Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, Vol. 73 (2003) 97–104 THERMAL ANALYSIS OF NEW, ARTIFICIALLY AGED AND ARCHIVAL LINEN D. J. Carr 1* , M. Odlyha 2 , N. Cohen 2 , A. Phenix 3 and R. D. Hibberd 4 1 Clothing and Textile Sciences/Ngª Pñtaiao Pñeru, University of Otago/Te Whare Wªnanga o Otªgo, Dunedin/tepoti, New Zealand/Aotearoa 2 School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK 3 Conservation Unit, University of Northumbria, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK 4 Mechanical Engineering Department, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, University of London, London, UK (Received October 27, 2002; in revised form January 2, 2003) Abstract The thermal degradation of new, and artificially aged fine Ulster linen and archival linen specimens from 19 th century paintings were compared using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal degradation data from new and artificially aged linen were found to be similar in nature. Archival specimens showed a decreased major degradation temperature, an increase in char re- maining at the end of the experiment and some evidence of a depressed glass transition temperature. These indicate natural ageing through chain scission. Evidence of a two-stage degradation process was observed in some archival specimens suggesting that an unknown additive was present. Keywords: artificial ageing, linen, paintings, thermal degradation Introduction A recent research project has considered the chemical and mechanical degradation of 19 th century English canvas paintings [1–2]. The work was based at Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine in collaboration with The Courtauld Institute of Art, The Tate Britain and The National Gallery (all located in London). The project developed a physical model of a typical 19 th century painting (consisting of linen, ani- mal glue size and ground layers), which was used to investigate the failure mecha- nisms of 19 th century paintings. This paper describes an investigation of the thermal degradation of new, artificially aged and archival linen. Materials Specimens for thermal analysis were prepared from the following materials: i) New fine Ulster linen (style 3151 Ulster Weavers) – the linen was stretched, wetted and allowed to dry three times on a large loom. 1388–6150/2003/ $ 20.00 © 2003 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht * Author for correspondence: E-mail: d.carr@otago.ac.nz