Susan Stock

• Senior Metals Conservator at Royal Ontario Museum

During micorscopic examination and cleaning, an unusual decorative technique was revealed.

During micorscopic examination and cleaning, an unusual decorative technique was revealed.

Key issues related to surfaces and materials in the study and conservation of archaeological, artistic and historical objects are presented and illustrated with case studies. The materials cover a relatively broad chronological and compositional range. An important objective of the review is to inform the materials science and engineering community...

The results of the lead isotope analysis (LIA) of 15 copper-base artefacts from the Bronze Age site of al-Midamman, Yemen, are reported. The LIA data suggest the existence of an indigenous Bronze Age metal production and exchange system centred on the southern Red Sea region, distinct from those in neighbouring regions of Arabia and the Levant. The...

A new pale blue corrosion product has been found on copper alloy artifacts in the collections of a number of institutions. The corrosion product has been characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, wavelength X-ray dispersive spectroscopy and Raman microspectroscopy. The corrosion product is a copper (II) compoun...

In 1997, a hoard of copper-based objects was discovered at the megalithic site of al-Midamman, on the Red Sea Tihama coastal plain of the Republic of Yemen. Since there have been very few metal artifacts discovered in the lowlands of Yemen, and there was limited stratigraphy on the site, determining the time and place of production for these artifa...

The unusual appearance of a dark patina on a select group of Egyptian copper alloy objects in the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) collection has raised the question of both its composition and formation and therefore, its authenticity. The purpose of this project was to determine both the constitution of the patina and the process by which it was formed...

Four iron statues dated by inscription to the Ming Dynasty, China, (1491 A.D.) were investigated for their metal composition and coating structures. The investigation was initiated with the intent of ascertaining whether any prior treatment had been done and to determine the present condition of the objects. During visual examination and simple sur...

The original Centre Block on Parliament Hill (Ottawa, Canada) (designed in 1859) was destroyed by fire on the night of February 3, 1916. The Library of Parliament (completed in 1877) remained standing after this fire, and its original structure was intact until another fire occurred in the dome in 1952. This event necessitated significant alteratio...

In March 1997 the excavation team of Edward Keall, Head of the Department of Near Eastern and Asian Civilization of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (Canada) found the remains of an apparently prehistoric site in a region that was supposed to have been uninhabited until the Middle Ages. On the site there are megalithic pillars of granite and basal...