Material Characterisation Tests for Objects of Art and Archaeology - 2nd ed
Nancy Odegaard, Scott Carroll, and Werner S. Zimmt

ISBN: 1-904982-09-3 • $70 • Hardcover • 2.5 lbs

This second edition of this popular volume includes modifications to several of the procedures described—tests for metals, inorganic compounds, organic and synthetic materials, as well as several tests that help to characterize materials. These tests are applicable to a range of object classes including metal, textile, leather, paper, plastics, and architectural materials. In addition to presenting the detailed methodology for carrying out each test, the authors have evaluated the effectiveness of each test in order to assist the reader in selecting the most applicable test and interpreting the results.

This book also serves as an excellent and essential companion for conservators of outdoor sculpture, monuments, and buildings. When instrumental techniques are not available or characterization must be performed in the field or makeshift laboratories, it offers simple and reliable tests for elements, ions, and classes of organic compounds through which the compositions of materials can usually be inferred....The authors often provide several versions of each spot test, explain the strengths and weaknesses of each test, and, importantly, give guidelines for the safe use of reagents, test materials and techniques. -- George Wheeler, Director, Historic Preservation Department, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, New York

This book is really a very valuable resource! -- Irene Brückle, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

The Materials Characterization Book has proven invaluable as a centralized reference for spot tests, used in both my teaching and my conservation practice. -- Ellen Pearlstein, UCLA/Getty Program in Conservation, Los Angeles