Roman urn from Castell Collen
01
Before treatment
The condition of the urn is quite poor, it was previously conserved, but the filling material has failed and crumbled.
02
FTIR analysis
I carried out FTIR analysis of the filling material, adhesive that the previous conservator used to explore the most suitable method to remove the fill and the adhesive that is on the surface.
03
FTIR result
By identifying the bonds in the adhesive (top picture) and the white filling material (bottom picture), it informed me about the materials that were used to conserve the object. At first through solvent testing and the yellow colour of the adhesive, I thought it would be animal glue but the missing amino acids bond from protein proved that it is not animal glue. It was most likely to be expoxy resins. The bonds found in the FTIR result of the filling material proved that it was AJK dough.
04
Treatment still in progress
The results from FTIR have informed me about the materials that were used and influenced my treatment plan for the Roman Urn. The treatment is still in progress, the picture is showing me using a scalpel to remove the rigid old adhesive.
