The conservation and digitization of Jain manuscripts at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Conference item : Poster

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a collection of Śvetāmbara Jain manuscript pages from western India, including numerous examples dating from the mid 15th to early 16th centuries, which form a core part of the VandA’s collection of early paintings from the Indian sub-continent. The decision to conserve and digitise these manuscripts in 2010 was prompted by the proposal to redisplay a selection of Jain works of art in conjunction with publishing research on these on the JAINpedia website. The fragility of the folios is largely a result of the extensive use of green verdigris (copper acetate) as a pigment. The copper degradation is evident on most of the illustrated folios, but is also observed on many of the text only pages. The approach to both conservation and mounting of the manuscripts were decided after discussions with the curator of the Asian collection at the VandA, with a careful consideration of the importance of these early texts to followers of Jainism, particularly the Jain principle of non-violence to all living things which precluded the use of animal-based materials during treatment, and a shared awareness of the risks posed to the original material by handling.

Authors: Wheeler, M; Barnard, N; Bovagnet, K; Mulholland, TR

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: ICOM-CC
• Host title: Paper Conservation: Decisions & Compromises
• Pages: 102-104
• Publication date: 2013-04-17
• Event title: ICOM-CC, Graphic Documents Working Group Interim Meeting 2013
• Event location: Austrian National Library, Vienna, Austria
• Event website: http://www.onb.ac.at/about/ifr/21128.htm
• Event start date: 2013-04-17
• Event end date: 2013-04-19
• Language: English
• Keywords: conservation ethics; pigment analysis; conservation; verdigris; Jain manuscripts; Śvetāmbara; paper conservation
• Subtype: Poster