Page - 271 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
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Sophie Rabitsch, Christa Hofmann, Junko Sonderegger 271
parchment of the Vienna Genesis. The reactivation of Klucel G 5 % worked best with a
small proportion of water added (ethanol-water 3:1 v/v). 37 ml of the described mixture
are enough to work with Klucel G coated tissues for about an hour. When the reactivation
did decrease, 10 ml of the ethanol-water mixture were poured onto the kitchen sponge
cloth. In discussions, Andrea Pataki expressed concerns towards the mixtures of proteinous
adhesives with the cellulose ether Klucel G, as this topic is not sufficiently investigated.
Following those concerns, Luise Raab’s bachelor thesis49 for the Stuttgart State Academy
of Art and Design dealt with the evaluation of mixtures of Klucel G and isinglass. The
results of Raab’s thesis revealed that the two adhesives can be mixed, as long as Klucel G is
dissolved in water. Alcohols cause denaturation of the protein, which has some effects on
the swelling capacity and the adhesion of isinglass containing adhesive layers. A mixture
of isinglass and Klucel G does not result in the combination of the qualities of those two
components. Adhesive layers consisting of those two adhesives tend to swell more in etha-
nol than the single components, but do adhere less. It does not seem that a mixture has ad-
vantages and it is unclear if the aged mixture of Klucel G and isinglass results in changes of
the solubility. It seems more suitable to use each adhesive on its own and not as a mixture.
Table 6: Listing of the adhesives, their reactivation and the results; tested on folio 4, page 7 of the
Vienna Genesis.
Adhesive Reactivation Pros Cons
Isinglass 5 %-Klucel G 5 %
(in water), 1:1 v/v Ethanol-water 1:1
v/V Sufficient adhesion, closed
surface, adheres better than
Klucel G alone
Klucel G 5 % (in water) Ethanol-water 1:1 v/v Sufficient adhesion, closed
surface, barely visible, better
adhesion than on modern
parchment
Ethanol-water
3:1 v/v See above
Ethanol Adhesion is not sufficient, easy
to remove
Due to the tests on the purple manuscripts and the results of Raab’s thesis, we decided to
use Klucel G 5 % dissolved in water to prepare the remoistenable tissues. When prepared
with water, the adhesive is easier to apply. The bonding is strong enough to stabilise tears
and fragile areas of ink. The coated paper is visually unobtrusive. It forms an even layer
and has a matt and smooth surface. For reactivation, 37 ml of a 3:1 v/v mixture of ethanol
49 Raab, 2017.
Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0
The Vienna Genesis
Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Title
- The Vienna Genesis
- Subtitle
- Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment
- Editor
- Christa Hofmann
- Publisher
- Böhlau Verlag
- Location
- Wien
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-205-21058-0
- Size
- 17.3 x 24.5 cm
- Pages
- 348