The scientific collection of ISEP Museum: Grenet and Leclanché cells

ISEP Museum was founded in 1999. It stores the memory of industrial school dated from the second half of XIX century. The education, at that time, was very practical and the methodology was based on models and tools. The collections are formed by 3 main typological groups: objects, prints/drawings and photos, a total of about 10 thousand pieces. The complexity of this collection causes multiple challenges concerning to conservation and management subjects. Recently, the main concern focus on the objects, because the lack of technical interventions by specialists. For instance, the Grenet and Leclanché cells are two case studies that show the prominent need of a technical intervention. This article presents a historical contextualization of cells, their composition and the conservation state of their constituent materials. The obtained results will attend to clarify further conservation and restoration approaches.

Lime paintings in Treatises and Construction Technical Manuals in Portugal from 1880 to 1931 – An historical review

A review of the lime painting technique is made based on five Treatises and Construction Technical Manuals that were published in Portugal between 1880 and 1930 and were or became a reference in technical and professional education. The goal is to document the history of one of the most popular types of painting in Portuguese Building Heritage until about 1960, whose testimonies still remaining in historic centers should be studied for the purposes of registration and rehabilitation works. This survey enabled to ascertain details of the executants, of the materials and the know-how which are still little known today and to highlight the paradigm shift from what was once considered a type of coarse painting that only gave rudimentary and monotonous tones.

Case study of a tile facade intervention – Aveiro, Portugal

Tiles are found on numerous Portuguese facades. The exposure to external agents causes degradation and, in some cases, detachment of these tiles. In the coastal area of Aveiro city (Portugal), the building's facades, exposed to adverse atmospheric conditions are in constant contact with aggressive agents, which cause the detachment of a significant amount of facade tiles. Within the scope of the SOS Azulejo Project, and in partnership with the University of Aveiro, Fábrica Centro Ciência Viva de Aveiro, the Prison of Aveiro and DDL Arg, this study encompasses the conservation of a tile facade, after degradation and detachment of the ceramic body. Several replicas of the tiles were made in the specific context of a training action that took place at the Aveiro Prison. The technical study was carried out to analyse the compatibility and reversibility of the mortars and ceramic tiles used. The mortars were tested in their fresh and hard state for consistency through spreading, flexural tensile strength, compressive strength, water absorption, and pull-off adhesion tests on bricks surfaces. The results were satisfactory and the replicated tiles were applied on a building’s facade on the National Tile Day, as part of an awareness campaign.

Monitoring pollutant gases in museum microclimates: a relevant preventive conservation strategy

Exposure to an atmosphere rich in volatile pollutants can endanger collections in museums, galleries, libraries or archives. Monitoring volatile pollutants in museum microclimates remains an unusual practice in most institutions. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can be released by many sources, including the artefacts’ materials themselves. The presence of pollutants in an enclosed space with poor ventilation, adding to high temperature and relative humidity levels or significant fluctuations, may increase the risk of damage for the more susceptible materials. The tendency observed in museums to enclose artefacts in vitrines or boxes may contribute to the formation of microclimates with high VOCs concentration. Based on the studies developed in the last decades, this work intends to draw attention to the risks associated with gaseous pollutants in museum environment and outline some recommendations that encourage cultural heritage institutions to implement a pollutant monitoring plan associated with risk prevention.

Trajectory and exhibition of a time-based media work. ‘The drawing of the girl running away from her support’ (2014), by Ana Vieira (1940-2016)

Ana Vieira (1940-2016) left a set of installations without systematised documentation or set guidelines. In an attempt to preserve her legacy, heirs have promoted exhibitions as a way to document the tangible and intangible characteristics of these complex works. In 2017, there was an attempt to reinstall the video installation The drawing of the girl running away from her support at the Graça Morais Contemporary Art Centre, but without success. However, in 2019, the necessary conditions were met for its reinstallation at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. Through this case study and based on Latour's Actor-Network-Theory, it was demonstrated that the exhibition is a crucial moment in the trajectory of the work and in the analysis of a network of agents, human and non-human, giving rise to documentation that is essential to inform future decision-making.

Trajectory and exhibition of a time-based media work. ‘The drawing of the girl running away from her support’ (2014), by Ana Vieira (1940-2016)

Ana Vieira (1940-2016) left a set of installations without systematised documentation or set guidelines. In an attempt to preserve her legacy, heirs have promoted exhibitions as a way to document the tangible and intangible characteristics of these complex works. In 2017, there was an attempt to reinstall the video installation The drawing of the girl running away from her support at the Graça Morais Contemporary Art Centre, but without success. However, in 2019, the necessary conditions were met for its reinstallation at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. Through this case study and based on Latour's Actor-Network-Theory, it was demonstrated that the exhibition is a crucial moment in the trajectory of the work and in the analysis of a network of agents, human and non-human, giving rise to documentation that is essential to inform future decision-making.

Intervention in Mannerists wooden paintings representing Saint Sebastian and Saint Lucy, by Belchior de Matos, constituents of a diptych of the chapel of Geraldes, in Peniche

The panels of Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian and Saint Lucy, executed after 1610 by the Portuguese mannerist painter Belchior de Matos for the main altarpiece of the chapel of Saint Sebastian and Saint Lucy of Geraldes, Peniche, were subject to an intervention of conservation and restoration which aimed, in the first place, to restore the dignity indispensable to their adoption by the community and to their return to a place of worship. The works had several damages, but the most serious were the structural problems that jeopardized their stability and compromised the aesthetic value of the paintings. Therefore, it was necessary to reassemble the boards using a synthetic adhesive (PVA) with sawdust and phenolic resin microspheres. The frames, with significant lack of wood, were reconstituted with wood in the joints and with a filler paste (Araldite SV427) over a bamboo dowels structure in the grooves where the supports are inserted.