Papers by Ieva Rusteikaitė
Semiotika, 2023
Crossing the boundaries of any one discipline, the article provides an overview of research into ... more Crossing the boundaries of any one discipline, the article provides an overview of research into historical decorated paper conducted by the author over the last several years. Examples of this seemingly very specific, ephemeral material, considered as an imitation of other materials, applied in bindings of printed books and manuscripts during the 18th and 19th centuries, are presented as anonymous artifacts of the past, strikingly characterised by their own materiality and thus involving also the researcher’s senses. Besides a historical overview of the main techniques of paper decoration in Europe, the place of this applied decorative element in the three-dimensional structure of the handmade book is also explored. The second part of the paper addresses the relevant problem of ornament as a plastic discourse, which has so far received less attention in semiotic research. Through a closer analysis of a several samples of decorated paper, questions about the semantic structure of the ornament and its effects are raised. Finally, when placed in the context of certain habits, needs and interests of eighteenth-century European society, decorated paper and its ornamental language emerge as a multilayered object with a culturally defined meaning.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis. No. 110-111: Image and Thing: Origins, Functions, Traces , 2023
The owners of the Latin translation of Francesco Guicciardini’s work “Storia d’Italia“ published ... more The owners of the Latin translation of Francesco Guicciardini’s work “Storia d’Italia“ published in Basel in 1566 were Stanisław Sabinka (?–1588?) and Nicolai Decius (1586–1629), important figures of the Vilnius political and religious elite of the second half of the sixteenth century. Until today, the elaborate binding of this book, quite untypical of the collections of rare books in Lithuanian libraries, has been attributed to the printer and bookbinder Jokūbas Morkūnas (c. 1550–1611) from Vilnius. However, other books related to his activity in Vilnius do not have enough similarities with the binding technique of Sabinka’s book and, thus, this attribution raises a number of questions. Instead of trying to establish the bookbinder’s identity, this article above all aims to define more precisely the technical features of binding through a detailed observation and focus on the material aspects of the artifact itself. A significant increase of research into the technical art history, material culture and so-called “book archaeology” in the recent decades provides a methodology that enables us not only to discuss the binding in the terms of decoration, but also to pay more attention to the structure itself. The collected technical data about Sabinka’s book and placing it into the wider context of European bookbinding of the second half of the sixteenth century allows us to reveal several historical layers of this binding and to raise a new hypothesis about the circumstances of its production. On the one hand, the binding represents an intention to follow the style of famous sixteenth-century noble bibliophilic libraries. On the other, the technical execution of the binding has features characteristic of the search for cost-effective binding solutions in Europe in the period after the invention of printing. Judging from the structural features, the binding seems to have similarities with Northern and Central European bookbinding traditions with a stronger influence of German crafts.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Knygotyra, 80, 2023
In the early modern period, the relentless growth in the copies of printed books and the increasi... more In the early modern period, the relentless growth in the copies of printed books and the increasing competition between craftsmen meant that, since the invention of Gutenberg until the 19th century, European bookbinders were forced to look for cheaper and quicker binding techniques. Based on this assumption, the article focuses on some of the bindings of books printed from the middle of the 16th until the middle of the 17th century which belonged to the library of Vilnius Jesuit Academy. This study is part of a broader research on the bindings of the Vilnius Jesuit Academy Library, and the article is limited to two groups of sources: books printed in Italy and books printed in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth). The historical bindings are discussed by following the approach targeting the field of decorative arts and material culture studies, which is also well known as the ‘archaeology’ of the book or the bookbinding. It focuses not only on the decorative features of the cover of the book, but also on the structural features of the bindings which reveal comprehensively the work of the craftsmen of the past. This method of analysis is particularly useful for discussing not only decorated but also undecorated bindings which have so far received very limited attention in the research of the old Lithuanian book. As a result, the research revealed that the modest parchment bindings form nearly a half of all the examined bindings of the collection, and confirm the practical rather than the representational aspect of the Jesuit Library. According to the complexity of the technical execution and the number of operations involved in the process of binding, five binding techniques have been distinguished, ranging from the most complex to the simplest bindings, closely related with a retail bindings. What is more, a consistent number of parchment bindings are denoted by structural features, which is close to the Italian bookbinding tradition. The predominance of the latter in the group of Italian prints makes it possible to consider the possibility of already bound books entering the library of Vilnius Jesuit Academy. Moreover, the research has revealed certain binding features linked to the bookbinding traditions in Italy and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Research. Dilemmas. Solutions. The 12th Baltic States Triennial Conservatorsʼ Meeting. Preprints, 2020
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Research. Dilemmas. Solutions. The 12th Baltic States Triennial Conservatorsʼ Meeting. Preprints, 2020
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Research. Dilemmas. Solutions. The 12th Baltic States Triennial Conservatorsʼ Meeting. Preprints, 2020
Paper pretends to look closer to the development of conservation of bindings at the Vilnius Unive... more Paper pretends to look closer to the development of conservation of bindings at the Vilnius University Library as part of the history and as a way of professional self-reflection on conservation of books in Lithuania, scarcely discussed until now. The overview allows to distinguish several different periods in the history of the Department of Restoration: the early years of training new professionals in bookbindery and conservation; a “craftsmen period” characterized by improvement of skills in bookbindery and collection of tools and teaching of junior conservators; a shift from craft to conservation determined by national conservator‘s certification process, a clearly definition of criteria and methods of intervention and appearance of more systemized professional vocabulary. Finally, the present period which is characterized by re-discovery of the craft, seen from the perspective of a conservator.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
ACTA ACADEMIAE ARTIUM VILNENSIS Restauravimo laboratorija / Conservation Laboratory 2019 / 92–93 /Edited by dr. Dalia Klajumienė, 2019
In 1968, the first conservation lab for library materials in
Lithuania was established at the Vil... more In 1968, the first conservation lab for library materials in
Lithuania was established at the Vilnius University Library. This conservation department together with the Graphic Arts Section of the Restoration Centre of the Lithuanian Art Museum that had been founded earlier became the cornerstone of the Lithuanian school of document conservation. The history of the Restoration Department of the Vilnius University Library encourages us not only to celebrate the long-time experience of conservation, but also to apply a critical view. In Lithuania, especially in the environment of social sciences and the humanities, there has been a notable absence of scientific discourse on document conservation and preservation, thus the study of such experience seems relevant and so far unprecedented. The article aims to present the archive of condition and treatment reports covering
the period between 1968 and 2017, and to discuss some cases of conservation works carried out over the fifty years. Another aim is to reveal the demand and potential of such types of archives and their research. The issues of conservation of books and paper in Lithuania and the features of heritage protection in the Soviet period are also discussed, delineating the context in which the means of documentation, decision-making related to restoration, and the methods of treatment should be evaluated and interpreted. The article presents the main tendencies found in the condition and treatment reports: the structure of written documentation and the visible priorities in providing information. The general features of conservation methodologies are discussed according to the criteria presented in the ICO-MOS Charter of Venice of 1964.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
El CRAI Biblioteca de Reserva de la Universidad de Barcelona presenta una galería virtual con eje... more El CRAI Biblioteca de Reserva de la Universidad de Barcelona presenta una galería virtual con ejemplares de papel decorado conservados en sus fondos de los siglos XVII-XIX. Los estudios sobre técnicas, soportes y materiales sustentados del papel decorado todavía estén en su primera fase, como también lo están las formas de representación de estas obras en catálogos y galerías digitales. Para entender mejor las razones de estas carencias, hay que tener en cuenta que la investigación del papel decorado se caracteriza por una serie de obstáculos y lagunas que se resumen en esta presentación.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Ieva Rusteikaitė
Lithuania was established at the Vilnius University Library. This conservation department together with the Graphic Arts Section of the Restoration Centre of the Lithuanian Art Museum that had been founded earlier became the cornerstone of the Lithuanian school of document conservation. The history of the Restoration Department of the Vilnius University Library encourages us not only to celebrate the long-time experience of conservation, but also to apply a critical view. In Lithuania, especially in the environment of social sciences and the humanities, there has been a notable absence of scientific discourse on document conservation and preservation, thus the study of such experience seems relevant and so far unprecedented. The article aims to present the archive of condition and treatment reports covering
the period between 1968 and 2017, and to discuss some cases of conservation works carried out over the fifty years. Another aim is to reveal the demand and potential of such types of archives and their research. The issues of conservation of books and paper in Lithuania and the features of heritage protection in the Soviet period are also discussed, delineating the context in which the means of documentation, decision-making related to restoration, and the methods of treatment should be evaluated and interpreted. The article presents the main tendencies found in the condition and treatment reports: the structure of written documentation and the visible priorities in providing information. The general features of conservation methodologies are discussed according to the criteria presented in the ICO-MOS Charter of Venice of 1964.
Lithuania was established at the Vilnius University Library. This conservation department together with the Graphic Arts Section of the Restoration Centre of the Lithuanian Art Museum that had been founded earlier became the cornerstone of the Lithuanian school of document conservation. The history of the Restoration Department of the Vilnius University Library encourages us not only to celebrate the long-time experience of conservation, but also to apply a critical view. In Lithuania, especially in the environment of social sciences and the humanities, there has been a notable absence of scientific discourse on document conservation and preservation, thus the study of such experience seems relevant and so far unprecedented. The article aims to present the archive of condition and treatment reports covering
the period between 1968 and 2017, and to discuss some cases of conservation works carried out over the fifty years. Another aim is to reveal the demand and potential of such types of archives and their research. The issues of conservation of books and paper in Lithuania and the features of heritage protection in the Soviet period are also discussed, delineating the context in which the means of documentation, decision-making related to restoration, and the methods of treatment should be evaluated and interpreted. The article presents the main tendencies found in the condition and treatment reports: the structure of written documentation and the visible priorities in providing information. The general features of conservation methodologies are discussed according to the criteria presented in the ICO-MOS Charter of Venice of 1964.