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Highlights in this issue

Tiaras - Mount making and installation

Joanna Whalley, Metalwork Conservator Roy Mandeville, Associate Director - Exhibitions, Plowden and Smith

'Tiaras' is an important temporary exhibition at the V& A which displays a glittering array of approximately 200 tiaras. The range comprises traditional precious materials and substances such as carved horn and even fish scales.

Training matters: My experience in the painting conservation section

Sharon Tager, Intern, Paintings Conservation

I have been fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to treat one of Britain's national painting collections. My internship in the V& A has allowed me to be involved in a variety of activities and responsibilities related to the collection. Arriving in October 2001, I was fortunate to observe – and indeed participate in – the last (but very hectic!) few weeks of preparation leading to the opening of British Galleries.

Developing a collaborative approach to the conservation of lacquer

Shayne Rivers, Senior Furniture Conservator

Dialogue between conservators in Japan and in the West was accompanied by a degree of horror on both sides, as the differences in approach to the treatment of lacquer were revealed.

Preservation of the Satyajit Ray paper archive: Fieldwork - January 2002

Mike Wheeler, Senior Paper Conservator

During January 2002 I spent four weeks working in Calcutta on a preservation project centred around this collection of paper-based materials associated with the artist and film-maker Satyajit Ray.