Workshop

Les 2 et 3 février 2017, se tiendra à Gand une rencontre sur “les usages de l’alun dans les sociétés occidentales à la fin du Moyen Âge”. conferentie-aluin-programma-copie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DIDIER BOISSEUIL (Université de Tours), JAN DUMOLYN (Universiteit Gent) – Introduction

ROBERT HALLEUX (Universitéde Liège) – Les aluns dans l’alchimie antique et médiévale

MARIA JOAO MELO (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) – L’usage de l’alun dans les pigments (12e-16e siècles)

VINCENT CATTERSEL (Universiteit Antwerpen) – A preliminary study on the use of alum in early modern varnish and lacquer recipes

RICARDO CORDOBA DE LA LLAVE (Universidad de Cordoba) – L’usage de l’alun dans le travail des peaux (15e-16e siecles),

MARIE VEST (Det Kongelige Bibliotek Copenhagen) – The production and use of alum-tawed leather in the Middle Ages and later,

FLORIAN TEYREGEOL (CNRS-IRAMAT) – Expérimentations autour de la place de l’alun dans les recettes métallurgiques du monde médiéval,

IRENE BRUCKLE (Staatliche Akademie der bildenden Kunste Stutgart) – The role of alum in historical papermaking and implications for conservation of paper as cultural heritage

DOMINIQUE CARDON (CNRS-CIHAM) – Alum et al. in the Florentine company “Francesco di Giuliano Salviati e Comp. “tintori d’arte Maggiore”, 1483-1498 : lessons, questions

JEROME HAYEZ (CNRS-LAMOP) – Entre la circulation et les usages: à la recherche du chainon manquant du commerce du détail de l’alun (Toscane, vers 1400)

ROBERT HALLEUX (Université de Liège) – Conclusions/Table-ronde

Colloque international

Technical Knowledge in Europe. From Writting Texts to Archaeological Evidences (13th-16th centuries)

International Meeting / Córdoba, University of Cordoba / 17-18 september 2015

Résumé :

affiche de tke2015 díptico-1The international meeting Technical Knowledge in Europe will review the main subjects regarding artistic and industrial technology in the Late Middle Ages and the first century of the Modern Period. One of the meeting’s core targets is to highlight the variety of methods with which the issue can be approached, from the study of the written records to archaeological investigation; and from the examination of technical recipes to the scientific analysis of works of art and archaeological materials. The meeting has been organised within the framework of research project HAR2012-37357 (The scientific and technical knowledge in the Iberian Peninsula (13th-16th centuries), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy.

Pour consulter le programme du colloque : tke2015 díptico

Séminaire

Mazarrón en los espacios mediterráneos del alumbre (siglos XV-XVI)

Seminario Internacional / Mazarrón, Espacio Centro Cultural de Mazarrón / 5 y 6 de febrero de 2015

Résumé :

Cartel_Mazarron_lres copieOBJETIVOS: Presentar el International Scientific Coordination Network Exploitation of Mediterranean Alums in Europe (CNRS, Francia) ··· Efectuar un balance de conocimientos sobre el tema de la explotación, el comercio y el uso del alumbre en el Mediterráneo durante el final de la Edad Media y el inicio de la Edad Moderna ··· Proponer perspectivas de análisis comparables entre distintos espacios europeos y mediterráneos, con particular énfasis en las cuestiones relativas a la Península Ibérica y Mazarrón ··· Explorar posibilidades de colaboración entre los distintos investigadores y equipos de trabajo interesados en la materia.

Pour consulter l’affiche du séminaire : Cartel_Mazarron_lres copie

Rencontre du GDRI

Alum – A Material at the Crossroads of the Arts, Crafts, and Learned Inquiry

Workshop du comité de pilotage du GDRI : EMAE / Liège, University of Liège, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters / 27 novembre 2014

Suivi d’une présentation de Colour ConText. A Database on ColourHistoricalPractice and Knowledge

Résumé :

During medieval and pre-modern times, potash alum was used for a variety of purposes in artistic and craft contexts. Alum was one of the most important chemical compounds involved in the dyeing of textiles and the manufacture of organic lakes, used Colour ConText - rev IG2in painting and illuminating techniques. Knowledge on the various uses and functions of alum can be gathered by the studying of collections of recipes, of which hundreds of examples have survived from the Middle Ages and the pre-modern period.

Recipe sources have been made accessible through a specifically designed database (Colour ConText). Within these sources, alum is involved in a large field of technological procedures. It acts as a siccative agent in the preparation of oils and varnishes. It was employed in the making of glues, in the coloration and the treatment of various supports (bones, parchment, paper, wax, …), in the manufacture of pigments, such as verdigris, and the purification of ultramarine. Recipe books also provide us with data regarding the physical qualities of alum, the diverse states in which it was supplied and possible substitutes. They also deliver some clues concerning its various geographical provenances. Thus, these sources could serve to shed light on the multiple historical roles of alum but also help in accurately estimating its technical importance. In addition, through these collections of recipes we learn that alum not only served for artisanal purposes but it was also used in alchemical, medical, pharmaceutical and house-economical contexts.

In parallel, alum was also discussed in contexts of learned inquiry. Its physical properties were explained in lapidaries, encyclopedias, and alchemical treatises. Despite the evident importance of potash alum, the history of its use in the arts, crafts and contexts of learned inquiry has remained little studied.

This research project in the making on the history of alum aims at writing the history of the use of alum in the arts, crafts and learned inquiry. Investigating the history of alum, we consider the interconnectness and dissemination of knowledge between the arts, crafts and learned inquiry and the various ways in which it relied on commercial, cultural, technological and scientific exchanges.

 Pour consulter l’affiche de la présentation : Colour ConText – rev IG2