OPTOM meets Restoration Revisited
29 May 2009
A day of experiments in a freezing cold house in Llanelli may seem a bizarre way of earning a living, but it was all in aid of attempting to uncover the past in one of Wales’ oldest town houses, Llanelly House. Staff from the Cardiff University School of Optometry and Vision Sciences used state-of -the art techniques to try and identify a Georgian painting under layers of gloss paint and white wash. The experiment was featured recently on BBC televison’s “Restoration Revisited”, presented by Griff Rhys Jones whose family were originally from Llanelli.
Kate Thomas and Lee Gonzalez used X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy measurements to map a wooden panel in Llanelly House, which is undergoing extensive renovation to bring a focus to the town. The team were loaned the XRF equipment by Oxford Instruments following a conversation between Tim Wess and Johnathan Flint, the CEO of Oxford Instruments, over dinner.
A clip from “Restoration Revisited” can be viewed by clicking on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbc7iyMNjlE
