Spotlight - 10.2019

y name is Kristine Rose-Beers. I’m 38

years old and senior conservator at the

Chester Beatty Library, which is based

in the grounds of the historic

Dublin Castle.

My job involves the pres-

ervation and conservation of

art objects within the exten-

sive collection. My personal

area of interest and research

is Islamic manuscripts. I’m par-

ticularly interested in manuscripts

from the eastern Mediterranean. We’re

very lucky to have some of the earliest

examples of the codex (book form) in the

library. This includes three multi-quire

Coptic parchment codices from the

sixth century, as well as folios of biblical

papyri from the second century AD. We

also have books from the fourth century

through to the present day. The period

I’m most fascinated by is any thing before

1500.

When I’m reviewing an object for con-

servation, I try to think about why I’ve

been asked to look at it and what it needs.

For example, is the book showing signs of

physical damage? Perhaps the book has

been weakened by an insect that nibbled

its way through the pages hundreds of

adhesive [Ed(hi:sIv]

, Klebstoff, Haftmittel

artefact [(A:tIfÄkt]

, Gegenstand

codex (Pl. codices)

[(kEUdeks; (kEUdIsi:z]

, altertümliche Hand-

schrift in Buchform

Coptic [(kQptIk]

, koptisch

fairly [(feəli]

, ziemlich

flake away [fleIk E(weI]

, abblättern

gym [dZIm]

, Fitnessstudio

maven [(meIv&n]

, Experte, Expertin

Mediterranean

[)medItE(reIniEn]

, Mittelmeer(raum)

millennia [mI(leniE]

, Jahrtausende

nibble [(nIb&l]

, knabbern, nagen

parchment [(pA:tSmEnt]

, Pergament-

pester [(pestE]

, bedrängen, belästigen

preservation

[)prezE(veIS&n]

, Erhaltung, Schutz

quire [(kwaIE]

, Lage, Bogen (Papier)

Qur’an [kO:(rA:n]

, Koran

sacred [(seIkrId]

, heilig, sakral, geistlich

scroll [skrEUl]

, Schriftrolle

surface [(s§:fIs]

, Oberfläche

unwind [)Vn(waInd]

, abschalten

utterly [(VtEli]

, völlig

vulnerable [(vVlnErEb&l]

, anfällig

Manuscript

maven

Lernen Sie eine irische Konservatorin

historischer Manuskripte kennen, deren

Arbeitsstelle sich in einem Schloss befindet.

Von OLIVE KEOGH

MEDIUM AUDIO PLUS

Fotos: Olive Keogh; iStockphoto, netopaek, narcisa, Ryan Klos, LdF, crazy82/iStock.com; Ole Schwander/Shutterstock.com

Spotlight 10/2019 A DAY IN MY LIFE

A DAY IN MY LIFE

M

12

years ago, or maybe its materials are suffering because of light

or changes in humidity and temperature.

The Chester Beatty’s approach is one of minimal intervention.

This means we take the smallest steps possible to stabilize an

object. I like this approach. I think it preserves the integrity of

the artefact, and we don’t try to hide the fact that it may have had

a long and adventurous life. I recently worked on a beautifully

illuminated Italian manuscript from 1380. Some of the areas of

pigment had begun to lift and flake away from the surface, so

working under a microscope, I inserted adhesive beneath the

flakes to bring them back down to the surface and ensure they

stay there. That took about three days. But I’m also working on

a very long project that has already taken four years. It’s a fasci-

nating early eighth-century Qur’an manuscript on parchment.

My work is fairly varied and I get to travel quite a lot. But on

a typical day, my alarm goes off at 7 a.m. and my cat starts pes-

tering me to get out of bed to feed her. I try to leave the house

by 8.15 and I walk to work down the hill to Dublin Castle. On a

good day, I get to focus on the things I’ve planned to do, but we

often get a last-minute request for an object to be digitized, or

I have to look at something for a potential loan or exhibition.

We have quite strict hours because of the security on the site,

so I finish work at 5 p.m. I often go to the gym after work just to

unwind. I like to cook so I’ll prepare something to eat and chat

with my husband and maybe watch TV before bed.

The themes in the Chester Beatty galleries remain the same

year round, but the displays rotate. Because it’s largely manu-

script material, it can be very vulnerable to light damage; noth-

ing is on display for longer than a year at most. On the first

floor, we have our Arts of the Book gallery. This takes you

through the way books and written materials have

been produced for the past two millennia. There, you

can see Egyptian papyrus texts and some beautiful

Qur’an manuscripts and Japanese scrolls. On the

second floor is the Sacred Traditions gallery. This

covers world religions and is utterly inclusive, with

everything from very early biblical fragments on papy-

rus right through to a Jain textile painted object. Everything

we have is beautiful. It’s very difficult to pick a favourite.

Listen to Kristine Rose-

Beers on Spotlight Audio:

spotlight-online.de/

spotlight-audio