Tales of the Unexpected: In Paintings Conservation

Conservators' prolonged proximity to paintings makes them ideally placed to notice anything unusual or surprising which might arise during examination or treatment. Ensuing investigations, often aided by technical analysis, include the recent increasingly widespread use of macro X-ray fluorescence (MA-XRF) scanning which has led to a raft of new discoveries. The papers in this volume, presented at the British Association of Paintings Conservator-Restorers' conference 'Tales of the Unexpected' in Conservation', look at the unexpected from a variety of periods and places of origin, and from a range of perspectives: practical, technical, historical and ethical.