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Highlights in this issue

Stein Mellon Textile Project at the V&A

Helen Persson, Curator, Asian Department

The major phase of the Stein Mellon Textile Project took place between 2003 and 2004 when the V&A participated in a co-operative project to create an international resource for material recovered from sites along the ancient trade routes in Central Asia.

Storage of the Stein Loan Collection

Thórdís Baldursdóttir, Textile Conservator

A nine month project funded by The Andrew W Mellon Foundation was set up to improve the storage of the 600 objects in the V&A Stein textile collection. The storage of and access to the collection has been improved considerably. The clear unified labelling enables objects to be easily located. Unsuitable storage and mounting materials have been replaced.

Discoveries on a pair of cassoni

Thomas Geissler, Furniture Conservation Intern

In preparation for the opening of an exhibition, a pair of cassoni were returned to the Museum from a long term loan. During their conservation some surprising discoveries were made.

Investigation of the patina on Bidri using advanced surface analysis techniques

Emma Beardmore, Visiting Researcher, Imperial College Graham Martin, Head of Science Section David McPhail, Department of Materials, Imperial College Richard Chater, Department of Materials, Imperial College

The Indian metalwork, Bidri, is derived from the city of Bidar where it has been produced since at least the seventeenth century.