Scientific study of the pigments and binders used in mural painting from the 16th-century ce St Mary's Church of Cheriapally,Kottyam, Kerala,and its relevance to conservation

The aim of this investigation was to analyze the materials and techniques of the paintings in the 16th-century ce St Mary's Church, to evaluate deterioration of the paintings, and to propose a suitable conservation treatment for their preservation. The material analysis of ground, pigments, binders, and plasters was undertaken using binocular microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM)–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in reflectance (KBr) and transmittance mode (attenuated total reflection), thin-film X-ray diffraction, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for identifying proteinaceous and lipidic materials extracted from the micro-samples. The study generated data on two different red and green pigments used as decorative materials. The red pigments were identified as cinnabar along with traces of hematite and clay minerals, and green as malachite and the minor presence of other minerals. SEM analysis identified cotton fiber embedded in the coarse plaster layer that provided better strength to the plaster. Plant oils and proteins found as the binder in the pigment samples suggested that the painting technique was executed as tempera. Lead white and gypsum materials were used in previous restoration works.     

Stitching Together the Fabric of Industrial Houses: Investigating the Origins and Development of Cotton Workers’ Accommodation in the Derwent Valley,Derbyshire

At the close of the 18th century, the first purpose-built industrial communities connected to mechanised cotton spinning were created in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. Across four sites at Cromford, Belper, Milford and Darley Abbey, three mill-owning families constructed a wide variety of purpose-built accommodation in order to house their growing workforces. This article uses a buildings-led approach to investigate the complex influences acting on the form and design of these houses. Through the analysis of historic building fabric, this research demonstrates that workers’ housing in the Derwent Valley comprised both innovative and traditional influences, reflecting the experimental character of early cotton manufacture. Ultimately, this research suggests that the array of approaches to house-building within the valley were the result of a highly nuanced interaction between the agenda, requirements and expectations of both occupant and patron.     

Liverpool’s Cotton Importers c. 1700 to 1914

Liverpool’s first cotton importers dealt in a range of commodities and this pattern continued until the late eighteenth century. As the British cotton industry grew and new sources of raw cotton – particularly the United States – emerged, some merchants specialized increasingly in cotton in the early decades of the nineteenth century. By the end of the century, the largest importers of cotton dealt in little besides cotton. The growing prosperity of Liverpool’s cotton trade drew companies from elsewhere in the United Kingdom to Liverpool to participate in this trade. By the mid nineteenth century, several key cotton importing houses had originated in the United States; by the end of the nineteenth century the largest importers there. The manner of importing cotton changed. At first, importers had to send a ship out with a captain or supercargo with broad instructions about what to freight the ship with. As communications improved, importers were able to control their purchases of cotton more closely. In the nineteenth century, a significant amount of cotton was imported through Liverpool by merchants acting on a commission basis but this form of importing declined in the later decades of the century.     

明清松江府棉布产量与市场销售问题新探

明清时期,松江府是全国的棉纺织业中心。从劳动生产率、劳动时间和劳动力数量等角度考察,明代晚期,松江府棉布产量最多为1575万匹,外销量最多为1305万匹;清代中叶产量最多为3000万匹,外销量在2600万匹左右。明代“松江棉布,衣被天下”,只是市场有效需求不足的结果。清代松江棉布销售区域大大压缩,并不是市场竞争的结果,而是基于其生产能力、运输成本以及与外地经济联系的结果。     

遭遇与机遇:19世纪末中国农村手工业的曲折经历--以直鲁农村手工纺织业为例

19世纪末,直鲁农村手工纺织业在外国棉制品的冲击下经历了一个严重衰落的低谷,也迎来与国内发达地区并驾齐驱、与机器棉制品比肩竞争的发展转机,这一曲折经历包含着极为复杂交错的层面。一些学者关于洋布、洋货未能打入华北内地、甚至纠缠于“帝国主义是现实还是神话”的看法值得商榷;“封建、落后”的农村经济在突来的冲击面前所表现出的强韧性和对抗能力,在机遇面前所显示出的与时俱进的品质以及对新技术和新生产方式的持续容纳能力也同样值得关注。     

陈云解决1951年棉花“禁运”危机的谋略

1951年陈云解决棉花禁运危机的谋略是:节流,全国大部分纱厂在一定时期内停工,节约出原料供应军品生产;统购,实行统一收购管理棉纱、棉布市场,由合作社牵头对棉花进行预购和包收;调控,提高棉花收购价格和棉布、棉纱销售价格,补收中间商存量的棉、布税,给予出售棉花者优惠政策,提高棉农售棉积极性;促收,动员全党全国掀起购棉高潮。在陈云市场与计划相结合、行政手段与调价措施相结合的思想指导下,处理因禁运而出现的棉花危机的经济斗争取得了胜利,对新中国恢复时期经济的发展起到了重要的支持作用。     

Lancashire's ‘War’ with Australia: Rethinking Anglo-Australian Trade and the Cultural Economy of Empire, 1934–36

Following the recent cultural turn in economic history, this article resurrects a neglected imperial trade war between Lancashire and Australia to explore the nature of the cultural economy of the British Empire in the interwar period. New work has emphasised the importance of Britishness as the basis for co-ethnic networks that helped underwrite imperial expansion through the nineteenth century. However, this welcome new focus on culture’s significance for economics has, curiously, tended to obscure its dynamic interaction with the economy. Economic activity did not simply benefit from culture, as concepts like co-ethnicity suggest, but also helped to produce that culture. As result, the meanings of Britishness mobilised by trade were never stable, even in the heart of empire itself. This article focuses on a boycott of Australian produce started by grocers in Lancashire cotton towns in 1934, in response to new Australian tariffs on imported cotton goods. Tracing the cultural meanings constructed from the very first planting of cotton in Australia, through to the boycott and its aftermath, exemplifies the dynamic and contingent nature of Britishness generated through trade.     

The Earls of Thanet and the Industrialisation of the Valley of Eller Beck at Skipton,North Yorkshire

The wooded valley of Eller Beck at Skipton in North Yorkshire became the focus for the early industrialisation of the town during the 18th century, as the Earls of Thanet pursued improvement of their estates. Initially, investment was directed towards the quarrying of limestone and its export via the Springs Canal. The quarrying interest had shifted further east to Haw Bank by 1785, and a network of dams and watercourses was then constructed to power a new cotton mill. The canal was extended concurrently, and a railway from Haw Bank to a new canal terminus was constructed, transforming the historic landscape in the valley beneath the north walls of Skipton Castle. Downstream from the cotton mill, enterprising new industry was established at the former manorial corn and fulling mills. Recreational use of the woodland has since become a significant component within the regional tourist economy, thereby initiating a discrete new industrial phase.     

Agricultural Development and Household Incomes in Central Asia: A Survey of Tajikistan, 2003-2008

Two noted specialists on the agricultural economies of the former Soviet Union examine the effects of land reform on agricultural production and the income of rural house-holds in Tajikistan. The authors utilize official government statistics to discern trends of agricultural output at the national level, and the results of three extensive surveys conducted in 2007-2008 (N > 2,000) and one in 2003 (N = 4,000 respondents) by international organizations (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Asian Development Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, World Bank) to identify household-level changes. They also review the legislative framework for agrarian reform in the country; examine national-level trends in farm structure and organization, livestock production, farm productivity, and cropping patterns; and analyze shifts in size of land holdings and rural family incomes at the household level. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D130, O130, P320, Q150. 11 figures, 10 tables, 42 references.     

Dirty teeth and ancient trade: Evidence of cotton fibres in human dental calculus from Late Woodland,Ohio

Analysis of ancient human dental calculus for the presence of inclusions related to diet and dental health has been overlooked in anthropological literature. Small particles of archaeobotanical debris, which would otherwise not be preserved in the archaeological record, can become incorporated into unmineralised plaque on teeth during mastication and oral manipulation. When plaque mineralises into calculus, debris is preserved in situ. Samples of dental calculus (n = 18) were collected from the Danbury site (33OT16) in Ottawa County, Ohio and viewed under a scanning electron microscope for inclusions. Analysis yielded a variety of noticeable inclusions, including mineralised bacteria, calcium‐phosphate crystalline structures and numerous phytoliths. Here we report the first evidence of fibres consistent with cotton (Gossypium spp.) embedded in the dental calculus from the Late Woodland component (900–1100 AD ) of the Danbury site. Prehistoric cotton has not been previously documented in Ohio. The distinct morphology of the Danbury cotton and its presence in the Late Woodland component at Danbury suggests long‐distance interaction at a time in Ohio when movement of exotic goods appeared to have diminished. These microscopic remains provide insight into paleoethnobotanical history of ancient Ohioans and attest to how analysis of dental calculus could be used to supplement other paleodietary and archaeological analyses. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.