Conservation treatment of The Sword of Damocles by Antoine Dubost at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS Museum) in Mumbai
I was awarded a grant in order to live in Mumbai and work at the CSMVS Museum in Mumbai for 7 weeks. I worked on The Sword of Damocles by Antoine Dubost, as part of an ongoing collaborative project between the Courtauld Institute for Art and the CSMVS Museum. I gained valuable experience in painting conservation treatments such as removing old disfiguring retouching and varnishing large scale works. I collaborated with Indian conservators, learning new approaches and sharing ideas. .
A study of Udaipur miniature painters.
Conservation treatment of The Sword of Damocles by Antoine Dubost at the CSMVS museum in Mumbai, India.
At the CSMVS I learnt a great deal from the experienced and talented conservators working in the museum. Working in an environment where the high level of humidity could compromise treatments was complex. We relished the challenge of finding alternative techniques or methods due to the unavailability of conservation materials. Our role was in providing a visual knowledge and art historical context to the aesthetic treatment of this important piece of Western art, ensuring the treatment decisions were visually sympathetic to the context of the work.
Clothing as Material of Religious Subjectivity in ISKCON India.
My project was part of a doctoral study of clothing as religious materiality in the Hindu group called ISKCON or “International Society for Krishna Consciousness”. The India Travel Award helped fund my research trips to the sacred town of Vrindavan to study the embroidery industry and to the Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad, Gujarat to view Indian textile artefacts.
Visual regimes and enduring narratives in Tamil Nadu.
The 'Sword of Damocles' conservation treatment project.
The Nehru travel award was for a placement on a paintings conservation project at the Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSVMS) Museum in Mumbai, India.
During the placement I treated an oil painting on canvas titled The Sword of Damocles by Antoine Dubost. I participated in this treatment with my classmate Pearl O'Sullivan, two Courtauld Institute of Art graduates Harriet Pearson and Mark Coombs, and under the supervision of senior conservator Anupam Sah and Professor Aviva Burnstock.
The 'Sword of Damocles' conservation treatment project.
In 2012, I was the fortunate recipient of a Nehru India Travel Award which allowed me to take part in the exciting conservation project of restoring Antoine Dubost's 'Sword of Damolces' at the CSVMS Museum, Mumbai. The project involved assisting in the second stage the Dubost project which has been an on-going collaboration between the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and the CSMVS in Mumbai since July 2011. This second stage focused on the structural conservation of the painting - a nineteenth century oil on canvas painted by the French academic painter Antoine Dubost in 1804.
The Sword of Damocles
Conservation of Antoine Duboist's The sword of Damocles (circa 1804) At Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMS)
The Sword of Damocles
The project involves the complete restoration of a painting by Antoine Dubost (1769-1825) titled: The Sword of Damocles at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Museum Art Conservation Centre (MACC)
