The Bodleian is seeking a John Fell Fund Post-doc Heritage Scientist to join the Conservation team at the Weston Library. The post will focus on the non-destructive, scientific analysis of selected Byzantine medieval illuminated manuscripts, and Japanese 17th and 18th centuries’ items, which are amongst Bodleian’s research priorities, aiming to solve questions about the adhesion problems presented by their painted media. Our goal is to gain deeper understanding of the chemical deterioration of the paints exhibiting adhesion and cracking issues, as well as their poor bond with the parchment and paper substrates on which they were applied. The characterisation of pigments used in these paints by instrumental analysis will inform our preservation methods to prolong the life of these and similar manuscripts, in particular, how to consolidate this media in a more efficient manner. The Bodleian Libraries undertake a significant amount of scientific materials research on a yearly basis, since the start of our Heritage Science facility in 2013. Although this will not be the main focus of this post, we expect them to also carry out some analytical work in support of the research of our readers, academics, and University staff (Art History, English, Archaeology, Physics and Chemistry), using a number of instrumental methods such as hyperspectral imaging or Raman spectroscopy. For this area of their work, the Fell Fund post-doc’s will be working closely with Durham University’s “Team Pigment” (AHRC funded), whose main research purpose is to build a systematic study of pigment development by region and time, which is of prime importance for the Bodleian because of the large volume of ongoing research that focuses on our unique collections from this period, which are also directly linked to our Medieval and Renaissance collections. This work includes the use of high performance, portable spectroscopic instrumentation (Raman, X-Ray Diffraction).
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