Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Treaty of Kanagawa, signed by Japan and the United States in 1854, ended Edo Japan’s isolation and opened the country to foreign advancements in technology, science, and industry. This time of change, marked by the fall of the Shogunate and the transition to the Meiji period in 1868, coincided with the 1856 discovery of the first synthetic dye, mauveine, by William Perkin. For the exhibition Kimono Style: The John C. Weber Collection, ten kimono from the late Edo (1603–1868), Meiji (1868–1912), and Shōwa (1926–1945) periods were selected to investigate the introduction of synthetic dyes in Japan’s textile industry. Analysis with liquid chromatography-diode array detector-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-qToF-MS) showed only natural dyes in pre-1854 kimono. Synthetic dyes appeared at the end of Edo, immediately after they became available, gradually increased during Meiji, and completely replaced natural dyes around the 1920s in the Shōwa period, as domestic production began in Japan.

Although the origins of lost wax casting extend back into the 5th millennium BCE, it was not until the development of hollow core casting that life-sized metal sculptures could be produced. Based on existing evidence, the earliest adoption of this technique, which involves the inclusion of a clay core within a wax model, occurred in Iraq (Mesopotamia) during the Early Dynastic III period (ca. 2600–2350 BCE). To date, only one hollow core casting from the succeeding Akkadian period (ca. 2350–2150 BCE)—the Sargon Head in the collection of the Iraq Museum—has been studied from a technical point of view. The recent attribution of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Head of a ruler to this formative period of hollow core lost wax casting provided the impetus for its examination by high-energy X-ray computed tomography—the most practical technique for an object that is continuously on display that could image in 3D the interior morphology of this sculpture given the considerable thickness of its metal walls. This scan revealed a markedly different style of production than the Sargon Head. Although further research on early castings is required to determine the chronological implications of the differences observed and to elucidate more generally the early development of hollow casting technology, the scan of the Head of a ruler provides evidence of some of the challenges encountered and problem-solving strategies used in the casting process.

This study investigated the local corrosion of alumina and magnesia refractory in CaO–Al2O3–SiO2–MgO slag due to the Marangoni effect, which is a key factor for localized wear in different industrial processes, using experimental, analytical, and numerical approaches. The objective is to explore the Marangoni effect using computational fluid dynamics simulation aiming to provide insights into the dominant slag flow patterns influencing refractory corrosion and to determine whether the observed corrosion groove can be attributed solely to the Marangoni effect. Static finger tests were conducted at temperatures of 1500 and 1550 °C employing a continuous wear testing device. A two-dimensional axisymmetrical section model of the test assembly was created, incorporating concentration-dependent surface tension gradients and surface tension forces to replicate the Marangoni flow. As the surface-tension simulation required time steps in the order of 10−5 s, modeling up to the experimental time scale cannot be realized. Consequently, the simulation outcomes were extrapolated to anticipate the groove radii of the experimental corrosion steps. Corrosion rates were derived from measurements and analytical methodologies. Established analytical equations for corrosion under surface-tension-flows were adapted to enhance the accuracy of corrosion rate estimation. However, the analytical considerations yielded poor estimates. Meanwhile, the employed simulation model successfully generated plausible predictions of the Marangoni flow. Drawing from the extrapolated simulation outcomes, the projected groove radii exhibited a close correspondence to the measured values, demonstrating a relative error of approximately 3 %, 11 %, and 15 % for the magnesia system at 1500 °C and alumina systems at 1500 and 1550 °C, respectively. Taking into account the uncertainties inherent in the methodological approach, the disparities in the alumina values suggest the involvement of mechanisms beyond the Marangoni effect in the localized wear. Consequently, this study effectively clarifies the impact of the Marangoni effect on the local wear of the examined material systems.

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Thomas Wilfred (1889–1968) invented an idiosyncratic artform, ‘lumia’, that projected coloured light onto screens. With these contraptions, Wilfred aimed to expand the concept of art beyond standard media categories. Yet critics and curators historicized lumia within the tradition of painting, and the artist himself adopted a form of museological presentation – the frame – for his works of the 1950s. Close consideration of a work in the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art sheds light on how the disciplinary framework of museums obscures intermedia objects that prompt new approaches to their collection and interpretation.

En af USA's rigeste maend ansatte for 118 år siden en ung kvinde til at få sat skik på hans hastigt voksende samling af sjaeldne manuskripter og kulturskatte. Belle da Costa Greene var på mange måder en usaedvanlig bibliotekar og er blevet en rollemodel for eftertiden. Nu kommer hun selv i centrum gennem en saerudstilling på det bibliotek, hun gjorde til et af de maegtigste i verden.

While eighteenth-century print media in essence rested on the same technical apparatus as in previous centuries – letterpress printing, woodcuts, and intaglio prints – the growth in quantity created a media revolution. The effect was a qualitative shift in terms of literacy, growth of newspapers, the spread of images and distribution of knowledge, but also of misinformation and propaganda. In this volume eight scholars from three continents investigates various aspects of media and mediation in the history, culture, and politics of the eighteenth century.