Paper conservation internship at the V&A Museum in London
My main goal through this internship was to gain practical and theoretical knowledge of advanced techniques in the field of paper conservation. To achieve this goal I was involved in the conservation of a number of miniature paintings, and simultaneously I made visits to various conservation international institutions to interact with working paper conservation experts and to get information about on-going techniques in the field.
Restoration and Conservation of Mughal Ceramics
Art Conservation Solutions for a technical analysis of glazed title work decoration on Mughal monuments
Research, study and display of historical arms and armour of Saurashtra, Gujarat, and Rajputana
The grant assisted with documentation of conservation and display techniques for arms and armour in the UK and was held in conjunction with a UK Travel Award.
Amaravati marbles: Study and Care
The Government Museum, Chennai holds a very significant collection of sculptures, in particular the sculptures from the Buddhist site of Amaravati. I took up the Fellowship in November 2000 in order to see the collection of Amaravati sculptures in the British Museum and to learn about display and conservation techniques. I learned from the British Museum how they had refurbished the Hotung and Asahi Shimbun galleries. The British Museum has conserved all the Amaravati sculptures and then mounted them on steel frames supported by treated rubber cushions.
Caring for Textiles
Research on textiles, including their proper maintenance and display, in UK museums
Research, study and display of historical arms and armour of Saurashtra, Gujarat, and Rajputana
The study aided by this grant and two subsequent grants the following year has helped me to bring to reality in a practical way my dream of preparing a catalogue of arms and armour in the museums of Maharashtra, and also the cataloguing of arms in the Government of Chennai's collections. Primarily, it allowed me complete the identification of the arms collection in the Mahatma Phule Museum, Pune. The catalogue of this collection will be published shortly (2001).
Past in Present: Care of the Gothic Revival
Although I had been in the UK for a year and had obtained an MA in Conservation Studies from the Institute of Advanced Arhitectural Studies, University of York on a Charles Wallace India Trust scholarship, and had formal qualifications, I was lacking practical training. This is where the Fellowship was tailor made. In India I had the distinction of being one of the earliest practicising conservation architectects, but in retrospect I feel that this fellowship made all the difference to my career.
An internship to study the latest techniques relating to the conservation of paintings at the Hamilton Kerr Institute, Cambridge University.
My internship in the paper conservation department at the Hamilton Kerr Institute at the University of Cambridge was really interesting and exciting. It is not an exaggeration if I sawy it is a well equipped conservation studio with highly experienced conservators. My aim was to learn some advanced techniques implemented in conservation, mainly on Indian miniature paintings and western paintings on paper. I was looking for various techniques on consolidation, lining of paper paintings, relaxing of cockled and wrinkled paintings, filling of missing areas and mounting techniques.
Miniature paintings and works on paper: Conservation and care
I was already in the process of conserving Indian miniatures but the award gave me a chance not only to be involved in practical conservation at the V&A but also to visit and discuss the treatment techniques employed by other Paper Conservation Studios. This gave me an opportunity to get acquainted with new materials and techniques. I procured samples of some of these materials in the UK and since then have been able to find some locally. There is unfortunately still a dearth of materials for conservation in India.
Palmleaf Manuscripts: Care and Conservation
To study and train in the conservation of paper and palmleaf manuscripts at the V&A & other UK museums
