Scientific analysis underpinning the multidisciplinary project “The Leman Album: an Enhanced Facsimile”

Abstract.The Leman Album is Europe’s earliest group of dated designs for woven silk known to survive. For the past two years it has been studied by scientists, conservators, curators, archivists, makers and historians, using a truly interdisciplinary approach under the auspices of the V&A Research Institute (VARI), generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This paper focuses on the scientific analysis of the designs, which pursued multiple targets, such as investigating the nature of degradation processes, e.g., fading or darkening of the pigments and dyes; uncovering the underdrawing and any amendments; and identifying the artists’ materials, in order to inform conservation, storage and handling procedures. The analyses took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and involved V&A staff as well as researchers from other institutions through the EU-funded consortium IPERION-CH. Selected results will be made available to the wider public through a web-based platform: the “enhanced facsimile”.