Students work with conservators to investigate objects from the museum collection, contributing to ongoing lab research initiatives or creating individual projects. Students may receive academic credit for their work, complementing studies in art and sciences, anthropology/ archaeology, Classical civilizations, ancient Mediterranean studies, etc. Projects often result in public or online presentations.
Xu EC’23 examined, documented, and treated several engravings printed in ink on paper.
Sarah Lindberg (16 Emory) studied materials and construction of a Bamana Kono mask from Mali, Africa.
Markaila Farnham (21 Emory) combined her majors in Chemistry and Art History through a capstone project to identify blue colorants on African objects.
Leah Oliver (20 Spelman) investigated the coating layers on a ceramic figure from Ghana to understand its treatment history.
Olivia Boyd (20 Emory) and Benjamin Kassavan (19 Emory) conducted honors research in the Physics Department, measuring glass transition temperatures and strengths of acrylic resins used in art conservation.
Adam Ring (19 Emory) undertook a SIRE project in the Chemistry Department to analyze residues from ancient ceramic pots from the Americas, looking for evidence of kakaw.
Maxine Faass (19 Emory) wrote a senior thesis in Ancient Mediterranean Studies about her analyses of residues in ancient glass perfume vessels.
Science of Art
Science of Art is a series of online student presentations that explores concepts taught in Emory's general chemistry classes through case studies featuring objects and conservation projects from the Carlos Museum.
