The Programme Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at UvA, where the PhD will be located, hosts the only academic conservation training programme in the Netherlands. It is affiliated to the Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Art and Science (NICAS), and shares its conservation and research laboratories with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.

This PhD will investigate historical recipes for conservation treatments (focused on cleaning of painted surfaces and on the stabilisation of active corrosion of glass/ceramic and metal objects). Such recipes were developed in a low-tech environment using natural, unrefined, non-synthetic materials and may provide inspiration for green(er) alternatives to current methods. Using recipe analysis, reconstruction and chemical characterisation, the PhD will select methods for further development, towards their integration into conservation practice.

The PhD position is offered within the EU Horizon-CL2-2021 Heritage project 'GoGREEN: green strategies to conserve the past and preserve the future of Cultural Heritage', a four-year research project with 12 partners (universities, museums and research institutes) from 5 European countries and 2 affiliated countries. GoGREEN responds to the UN 17 sustainable development goals by providing conservators with solutions to practice conservation with lower energy consumption, less toxic materials and fewer plastics.

The deadline for applications is 15 October 2022.