An Investigation into The Monitoring of the Surface Temperature of Wall Paintings (Courtauld Institute of Art Dissertation)
Author(s): R Pender
The environmental monitoring of microclimate promises a better understanding of the decay mechanisms operating on any particular wall painting, and can be used to design strategies of preventative conservation and of treatment that are both most effective and least invasive in the longer term. In designing monitoring systems and in interpreting the data from them, however, it is necessary to understand the major sources of error in the measurements taken and their minimisation. The particular case of the measurement of surface temperature is discussed in detail here, with the problems peculiar to wall paintings - a delicate and inhomogeneous surface, of low thermal conductivity and of a temperature similiar to that of the ambient air - being closely examined. The importance of measuring surface temperature is presented in terms of associated deterioration phenomena, alongside a selection of case studies of its monitoring from the recent conservation literature. A series of experiments designed to test various methods of attachment for contact surface temperature sensors is described, and the results reported in deatail. These suggest in particular that thermal insulation of the sensors is highly desirable. Non-contact surface temperature measurement using infra-red thermometers is also examined, with tests being made to determine the impact of emissivity on the readings. In conclusion, it is argued that - since the graetest source of error comes from the measurements which are insufficiently well-related to the site and to the patterns of damage and deterioration present on the painting - the final design of any system of environmental monitoring is most properly the province of the conservator rather than of specialised consultants, and to make this possible the wider discussion within the conservation field of its mechanics is highly desirable.
- Report Number:
- 67/1994
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 182
- Keywords:
- Conservation Methological Research Pigment
