Conservation: portrait miniatures

Here at the V&A we have the National Collection of Portrait Miniatures. And uniquely amongst the museums around the world, we've always had someone trained to conserve our collection of portrait miniatures. Portrait miniatures were first painted in the 1520s and they would have been very much something that would mainly have been painted for the court, so we have a very good sense of how people looked and how they dressed. When I'm in the conservation studio and a miniature is required for display, loan, or exhibition, the curator will bring the miniatures to me and often we'll look together through a microscope at the miniature and we'll assess its condition. In the 16th century portrait miniatures were painted in watercolour on vellum Vellum is a very fine animal skin and often would have been stuck onto a playing card to form a firm support on which to execute the painting. Some of the problems we have with portrait miniatures are the paint layer itself can become detached and flake away from the vellum. So working through a microscope, we will introduce an adhesive and stabilise the paint layer. As well as assessing it for its condition, whether it's stable to travel or to be handled, we also sometimes want to know whether this is a genuine 16th century miniature. Working with a curator we can look through a microscope, observing the way it has been painted, and say that it is a 16th century miniature. We can also use conservation science - we have conservation scientists here at the V&A who can analyse the pigments. We are analysing the background of this miniature, which is made from a blue pigment, coarsely ground. We have focussed the laser onto one individual particle and the signal we are getting from this particular crystal is that of lapis lazuli. We are undertaking a lot of scientific investigations of portrait miniatures so that we can understand what they are made of, what kind of materials or pigments or dyes. Also to check their date by spotting perhaps an anachronistic material that is not supposed to be there, and that helps us understand if a particular miniature has been retouched or reworked - maybe in the 19th century, in victorian times, or in the early 20th century. In general we also help with the conservation of the object because if there is any deterioration process at work, we can find out what that process is. If used appropriately, Raman microscopy for example, is non-destructive, and you don't need to touch the object to get a good reading. From about 1700, miniatures are painted on ivory. This is where a lot of our conservation problems begin. Portrait miniatures were quite often kept and housed in bejewelled lockets. One of the problems we have because of that, is that if you have a tight microclimate, then any changes in relative humidity and temperature can lead to mould growth within the locket. We have to be able to get into the locket. That is one of the more difficult tasks we have, because every locket can be slightly different. We have to be able to think laterally, so its a question of many years of experience and thinking about how we can get into the locket without damaging it to get out the miniature itself, in order to conserve it. Another problem we find with miniatures on ivory is that again they are in these tight fitting lockets, and if the humidity levels are high, the ivory will absorb humidity and will start to warp and move. Because its restricted by the tightly fitting lockets, it can crack - so here we've got a crack in the ivory. Another example of a problem of a miniature on ivory, caused by high humidity, is the mobilisation of magnesium phosphate crystals which come out of the ivory and they can recrystallise on the surface of the paint layer. In 2005 we opened the portrait miniature gallery here at the V&A. This is a way of showing the history of the painting of portrait miniatures from the 16th century right up until the 20th century. One of the problems we have with displaying portrait miniatures is that they are very sensitive to light. So when you come to the V&A and you look at the miniatures gallery, you'll find that the light levels are quite low. This is to try to preserve the colour of the pigment paint layer for future generations. I think that people love to understand how things were made and my research has centred a lot on better understanding how they were painted. Over the last 30 years we have got new technology and new ways of analysing portrait miniatures. This has led to more research - not just at the V&A, but at other institutions as well. Hopefully we can share that knowledge with other museums, and increase our knowledge of how miniatures were painted. Its also about how we can better display portrait miniatures, so the public can also get a better understanding of how skilful these artists were in capturing the costume, and the facial features, and the jewellery that we see depicted on portrait miniatures.