XRF Boot Camp for Conservators

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy has become one of the most widely employed technique in the scientific examination of works of art. Responsibility for operating the XRF often falls to conservation professionals who may not have sufficient scientific background or education to use the instrument or interpret results. This project sought to address this gap by provide training and resources to improve the use of handheld XRF instruments for the study of cultural heritage.

• The inaugural 2013 XRF Boot Camp was co-organized with Yale’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (IPCH), featuring twenty participants from around the world, including Singapore, Qatar, Japan, Norway, Ireland, and the United States. The four-day workshop took place at Yale’s Center for Conservation and Preservation and at the Yale University Art gallery.
• The 2014 boot camp was also co-presented with the IPCH but this year at the Getty Villa. The application of XRF to the study of core material groups in cultural heritage collections was emphasized throughout the boot camp and illustrated with examples from collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the UCLA Fowler Museum at UCLA.
• For the 2016 boot camp, the Conservation Institute and IPCH paired with the Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL) to jointly present at SRAL and the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht, the Netherlands. During the workshop, eighteen participants representing ten countries gained in-depth training in the principles of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and practical instruction on the collection and interpretation of data.

XRF Boot Camp for Conservators was a series of focused workshops on the fundamentals of X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and data interpretation, developed and carried out in partnership with the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage at Yale University. Its aim was to provide training and resources to improve the use of handheld XRF instruments for the study of cultural heritage.

The Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage at Yale University