28 The identification of sea turtle shell used in 17th and 18th century Antwerp cabinets KEYWORDS: Identification; methodology; sea turtle shell; chemical analysis; conservation. In the 17th and 18th century, sea turtle shell was widely used as an exotic and highly valued product of luxury which is abundantly present in many objects within museum collections. Although being widely used, the exotic and aesthetically pleasing characteristics of the material ensured that several imitation techniques were often used due to the availability and durability of certain materials, or simply to cut the costs or have more freedom in the production process. This means that within museum collections it is often unclear if certain objects contain genuine turtle shell or whether an imitation technique has been used, which can lead to wrongful identification and attribution. It is therefore important to make a thorough identification of these materials in context of the conservation of these artifacts. The goal of this research is to find an identification methodology that can be of interest to museum curators, conservator-restorers, archaeologists, and even law enforcement officials who monitor the illegal trade in wildlife parts and products. A non-invasive, visual identification method will be used, based on the understanding of the structure and characteristics of these materials combined with knowledge of production techniques and traceological evidence. In addition, analysis techniques like FTIR, XRF and UV/VIS/POL microscopy will be explored as a complementary tool for the identification of these materials and where possible a detailed species identification will be made. The outcome of this methodology will be tested on a group of case-studies of Flemish cabinets from the Royal Museum of Art & History, Brussels, and other Flemish museum collections. We expect the outcome of this study to provide us with data about the use of these materials within the time frame of 17th century Antwerp, contributing to the knowledge of the Antwerp cabinet production and possibly reveal the origin of these marina animals. alexverlindencr[at]hotmail.com
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