Arlen Heginbotham is currently Conservator of Decorative Arts and Sculpture at the J. Paul Getty Museum. He received his A.B. in East Asian Studies from Stanford University, his M.A. in Art Conservation from Buffalo State College, and his Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Arlen’s research interests include the technical study of Asian export lacquer, wood identification by chemical analysis, the use of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy as a tool for studying copper alloy artifacts and their patinas, and digital X-radiography for conservation. He has authored over 40 peer reviewed publications and has co-authored, with Gillian Wilson, the catalog French Rococo Ébénisterie in the J. Paul Getty Museum and is an editor and author of the recently published Guidelines for the Technical Examination of Bronze Sculpture from Getty Publications.