Archaeological Discussion Group

Dear Archaeo-colleagues,

I know this is a hot topic (pun intended!) but what are your favorite adhesives for joining ceramics (and maybe small stone objects) in a climate that tops that magic number of 40C? 

Many thanks for sharing your current winners,

Nina

Dear Archaeo-colleagues,

I know this is a hot topic (pun intended!) but what are your favorite adhesives for joining ceramics (and maybe small stone objects) in a climate that tops that magic number of 40C? 

Many thanks for sharing your current winners,

Nina

Hi Nina,

A shout out to our AIC and OSG leadership @Suzanne Davis and @Caroline Roberts for their recent publication in Studies in Conservation where they discuss their approach to this issue: 

Suzanne L. Davis, Caroline Roberts & Andrea Poli (2022) Paraloid®B-72/B-48N 1:1 as an Adhesive for Use in Hot Climates: Literature Review, Laboratory
Testing, and Observational Field Study, Study, Studies in Conservation, 67:6, 357-365, DOI:10.1080/00393630.2021.1891810

This was brought to my attention at the recent ICOM CC Glass & Ceramics conference. My students at NYU this past term had great success joining archaeological glass with this blend. (The artifacts are destined for an enclosed display case in a non-climate controlled stairwell with a glass dome in Beirut, and we are hopeful the blend will hold up to the fluctuations there...)

I recently became aware of Mowital B 60HH in use on excavations in Italy, so my colleague has just acquired some for her students to compare with B72 as an experiment this coming term. You can only buy it by the kilo, so if you are interested, we have enough in our lab to supply the entire East Coast for years to come..... I know she and her students would be very curious to hear about others' experience with it (thanks Simone for chiming in about the challenges you've experienced reversing it).

Best,

Rebecca

Dear Archaeo-colleagues,

I know this is a hot topic (pun intended!) but what are your favorite adhesives for joining ceramics (and maybe small stone objects) in a climate that tops that magic number of 40C? 

Many thanks for sharing your current winners,

Nina

Since nobody's said this yet, I'll just comment that I know I'm not the only conservator who feels that although pure B48N may have a high enough Tg for 40+ C storage situations, like Mowital B 60HH, it just isn't as reversible as you'd think it should be. (I do use B48N in combination with B72 and have had less slumping problems so far, even though all the testing I know about indicates that mixing B72 with B48N doesn't really raise the Tg that much). Rebecca, I'll be interested to know the results of your students' experimentation.

Hi Nina,

A shout out to our AIC and OSG leadership @Suzanne Davis and @Caroline Roberts for their recent publication in Studies in Conservation where they discuss their approach to this issue: 

Suzanne L. Davis, Caroline Roberts & Andrea Poli (2022) Paraloid®B-72/B-48N 1:1 as an Adhesive for Use in Hot Climates: Literature Review, Laboratory
Testing, and Observational Field Study, Study, Studies in Conservation, 67:6, 357-365, DOI:10.1080/00393630.2021.1891810

This was brought to my attention at the recent ICOM CC Glass & Ceramics conference. My students at NYU this past term had great success joining archaeological glass with this blend. (The artifacts are destined for an enclosed display case in a non-climate controlled stairwell with a glass dome in Beirut, and we are hopeful the blend will hold up to the fluctuations there...)

I recently became aware of Mowital B 60HH in use on excavations in Italy, so my colleague has just acquired some for her students to compare with B72 as an experiment this coming term. You can only buy it by the kilo, so if you are interested, we have enough in our lab to supply the entire East Coast for years to come..... I know she and her students would be very curious to hear about others' experience with it (thanks Simone for chiming in about the challenges you've experienced reversing it).

Best,

Rebecca

Dear Archaeo-colleagues,

I know this is a hot topic (pun intended!) but what are your favorite adhesives for joining ceramics (and maybe small stone objects) in a climate that tops that magic number of 40C? 

Many thanks for sharing your current winners,

Nina

In 2017 at AIC's OSG session I presented on Israel's choice of Mowital B60HH which is the adhesive primarily used by Israel's Antiquities Authority for ceramic reconstruction. Their choice was primarily influenced by the recommendations of the Italian Istituto Centrale  per il Resauro (ICR).  I have to say that I liked its working properties but I won't disagree with Julie's assessment of its reversibility. At the IAA they use (or at least were using) B72 for consolidation but not for reconstruction.

Since nobody's said this yet, I'll just comment that I know I'm not the only conservator who feels that although pure B48N may have a high enough Tg for 40+ C storage situations, like Mowital B 60HH, it just isn't as reversible as you'd think it should be. (I do use B48N in combination with B72 and have had less slumping problems so far, even though all the testing I know about indicates that mixing B72 with B48N doesn't really raise the Tg that much). Rebecca, I'll be interested to know the results of your students' experimentation.

Hi Nina,

A shout out to our AIC and OSG leadership @Suzanne Davis and @Caroline Roberts for their recent publication in Studies in Conservation where they discuss their approach to this issue: 

Suzanne L. Davis, Caroline Roberts & Andrea Poli (2022) Paraloid®B-72/B-48N 1:1 as an Adhesive for Use in Hot Climates: Literature Review, Laboratory
Testing, and Observational Field Study, Study, Studies in Conservation, 67:6, 357-365, DOI:10.1080/00393630.2021.1891810

This was brought to my attention at the recent ICOM CC Glass & Ceramics conference. My students at NYU this past term had great success joining archaeological glass with this blend. (The artifacts are destined for an enclosed display case in a non-climate controlled stairwell with a glass dome in Beirut, and we are hopeful the blend will hold up to the fluctuations there...)

I recently became aware of Mowital B 60HH in use on excavations in Italy, so my colleague has just acquired some for her students to compare with B72 as an experiment this coming term. You can only buy it by the kilo, so if you are interested, we have enough in our lab to supply the entire East Coast for years to come..... I know she and her students would be very curious to hear about others' experience with it (thanks Simone for chiming in about the challenges you've experienced reversing it).

Best,

Rebecca

Dear Archaeo-colleagues,

I know this is a hot topic (pun intended!) but what are your favorite adhesives for joining ceramics (and maybe small stone objects) in a climate that tops that magic number of 40C? 

Many thanks for sharing your current winners,

Nina

In 2017 at AIC's OSG session I presented on Israel's choice of Mowital B60HH which is the adhesive primarily used by Israel's Antiquities Authority for ceramic reconstruction. Their choice was primarily influenced by the recommendations of the Italian Istituto Centrale  per il Resauro (ICR).  I have to say that I liked its working properties but I won't disagree with Julie's assessment of its reversibility. At the IAA they use (or at least were using) B72 for consolidation but not for reconstruction.

Since nobody's said this yet, I'll just comment that I know I'm not the only conservator who feels that although pure B48N may have a high enough Tg for 40+ C storage situations, like Mowital B 60HH, it just isn't as reversible as you'd think it should be. (I do use B48N in combination with B72 and have had less slumping problems so far, even though all the testing I know about indicates that mixing B72 with B48N doesn't really raise the Tg that much). Rebecca, I'll be interested to know the results of your students' experimentation.

Hi Nina,

A shout out to our AIC and OSG leadership @Suzanne Davis and @Caroline Roberts for their recent publication in Studies in Conservation where they discuss their approach to this issue: 

Suzanne L. Davis, Caroline Roberts & Andrea Poli (2022) Paraloid®B-72/B-48N 1:1 as an Adhesive for Use in Hot Climates: Literature Review, Laboratory
Testing, and Observational Field Study, Study, Studies in Conservation, 67:6, 357-365, DOI:10.1080/00393630.2021.1891810

This was brought to my attention at the recent ICOM CC Glass & Ceramics conference. My students at NYU this past term had great success joining archaeological glass with this blend. (The artifacts are destined for an enclosed display case in a non-climate controlled stairwell with a glass dome in Beirut, and we are hopeful the blend will hold up to the fluctuations there...)

I recently became aware of Mowital B 60HH in use on excavations in Italy, so my colleague has just acquired some for her students to compare with B72 as an experiment this coming term. You can only buy it by the kilo, so if you are interested, we have enough in our lab to supply the entire East Coast for years to come..... I know she and her students would be very curious to hear about others' experience with it (thanks Simone for chiming in about the challenges you've experienced reversing it).

Best,

Rebecca

Dear Archaeo-colleagues,

I know this is a hot topic (pun intended!) but what are your favorite adhesives for joining ceramics (and maybe small stone objects) in a climate that tops that magic number of 40C? 

Many thanks for sharing your current winners,

Nina

Since nobody's said this yet, I'll just comment that I know I'm not the only conservator who feels that although pure B48N may have a high enough Tg for 40+ C storage situations, like Mowital B 60HH, it just isn't as reversible as you'd think it should be. (I do use B48N in combination with B72 and have had less slumping problems so far, even though all the testing I know about indicates that mixing B72 with B48N doesn't really raise the Tg that much). Rebecca, I'll be interested to know the results of your students' experimentation.

Hi Nina,

A shout out to our AIC and OSG leadership @Suzanne Davis and @Caroline Roberts for their recent publication in Studies in Conservation where they discuss their approach to this issue: 

Suzanne L. Davis, Caroline Roberts & Andrea Poli (2022) Paraloid®B-72/B-48N 1:1 as an Adhesive for Use in Hot Climates: Literature Review, Laboratory
Testing, and Observational Field Study, Study, Studies in Conservation, 67:6, 357-365, DOI:10.1080/00393630.2021.1891810

This was brought to my attention at the recent ICOM CC Glass & Ceramics conference. My students at NYU this past term had great success joining archaeological glass with this blend. (The artifacts are destined for an enclosed display case in a non-climate controlled stairwell with a glass dome in Beirut, and we are hopeful the blend will hold up to the fluctuations there...)

I recently became aware of Mowital B 60HH in use on excavations in Italy, so my colleague has just acquired some for her students to compare with B72 as an experiment this coming term. You can only buy it by the kilo, so if you are interested, we have enough in our lab to supply the entire East Coast for years to come..... I know she and her students would be very curious to hear about others' experience with it (thanks Simone for chiming in about the challenges you've experienced reversing it).

Best,

Rebecca

Dear Archaeo-colleagues,

I know this is a hot topic (pun intended!) but what are your favorite adhesives for joining ceramics (and maybe small stone objects) in a climate that tops that magic number of 40C? 

Many thanks for sharing your current winners,

Nina