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Project Collections Knowledge 2.0 - Glass

Many art collections categorise glass objects as ‘applied art’, but they also include glass artworks, such as those by Maria Roosen, Patricia Kaersenhout and Ettore Sottsass. In this context, glass as a material tends to receive little attention and research into it often has limited visibility and circulation. The Collections Knowledge 2.0/Glass project focuses primarily on twentieth and twenty-first-century glass in Dutch and Flemish museum collections, including artworks, factory glass and studio glass. Where needed, the study will examine older objects for specific forms of deterioration. This year-long project has two aims.

Digital platform

First, the project will deliver a digital platform that brings together and connects knowledge and research on glass that are not currently publicly accessible, making it visible, searchable and available for wider use.

The platform provides a base that can be further developed and expanded in the future. Its scope ranges from objects with art-historical information to details of glass formulas and deterioration phenomena, such as ‘glass disease’ (atmospheric glass degradation), as well as scientific research that helps assess the condition of glass and supports conservation measures, including preventive ones.

Existing information and research are either incorporated into the platform or linked through references. The platform maps the relationship between the design and production of glass objects, conservation strategies and art-historical context. It is structured to accommodate a wide variety of glass types, objects and knowledge. Comparable objects from other collections can be added in collaboration with the SBMK partners. The aim of this project is to establish the digital platform’s basic structure.

We are also investigating whether around 100 objects from the unique and wide-ranging study collection of glass artist Sybren Valkema (1916–96) can be made accessible to researchers.

Two primary sources

The digital platform draws on two sources: the Guide Collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and parts of the Valkema Archive, managed by Stichting Vrij Glas.
The Guide Collection includes around 80 objects from the museum’s glass collection, whose condition has been closely monitored over the past fifteen years. (Further information at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.) More recently, researchers have further studied the collection in relation to glass instability. Given its age and the long period over which it has been assembled, the Guide Collection can serve as a reference for phenomena like glass degradation.

The Valkema Archive was compiled by glass artist and lecturer Sybren Valkema. This unique archive contains extensive information on the design process for glass and various techniques, including formulas and experiments. It contains more than 100,000 (digitised) documents on the production of specific glass objects, including formulas, design drawings and teaching materials alongside more general information on processes, tools, and the like. The platform links information from these two sources. The examples we select for this are also submitted to the Glasmuseum Leerdam and museums partnered with the SBMK. In this way, a wide range of collections are involved in the digital platform’s development.

Contributions

We warmly welcome any additions regarding deterioration studies, glossary and glass artworks, particularly those relating to the link between creation and conservation! Please email the SBHK with your contributions..