Fit for an emperor: Akbar’s luxury manuscript of the Baharistan of Jami and its conservation

Conference item

This paper discusses the conservation treatment and technical study of an exquisitely decorated copy of the Baharistan of Jami, produced c. 1595 for the Mughal emperor Akbar. 19th century repairs and rebinding had contributed to a deteriorating condition, rendering it inaccessible. In order to anticipate how conservation interventions might affect the manuscript’s visual appearance and evidence of material history it was necessary to undertake a technical study, followed by a comparison with two other Akbari manuscripts. These studies informed the methods chosen to conserve the manuscript and return it to an accessible condition. Gels were used to remove unsuitable guards whilst preserving the susceptible surface of the original paper. A gelatine-based remoistenable tissue was chosen to mechanically stabilize deteriorated copper-green pigment, and JunFunori used to consolidate flaking pigments. Finally, a slotted folder was created to house each folio, resulting in a flexible system suitable for both consultation and display.

Authors: Stiglitz, M; Delattre, C; McLees, F

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: International Council of Museums
• Host title: ICOM-CC 19th Triennial Conference 2021 Beijing: Graphic Documents
• Place of publication: Paris
• Publication date: 2021-05-21
• Acceptance date: 2020-11-24
• Event title: Transcending Boundaries: Integrated Approaches to Conservation. ICOM-CC 19th Triennial Conference
• Event location: Beijing
• Event website: https://www.icom-cc2020.org/
• Event start date: 2021-05-17
• Event end date: 2021-05-21
• ISBN: 9782491997144
• Language: English
• Keywords: Akbar; consolidation; mounting; copper-green; historic repairs; remoistenable tissue; paper conservation; FFR; gels; Islamic manuscript