Reyhane Mirabootalebi (2021) on "Kurdish Flatweaves and Weavers: Cultural Interweaving and Unraveling"
Reyhane’s research focused on preservation strategies and the impacts of ongoing regional conflicts on Kurdish textile traditions in Northern Iraq. She investigated material qualities such as changes in creation, production, design, material choice, and function; and immaterial qualities of the art form, such as artists’ (women’s) agency, ritual and spiritual uses, and local cultural heritage institutional roles (men’s agency) for maintaining these traditions. Factors such as loss of human lives, relocation, destruction or limited access to habitats, and economic instability, were explored in the context of potential maintenance, redevelopment or regeneration of traditional practices.
Mariana Di Giacomo (2019) on "The Effects of Preparation on Paleontological
Scientific Analyses and Long-term Stability of Fossils"
For many years, fossils have been collected and prepared for both
research and exhibition. Mechanical preparation with needles, hammers
and chisels, and air scribes has been the most common method to release
the fossils from their enclosing matrix. In addition, acid preparation
has been used by many preparators when mechanical means we're not
appropriate. Unfortunately, the consequences of using these preparation
methods had not been addressed in a systematic way. Mariana Di Giacomo's
research focused on the effects
that fossil preparation has on the surface of fossilized remains, using
analytical techniques such as electron microscopes and elemental
analysis. She employed small dinosaur bone fragments from the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and used analytical
equipment both at NMNH and Winterthur Museum. [Committee: Vicki Cassman
and Jocelyn Alcantara-Garcia (ARTC), Neil Sturchio
(GEOL), Christopher
Norris (Yale Peabody Museum), and Catharine Hawks (National Museum of
Natural History, Smithsonian Institution).]
Maria João Petisca (2019) on "Investigations into Chinese Export Lacquerware: Black and Gold, 1700-1850"
João Petisca's research focused on characterizing
Chinese export lacquer production from 1700 to 1850. The group of objects studied
were pieces coated with black lacquer decorated with gold and with manufacture
attributed to South China, namely the area of Guangzhou. Associations of the
objects with this city and surrounding areas in South China were investigated
as well as evidence of provenance. Manufacturing techniques as well as
identification of materials applied on the objects were used to further characterize
the production of export lacquer from the workshops of that region. Archival
research focused on and complemented the analytical results aiming to
understand the trade of Chinese export lacquer imported to Europe and North
America during the referred period. Materials used on the manufacture of
the pieces as well as their stylistic features were investigated in order to
further explore existing differences in commissioned pieces and more ubiquitous
objects. After graduating, João began working in private practice as a furniture and lacquer conservator for both private and institutional clients. [Committee: Vimalin Rujivacharakul (ARTH), Stephanie Auffret
(UD/Winterthur), Catherine Matsen (UD/Winterthur), Karina Corrigan (Peabody
Essex Museum), and Christiaan J. A. Jörg (Leiden University).]
Kristin deGhetaldi (2016) on “From Egg to Oil: The Early Development of Oil Painting During the Quattrocento.”
Kristin deGhetaldi's research focused on developing a more accurate assessment of Quattrocento painting practice by preserving the original stratigraphy of paint cross-sectional samples during organic analysis. In her dissertation, Kristin summarized and identified newly recognized inaccuracies relating to early analytical protocols as contamination from restoration materials, the migration of fatty acids, the presence of reactive pigments, and the formation of degradation products are now known to affect the detection of certain chemical markers that are key in helping scientists to identify the binders present in a work of art. Her findings suggest that more sophisticated methods are required for distinguishing egg tempera from oil paints, indicating that earlier technical studies must now be re-evaluated in order to develop a more accurate understanding of Quattrocento painting techniques, workshop practices, attribution, and the diffusion of artistic processes throughout Europe. Kristin has recently participated in the development of University of Delaware’s technical art history website, a two-year project sponsored by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, as well as the implementation of MITRA (Materials Information and Technical Resources for Artist), an online discussion forum for artists seeking to learn more about art materials and techniques. [Committee: Perry Chapman (ARTH), Joyce Hill Stoner (ARTC), Murray Johnston (CHEM), Chris Petersen (ARTC), Meredith Gill (ARTH, University of Maryland).]