{"id":3098,"date":"2026-07-08T10:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/?page_id=3098"},"modified":"2026-07-11T13:26:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T12:26:49","slug":"materials-and-partnerships","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/heritage-digital-microscopy\/materials-and-partnerships\/","title":{"rendered":"Materials and partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; global_module=&#8221;322&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_menu global_parent=&#8221;322&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.106&#8243; menu_id=&#8221;7&#8243; submenu_direction=&#8221;downwards&#8221; fullwidth_menu=&#8221;off&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; module_class=&#8221;main-navigation&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; 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module_class=&#8221;header-image&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_image admin_label=&#8221;Banner image&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/344\/2026\/07\/materials-partnerships-banner.jpg&#8221; show_in_lightbox=&#8221;off&#8221; url_new_window=&#8221;off&#8221; use_overlay=&#8221;off&#8221; align=&#8221;left&#8221; always_center_on_mobile=&#8221;on&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; force_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;0px|||&#8221; animation_direction=&#8221;left&#8221; show_bottom_space=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color_all=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243; \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; specialty=&#8221;off&#8221; transparent_background=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; inner_shadow=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|&#8221; prev_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221;][et_pb_row allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;off&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||0px|&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|&#8221; module_class=&#8221;breadcrumbs-row&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243;][et_pb_text admin_label=&#8221;Breadcrumbs (do not remove)&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; border_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221; module_class=&#8221;breadcrumbs&#8221; custom_css_main_element=&#8221;border-bottom: 1px solid #ececed;&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221;]<\/p>\n<span><span><a href=\"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/\">Home<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; specialty=&#8221;on&#8221; transparent_background=&#8221;off&#8221; allow_player_pause=&#8221;off&#8221; inner_shadow=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method=&#8221;on&#8221; parallax_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_1=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_2=&#8221;off&#8221; parallax_method_2=&#8221;off&#8221; make_fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_width=&#8221;off&#8221; width_unit=&#8221;on&#8221; make_equal=&#8221;off&#8221; use_custom_gutter=&#8221;on&#8221; gutter_width=&#8221;2&#8243; prev_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#1d1d1d&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_3&#8243;][et_pb_sidebar admin_label=&#8221;Left Nav Sidebar&#8221; area=&#8221;et_pb_widget_area_1&#8243; orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; remove_border=&#8221;on&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; module_id=&#8221;left-nav-menu&#8221; show_border=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243; specialty_columns=&#8221;2&#8243;][et_pb_row_inner admin_label=&#8221;Row&#8221;][et_pb_column_inner type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; saved_specialty_column_type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_text background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h1>Materials and partnerships<\/h1>\n<p class=\"paragraph ng-attr-widget\">We have conducted research on artefacts and materials in a plethora of museum collections across the UK and the world, including museum collections in the Americas, Australia, and Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph ng-attr-widget\">The materials we study include but are not limited to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>animal materials like feathers and featherwork, tortoise shell, deer antlers, leathers and skins, animal-based adhesives;<\/li>\n<li>plant materials like historic botanical specimens, moss, seeds, soils, resins and adhesives;<\/li>\n<li>body-related materials such as hair, wigs, and hair embroidery;<\/li>\n<li>artworks, including drawings, engravings, etchings, paintings;<\/li>\n<li>metals and metal craft products like gold smithery or jewellery;<\/li>\n<li>ceramics;<\/li>\n<li>parchments, papers, and manuscripts, from late antiquity to modernity;<\/li>\n<li>pigments, especially of historic inks;<\/li>\n<li>textiles, including linen, wools, silks, and velvets, as well as embroidery, lacework, bobbin work, thread analysis including composite metal threads, and the analysis of dye techniques.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery admin_label=&#8221;Image gallery&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243; gallery_ids=&#8221;3154,3156,3155,3157,3158,3160&#8243; \/][et_pb_text background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; text_orientation=&#8221;left&#8221; use_border_color=&#8221;off&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;left&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p>Working with such a rich diversity of materials, we have also engaged in policy work to enhance professional heritage digital microscopy practices. In collaboration with the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), we have established the UoM Special Collections\u2019 first protocol for the microscopic analysis of historic inks, which served as the foundation for similar heritage digital microscopic research at other institutions such as The National and University Library of Iceland.<\/p>\n<p>Photographs taken with our digital microscopes are available on online collection databases and\/or stored object files at the following museums:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge<\/li>\n<li>Hispanic Society of America, New York<\/li>\n<li>John Rylands Library, Manchester<\/li>\n<li>Landesmuseum W\u00fcrttemberg, Stuttgart<\/li>\n<li>Manchester Art Gallery<\/li>\n<li>Manchester Museum<\/li>\n<li>McGill University Library &amp; Archives, Montreal<\/li>\n<li>Museo de Am\u00e9rica, Madrid<\/li>\n<li>Museo Nacional de Antropolog\u00eda, Madrid<\/li>\n<li>Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas, Madrid<\/li>\n<li>Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge<\/li>\n<li>National and University Library of Iceland, Reykjav\u00edk (Landsb\u00f3kasafn \u00cdslands \u2013 H\u00e1sk\u00f3lab\u00f3kasafn, Lbs-Hbs)<\/li>\n<li>National Museums Liverpool<\/li>\n<li>The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York<\/li>\n<li>The Whitworth, Manchester<\/li>\n<li>Victoria &amp; Albert Museum, London<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>The Bodies, Environments and Material Culture Collective<\/em>\u2019s heritage digital microscopy activities have brokered strong partnerships with museums and Special Collections in Manchester and across the world; artisans and artists in Central America, Europe, and the UK; as well as research institutes in Australia, Canada, Europe, the UK, and the US.<\/p>\n<p>We have also conducted consultancy work, using our digital microscopes to analyse museum and special collections artefacts in Canada, Iceland, and the UK. Such work has also featured in exhibitions like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Ancient Textiles from the Andes<\/em>, The Whitworth, 03\u201309\/2019<\/li>\n<li><em>Albrecht D\u00fcrer\u2019s Material World<\/em>, The Whitworth 06\/2023\u201303\/2024<\/li>\n<li><em>Executions<\/em>, Museum of London 10\/2022\u201304\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_gallery admin_label=&#8221;Image gallery&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243; gallery_ids=&#8221;3148,3149,3150,3151,3152,3077&#8243; \/][\/et_pb_column_inner][\/et_pb_row_inner][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Connect Title&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;0px||0px|&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.90&#8243; background_color=&#8221;#1d1d1d&#8221; module_class=&#8221;footer-section&#8221; prev_background_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; global_module=&#8221;380&#8243;][et_pb_row admin_label=&#8221;row&#8221; global_parent=&#8221;380&#8243; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; 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[&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2773,"featured_media":0,"parent":3068,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3098","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2773"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3098"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3098\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3169,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3098\/revisions\/3169"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/bodies-emotions-material-culture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}