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Book chapter
Rings and axeheads of Alpine jades: imports to and exports from the Gulf of Morbihan during the 5th millennium and the beginning of the 4th millennium
During the 5th millennium BC, the gulf of Morbihan played a major role in the circulation of socially-valued goods, especially those made from Alpine jades (jadeitite, omphacitite, eclogite, some serpentinites and, more rarely, nephrite), in the form of disc-rings and polished axeheads. This contribution begins with a review of the...Pétrequin, P ; Pétrequin, A-M ; Cinquetti, Mauro ; Errera, M ; Valcarce, Ramón Fábregas …
Alps, paragonite, jade, disc-ring, polished axehead, and Neolithic
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Book chapter
Alien collecting: speculative museology
Scotland in Space presents dialogues that imagine and explore Scotland’s space futures. In each of the book’s sections, a science fiction story is accompanied by essays responding to the ideas evoked, to produce cross-disciplinary discussions about how contemporary developments in Scottish space science and industry might shape our futures.Phillipson, Tacye
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Book chapter
The exhibition. Material fluidities: dialogues between the digital and the handmade
The divide between the handcrafted and the digital is not as prescriptive as some would like to believe.Rothwell, Sarah
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Book chapter
Museum nature
From Aztec accounts of hibernating hummingbirds to contemporary television spectaculars, human encounters with nature have long sparked wonder, curiosity and delight. Written by leading scholars, this richly illustrated volume offers a lively introduction to the history of natural history, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Covering an extraordinary...Alberti, S J M M
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Book chapter
Sex, art and museums: on the changing institutional censorship of Shunga
rt is continuously subjected to insidious forms of censorship. This may be by the Church to guard against moral degeneration, by the State to promote a specific political agenda or by the art market, to elevate one artist above another. Now, and in the last century, artwork that touches on...Boyd, Louise
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Book chapter
Probing the factors which control degradation in museum collections of cellulose acetate artefacts
Cellulose acetate artefacts in museum collections cover a period from the early 1900's to the present day. Conservators have observed that certain of these objects are showing signs of warping, crazing, cracking, discolouration and shrinkage accompanied by a strong smell of acetic acid. Previous studies on cellulose nitrate artefacts show...Ballany, Jane M ; Littlejohn, D ; Pethrick, R P ; Quye, Anita
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Book chapter
The use of accelerated ageing tests for studying the degradation of cellulose nitrate
Previous studies have shown that high levels of sulphate in cellulose nitrate artefacts may be a cause of increased degradation. Accelerated ageing tests have been used to study and monitor the deterioration of prepared cellulose nitrate samples and artefacts over time. An evaluation has been made of the effects of... -
Book chapter
The Museum of Scotland and conservation issues of commissioned art
The Museum of Scotland is a new building in Edinburgh which opened in November 1998 to present the history of Scotland from its geological beginnings to the present day. This article considers conservation issues within three themes: the building itself as iconic modern architecture and its effect on the exhibition...Tate, Jim ; Clarke, David V ; Spencer, Helen ; Cobo del Arco, B
Scotland), exhibiting, Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh, museology, museums, and modern art
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Book chapter
Plastics conservation – Barbie™ and friends
The chemical sciences and their applications are all around us. Many museums and galleries have scientific departments, and collectors of objects that may not even be "antique" in the strict definition of the word often need to have some scientific knowledge to stop their collection deteriorating. This resource shows how... -
Book chapter
Degradation studies of cellulose nitrate plastics
This book addresses the interaction of principle and practice, of materials, techniques and ideas, which characterise contemporary conservation as a whole.Stewart, R ; Littlejohn, D ; Pethrick, R P ; Quye, Anita ; Tennent, N H
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Book chapter
Monitoring of damage to historic tapestries (MODHT): a newly initiated EU project
The trade in dyestuffs has played an important role in the economic history of many nations. In medieval Europe this is demonstrated by the important place held by woad in the economy of many countries, but while the woad industry of Toulouse or Erfurt is quite well known, that of...Quye, Anita
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Book chapter
Technologies of the self: painted pebbles, ornaments and the burial
During the late 1st millennium BC into the early 1st millennium AD, the small island of Unst in the far north of the Shetland (and British) Isles was home to well-established and connected farming and fishing communities. The Iron Age settlement at Milla Skerra was occupied for at least 500...Goldberg, D Martin ; Hunter, Fraser
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Book chapter
Development of analytical techniques for the study of natural yellow dyes in historic textiles
Interest in all aspects of dyestuffs has grown considerably since an informal meeting of researchers twenty years ago developed into the annual meetings of Dyes in History and Archaeology, with the journal of the same name publishing a selection of papers presented. Analysis has revealed that the early 20th-century clothing...Ferreira, Ester S B ; Quye, Anita ; McNab, Hamish ; Wouters, J ; Boon, J J …
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Book chapter
Appendix 1. The pre-2500 BC individuals
Some 17 individuals sampled for the BPP can be assigned to the Neolithic period, either on the basis of radiocarbon dating (n=12) or because of their contextual associations (n=5). In some cases (such as Liffs Low, Derbyshire) the selection had been deliberate: they were known to be Neolithic when they...Jay, Mandy ; Montgomery, Janet ; Pearson, Mike Parker ; Sheridan, J A
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Book chapter
Historical and analytical research of dyes for early Scottish tartans
Papers in this volume cover various aspects of the deterioration of textiles and the different scientific techniques that can be applied to investigate the characteristics of historic textiles, their fibres, dyes etc. The authors include textile, paper and painting conservators, conservation scientists, chemists, archaeologists, engineers, biochemists and a zoologist. This...Cheape, Hugh ; Quye, Anita
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Book chapter
Early People
Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005) was one of the greatest Scottish and European artists of the 20th Century. He was a prolific sculptor and printmaker as well as an inspirational teacher. His was an exceptional talent, drawing on culture in all its forms, from Classical myths to comics and ephemera. Most would...Clarke, David V
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Book chapter
Shale analysis. In: Arabaolaz, Iraia. 2019. Beside the River Ayr in prehistoric times: excavations at Ayr Academy
Archaeological interventions at Ayr Academy, Ayrshire revealed a number of pits and postholes on a raised beach on a terrace of the River Ayr dating from the late Mesolithic to the late Bronze Age. One group of pits and postholes probably defines a middle Bronze Age burial ground. The environmental...Hunter, Fraser
lithic artefacts, prehistoric structure and pits, Palimpsest site, and prehistoric pottery
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Book chapter
Objects of the past in the past in the past
How did past communities view, understand and communicate their pasts? And how can we, as archaeologists, understand this? In recent years these questions have been approached through studies of the extended occupation and use of landscapes, monuments and artefacts to explore concepts of time and memory. But what of objects...Knight, Matthew G ; Boughton, Dot ; Wilkinson, Rachel E
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Book chapter
Doughtful associations? Assessing Bronze Age 'multi-period' hoards from northern England, Scotland and Wales
How did past communities view, understand and communicate their pasts? And how can we, as archaeologists, understand this? In recent years these questions have been approached through studies of the extended occupation and use of landscapes, monuments and artefacts to explore concepts of time and memory. But what of objects...Knight, Matthew G
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Book chapter
Early Medieval beads
The crannog on Llangorse Lake near Brecon in mid Wales was discovered in 1867 and first excavated in 1869 by two local antiquaries, Edgar and Henry Dumbleton, who published their findings over the next four years. In 1988 dendrochronological dates from submerged palisade planks established its construction in the ninth...Redknap, Mark ; Davis, Mary
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Book chapter
The hoard of gaming pieces from Lewis, Scotland: The context and meaning
The Lewis hoard of gaming pieces is possibly the most iconic find of medieval material culture discovered in the British Isles. They are more plentiful, more elaborate (combing both figurative and abstract pieces) and more opaque in their find circumstances than the pieces from Sandomierz, but like them appear to...Caldwell, David ; Hall, Mark A
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Book chapter
Grande-Bretagne et Irlande
Knight, Matthew G
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Book chapter
13-inch lunar globe, by Räth, East German, c. 1961 Wh.6098 13.5-inch lunar globe, by Lipsky, Russian, 1967 Wh.6683
The forty-year global conflict known as the Cold War had many fronts. Some of them, like proxy wars in Asia and Africa, were hot; others, like the Berlin Wall or the northern North Sea, were indeed cold; but colder still were the battle lines drawn up in space. Famously, the...Alberti, S J M M
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Book chapter
Medals illustrating various scientific subjects, by E. Thomason, English, mid-19th century Wh.4511
This set of sixteen Scientific and Philosophical Medals, each three inches in diameter, were sold with a magnifying glass in a book-shaped leather and velvet case. They were first advertised in 1829 by the Birmingham manufacturer, Edward Thomason. The son of a buckle manufacturer, Thomason had been apprenticed to Boulton...Higgitt, Rebekah
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Book chapter
Compositional data from the Traprain Treasure
Analysis of the Traprain Law Treasure was under-taken in the science laboratory of National Museums Scotland between 2008 and 2018. Ninety-three fragments of the silver were investigated by X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) and particle-induced X-ray emission analysis (uPIXE)Troalen, Lore ; Tate, Jim
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Book chapter
A context for the Treasure: Traprain Law and Rome's northern frontier
The discovery of the Traprain Treasure was the most dramatic moment in a spectacular and long-running excavation. While nothing else quite matched the excitement of this find, the results of work at Traprain Law redefined perspectives on the Scottish Iron Age and relations with the Roman world. This chapter will...Hunter, Fraser
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Book chapter
The technology of the Traprain Treasure
When the hoard was first found, according to Alexander Curle, the metal was greyish-brown and 'appeared to be embedded in a purple paste'.Troalen, Lore ; Lang, Janet
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Book chapter
Insights from unidentified fragments
Alexander Curle's published catalogue consists of 152 entries, which correlate directly with National Museums Scotland catalogue nos GVA 1-152. His entry 144 is for a 'collection of irregularly-shaped fragments of undecorated, thin pieces of plate which has probably broken off platters or other flat dishes.Hunter, Fraser
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Book chapter
Following the Threads of 19th-Century Edinburgh Science
Starting work at National Museums Scotland in 2020, while access to collections and archives was limited, prompted me to see what I could learn of 19th-century Edinburgh’s scientific circles from the life of a “genial and kindly” Scottish participant in the 1874 transit of Venus expeditions. I first encountered him...Higgitt, Rebekah
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Book chapter
Coral in northern climates: an exotic coral bead from Iron Age Scotland and its implications
This paper is offered to Eugène in the spirit of his own wide-ranging research and his ability to extract good stories from finds. The first author met Eugène at an Edinburgh conference on 'Scotland in later prehistoric Europe', where he offered a masterly overview of the southern Low Countries over...Hunter, Fraser ; Fürst, Sebastian
rich finds assemblage, Scotland and Europe, Eugène Warmenbol, Broxmouth, Iron Age, and Bead of Mediterranean coral
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Book chapter
Grooved Ware in Orkney
While the pottery from 'cooking holes' at Lion Point, Clackton, in Essex was the first assemblage to be named as 'Grooved ware' by Stuart Piggot in his influential 1936 publication that launched the idea of a type of pottery (Piggott 1936, 191), it is actually at the other end of...Sheridan, J A
Orkney, Grooved Ware, Ireland, British and Irish Neolithic, and pottery
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Book chapter
Grooved Ware in Britain and Ireland, 2023: retrospect and prospect
The contributions to the volume have demonstrated just how far our understanding of Grooved Ware in Britain and Ireland has moved on in the 24 years since Ros Cleal and Ann MacSween published their Grooved Ware in Britain and Ireland volume in 1999.Sheridan, J A
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Book chapter
Analysis of the Fettercairn Jewel and comparative Scottish Renaissance jewellery
Renaissance jewellery pieces often demonstrate highly developed artistic and technological skills and combine precious gemstones, pearls, gold, translucent and opaque enamels to reflect an individual's wealth, social status or political loyalties.1 Although there has been significant research published on Renaissance jewellery from an art historical point of view, the amount...Troalen, Lore
Scottish history, Renaissance,, jewellery history, material culture, and analytical data
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Book chapter
'Items that are likely to date to the Late Iron Age/Romano-British period' In: Boughey, Keith, A Tale of Two Collectors: The Lithic Collections of Geoffrey Taylor and David Heys (with particular reference to the county of Yorkshire)
The book begins with brief biographies of the two collectors and outlines the areas in which they collected, principally the North York Moors, and their method of working, before attempting to set their work into its wider prehistoric context. It then explains how the over 18,000 worked pieces in the...Hunter, Fraser ; Sheridan, J A
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Book chapter
'The zoomorphic ring-headed pin' In: Strachan, David, Cook, Martin and McLaren, Dawn 'Three Forts on the Tay: Excavations at Moncreiffe, Moredun and Abernethy, Perth and Kinross 2014–17'
The most remarkable find from the Moredun excavations was a copper-alloy bird-headed pin (Figures 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9), unique and yet readily placed into a wider context. It is a miniature masterpiece of early Celtic art dating to the 3rd century BC. A summary of the find and its wider...Hunter, Fraser
copper-alloy bird-headed pin, chamfrain, archaeological excavations, Bronze mask , and Moredun excavations
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Book chapter
Inventory
Shaw, Mark R
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Book chapter
Chairs of the Northern Isles
Jackson, Stephen
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Book chapter
Spices in the display environment
Unprocessed vegetable products such as spices are increasingly being introduced into museum displays that seek to provide a more accessible and not solely visual sense of other cultures and historical periods. Because of their aromatic nature, there is always the suspicion that such materials may emit damaging volatile organic compounds....Ogilvie, Ticca M A ; Carter, J F ; Evershed, R P
exhibitions, organic material, spice, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, plant material, volatility, and collections care
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Book chapter
Locomotion in Mesozoic marine reptiles
Palaeobiology: A Synthesis was widely acclaimed both for its content and production quality. Ten years on, Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther have once again brought together over 150 leading authorities from around the world to produce Palaeobiology II. Using the same successful formula, the content is arranged as a series...Taylor, Michael A