IRYS: Development of a condition monitoring and control method for large collections of homogeneous items

• Timeframe: 2020/21-2024
• Funding institution: National Research Plan for Heritage Conservation (PNIC2019/01)
• Lead researchers: Elena García and Daniel Durán (IPCE)
• Research team: Montserrat Cruz Mateos (MAN), Paula Grañeda Miñón (MAN), Paloma Otero Morán (MAN), Arsenio José Sánchez Hernampérez (BNE)

A key aspect of the preventive conservation of cultural assets is the ability to monitor and control potential deterioration. This is difficult when dealing with large collections of very homogeneous items, containing sets of hundreds or even thousands of similar pieces, even if the problem is something easily visible, like corrosion on coins or foxing on documents and photographs.

In 2017, the IPCE developed an automated damage mapping procedure for the coins in the Spanish Civil War Hoard held at that institution. The aim of IRYS is to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of that initial trial run by applying the procedure to different materials and developing a validated method for monitoring vast, uniform collections of flat objects affected by the same problem.

Related publications:

• García Martínez, E.; Sousa García, I.; Pascual Marcos, M.C. (2018): “Protocolos de seguimiento de conservación preventiva. Tesoro de la Guerra Civil”, Patrimonio cultural, Guerra Civil y Posguerra. Edición de Arturo Colorado Castellary. Madrid: Fragua, pp. 187-210.
• Gaztañaga Garabieta, A.; Sousa García, I.; Pascual Marcos, M.C.; García Martínez, E. (….): “Control y seguimiento mediante biosensores del riesgo de biodeterioro del "Tesoro de la Guerra Civil" del IPCE”, ¿Y después? Control y mantenimiento del Patrimonio Cultural, una opción sostenible. VI Congreso GEIIC (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2018). [Vitoria-Gasteiz]: Grupo Español del IIC, pp. 236-245. Descargar artículo