuseum, Corning Museum of Glass and the University of Texas at Dallas. His main research interest is the chemical deterioration of glass in museum collections. This talk concerns the results of laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) elemental depth profiling of unstable historic glass. Three historic glass samples from the Corning Museum of Glass (CMG449; CMG1050; CMG4011) were used for depth mapping of 55 elements. As expected, the depth profiles indicate the depletion of sodium and potassium from the top layer of the glass, while no calcium depletion is observed. Surprisingly, potassium was not observed to have been leached from one of the samples (CMG1050). Because of its low detection limits, the obtained pseudo cross-sections also provide information on the distribution of trace elements, such as lithium. The lecture will demonstrate how this approach, not previously applied in historic glass studies, reveals quantitative information on the depletion of glass constituents. The visual representation makes it straightforward to draw conclusions on the degradation process. Comparative information being gained from XPS studies on the same samples will be briefly presented as well.

Martin Jürgens is currently Photograph Conservator at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In this research project, daguerreotypes are examined using microscopes of the time from Vienna and Paris in order to see what could be seen in 1839. This practical experiment helps us understand whether it was truly the view through the microscope – the photograph as the subject of science – that encouraged Donné, Berres and Fizeau to subsequently etch and print daguerreotype images – thereby essentially employing photography in the service of science.

Marta Domínguez-Delmás presents her insights from dendrochronological research on VOC Batavia shipwreck timbers.

In this presentation, Indra Kneepkens gives an overview of her PhD research 'Masterful Mixtures', on the function and practical effects of various common ingredients in fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century oil paint formulation.