Specialisation: Conservation of European Portrait Miniatures, with the Victoria & Albert Museum

Research Project: An Investigation into the Warping of Thin Sheets of Ivory Using Scanning Electron Microscopy

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, ivory became highly popular as a support material for miniature paintings.

Miniatures on ivory exhibit their own characteristic problems, such as crystal formation, warping and cracking. Warping is common with late-eighteenth-century miniatures, which are painted on very thin sheets of ivory, often 0.2 to 0.5 mm in thickness.

The microstructure of ivory samples was analysed by means of scanning electron microscopes in order to understand the properties of ivory as a material and to inform us about structural changes in a warped ivory sheet. The causes of warping can be complex, but involve changes in relative humidity.