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This article first appeared in Conservation News 74. News from ADEN (France)The ADEN group was founded in 1995 under the initiative of Nicolas Boucher, furniture conservator at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, and Marie-Christine Triboulot, teacher at the school set up to study the technology and industry of wood in Epinal, known as ENSTIB*. Nicolas Boucher did not have the scientific facilities and knowledge to pursue research on specific problems linked to furniture conservation. Marie-Christine Triboulot had all the scientific facilities in her school but insufficient subjects for research. Initially the ADEN group was created to study a re-gluing process that Nicolas and some other French colleagues had been using for the last ten years. It was agreed that Nicolas and his colleagues would provide the ENSTIB students with the results of their practical experience and the students, under the direction of Marie-Christine, would look at the subject from a scientific angle. The Muse des Arts Decoratifs and ENSTIB are both funded by the French government and it was therefore decided that membership of the group would remain free and that the results of this collaboration would be disseminated free of charge. The group is not official, has no legal status, no specially allocated funds and has no reason to exist if the collaboration between the Museum and ENSTIB ceases. The group is an example of a free exchange of expertise. The results of the last five years are a tribute to the enormous dynamism and hard work of Nicolas Boucher and Marie-Christine Triboulot and also to the growing number of members who are sharing their experiences and putting into practice the results of the research.The principal subjects studied by the group to date are:
The reports are available (in French) from Nicolas Boucher and all members are encouraged to share their own copies with non-ADEN colleagues. Nicolas and Marie-Christine often present the results of the ADEN studies at conservation seminars and conferences. The wide availability of the ADEN research does result in their studies being presented (in at least one instance uncredited) by non-ADEN members. However, despite the risks of their work being appropriated by others, the ADEN group remains committed to the sharing of information and will soon be publishing its results on the Internet. A list of the names and address of each participant is also published to facilitate further exchanges. Summary of the latest ADEN Newsletter published July 2000 The most recent newsletter from the group was supplemented by a short report describing further developments in the research on the gluing of brass, written by Sébastien Milleville. A brief resumé of this report appears below. The newsletter also explained some changes to the organisation of the group. The number of participants in the group has grown from five or six people to more than 150 from all over the world and from different professions. Meetings have been regularly organised in Paris or Epinal to discuss results of the previous studies and future plans. The growing number of participants has made the meeting harder to control and less constructive. As a result it was decided to create a small "committee" of twelve people to discuss first the forthcoming projects. The "raison d'etre" of the group however remains the same and new membership is still welcomed. The results of the initial tests on using enzymes to remove marquetry were discussed at the first meeting of the new committee which was held at the Laboratory of Research for Historical Monuments on 9th May 2000. The use of enzymes to hydrolyse the animal glue with a view to removing marquetry is an old idea, which had already been looked at by furniture conservators in the 1980s. The research was halted by the exorbitant cost of the enzyme and the inexperience of most people involved in the project. The ADEN group re-started this work as enzyme selection and testing had already been studied at ENSTIB. ENSTIB's results had been published and were encouraging but are very hard to apply yet. A school of microbiology as well as paper conservators were invited to assist with the project because of their experience and expertise in this field. The results of the meeting are that work should continue and that, despite the cost, a "pure" enzyme should be studied initially to clarify the process. The committee also discussed the test procedures to which the pure enzyme should be submitted. If any UKIC reader has any experiences or ideas in this area please contact Nicolas Boucher directly (in French), or myself.
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