Putting the Pieces Together: Putting the Pieces Together: the Codicology & Conservation of the the Codicology & Conservation of the Archimedes Palimpsest Archimedes Palimpsest presented by The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore 6 ~ Reception Follows Pryzbyla Center - Great Room A Senior Conservator of Manuscripts and Rare Books February 27, 2012 The Catholic University of America Abigail Quandt Abigail Quandt 7:00 p.m. The Catholic University of America - 620 Michigan Avenue, N.E. - Washington, DC 20064 Distinguished conservator Abigail Quandt will speak on the 12-year conservation project to stablilize the long lost Archimedes Codex. Her work, undertaken with surgical precision and infinite patience prepared this book for imaging, to reveal the earliest surviving copy of the writings of Archimedes, long considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity. When it arrived at the Walters Art Museum, the two million dollar manuscript book was brittle, moldy and barely readable. But beneath the 13th-century prayers written on the surface, there was known to be a hidden treasure of the greatest scholarly significance; the recycled parchment used for the prayer book also contained, among other classical works, a 10th-century text, the earliest surviving copy of Archimedes’ treatises. Abigail Quandt led an international effort to stabilize the fragile volume and prepare it for multispectral imaging, a process that would reveal its secrets, page by page, layer by layer, as modern technology shed new light on one of the ancient world’s greatest scientists. The lecture will be held in the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center Room A. It is sponsored by Rare Books & Special Collections, Mullen Library, and the Department of Chemistry. For information contact Rare Books at (202) 319-5091 or [email protected] Individuals requesting accommodations for disabilities should contact [email protected].

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Page 1: Senior Conservator of Manuscripts and Rare Books 27 2012

Putting the Pieces Together: Putting the Pieces Together: the Codicology & Conservation of the the Codicology & Conservation of the

Archimedes Palimpsest Archimedes Palimpsest presented by

The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

6 ~ Reception Follows

Pryzbyla Center - Great Room A

Senior Conservator of Manuscripts and Rare Books

February 27, 2012

The Catholic University of America

Abigail Quandt Abigail Quandt

7:00 p.m.

The Catholic University of America - 620 Michigan Avenue, N.E. - Washington, DC 20064

Distinguished conservator Abigail Quandt will speak on the 12-year conservation project to stablilize the long lost Archimedes Codex. Her work, undertaken with surgical precision and infinite patience prepared this book for imaging, to reveal the earliest surviving copy of the writings of Archimedes, long considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity. When it arrived at the Walters Art Museum, the two million dollar manuscript book was brittle, moldy and barely readable. But beneath the 13th-century prayers written on the surface, there was known to be a hidden treasure of the greatest scholarly significance; the recycled parchment used for the prayer book also contained, among other classical works, a 10th-century text, the earliest surviving copy of Archimedes’ treatises. Abigail Quandt led an international effort to stabilize the fragile volume and prepare it for multispectral imaging, a process that would reveal its secrets, page by page, layer by layer, as modern technology shed new light on one of the ancient world’s greatest scientists.

The lecture will be held in the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center Room A. It is sponsored by Rare Books & Special Collections, Mullen Library, and the Department of Chemistry. For information contact Rare Books at (202) 319-5091 or [email protected] requesting accommodations for disabilities should contact [email protected].