"The initial request to the Central Lab was a conservation project of Mieke Aalbers. She asked for assistance is decision-making on conservation treatment of the Thangka “De godheden van de Bardo” (18th century, inv. nr. AK-MAK-200, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam). The problem is that there were loose pigments on the thangka that
needed to be impregnated. For this, research into the composition of the pigments was needed. Maria Laman (Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde Leiden) assisted in this project. In 1986 she visited a local market in Baglun, Nepal, and bought materials traditionally used for making thangkas. This collection was donated to the RCE reference collection. She requested analysis on the materials she brought from Nepal. The results of that analysis seem lost.1 Only indigo tests seem to have been performed. The two blue pigments (Reference numbers 1805 and 1808) were tested for the presence of indigo in 1988. Both tests were negative, indicating that no indigo was present in the references. To date, we do not know the composition of most reference materials. Therefore, the research question is to identify the reference materials brought in by Maria Laman."
