Nisha Rathode (Editor)

Harold Plenderleith

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Name
  
Harold Plenderleith


Harold Plenderleith httpsceroartrevuesorgdocannexeimage3765im

Died
  
November 2, 1997, Inverness, United Kingdom

Books
  
The conservation of antiquities and works of art, The Preservation of Leather Bookbindings

Harold James Plenderleith (19 September 1898 – 2 November 1997) was a Scottish art conservator and archaeologist.

Contents

Harold Plenderleith Harold Plenderleith HJPlenderleith Twitter

Biography

Harold Plenderleith was born in Scotland on 19 September 1898. He studied Chemistry at University College, Dundee and graduated with a BSc in 1921 and gained his doctorate in 1923. In 1924, he began to work at the British Museum with Dr Alexander Scott in the newly created Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. This department had been created by the museum to address objects in the collection that had begun to rapidly deteriorate as a result of being stored in the London underground railway tunnels during the First World War. Scott and Plenderleith began applying their knowledge of Chemistry to the deterioration of museum objects and began scientific conservation in the United Kingdom. As an archaeologist he was involved in the excavations of the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt, Sir Leonard Woolley's site at Ur, and the Sutton Hoo ship burial.

Plenderleith retired from the British Museum in 1959 to become the first director of the International Center for the study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM). He was the director of ICCROM until 1971. He helped set up and then served on the Council of the International Institute for Conservation from its creation in 1950 until 1971 and was IIC's President from 1965 to 1968. He received many medals throughout his career, including: the Gold Medal of the Society of Antiquaries in 1964; Unesco Bronze Medal, 1971; the Conservation Service Award of the U.S. Department of the Interior, 1976 and the ICCROM Award, Rome, 1979.

Books

  • The Conservation of Antiquities and Works of Art: Treatment, Repair and Restoration by Harold James Plenderleith, A. E. A. Werner. Oxford Univ Pr, ISBN 0-19-212960-0 (0-19-212960-0)
  • The Preservation of Leather Bookbindings by H. J. Plenderleith. British Museum, ISBN 0-7141-0227-X (0-7141-0227-X)
  • Qumran Cave 1 by George L. Harding, D. Barthelemy, J. T. Milik, R. De Vaux, G. M. Crowfoot, Harold James Plenderleith. Oxford Univ Pr, ISBN 0-19-826301-5 (0-19-826301-5)

    • Chapters

  • Maryon, Herbert & Plenderleith, H. J. (1954). "Fine Metal-Work". In Singer, Charles; Holmyard, E. J. & Hall, A. R. A History of Technology: From Early Times to Fall of Ancient Empires. 1. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 623–662. 

    • Articles

  • Plenderleith, H. J. & Maryon, Herbert (January 1959). "The Royal Bronze Effigies in Westminster Abbey". The Antiquaries Journal. Society of Antiquaries of London. XXXIX (1–2): 87–90. doi:10.1017/S0003581500083633. 
  • Plenderleith, H. J. (1998). "A History of Conservation". Studies in Conservation. International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Work. 43 (3): 129–143. JSTOR 1506740. doi:10.1179/sic.1998.43.3.129. 

    • Honours and awards

  • Gold Medal of the Society of Antiquaries in 1964.
  • Unesco Bronze Medal, 1971.
  • The Conservation Service Award of the U.S. Department of the Interior, 1976.
  • The ICCROM Award, Rome, 1979.

    • Memorial lecture

    Since Plenderleith's death, the Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration (SSCR) have organised an annual Plenderleith Memorial Lecture, the SSCR merged with several other organizations in 2005 to form the Institute of Conservation, and today the lecture continues annually under the auspices of the Committee of the Icon Scotland Group.

    References

    Harold Plenderleith Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA