Helene Delaunay

Helene undertakes preventive and remedial conservation treatments on organic artefacts from different world cultures. She works primarily on ethnographic and Egyptian collections and has a special interest in painted surfaces, feathers and plant materials. She is also responsible for the on-going care of part of the collection on open display.

Helene studied art history at the University of Bordeaux, France. She obtained a Master’s degree in the conservation of painted artefacts (hons) at the Fine Art school of Avignon, France (2001) working on painted masks from Vanuatu (Melanesia).

After a year in Egypt, working on stone and wall painting, she was an A. Mellon fellow at the National Museum of the American Indian (2002/03), Washington D.C., where she worked primarily on North American baskets and was involved in the preparatory work for the opening of the new museum.

Current projects

• Preliminary investigation in the use of laser cleaning on organic materials
• On going care of objects on open display in the permanent display of the Africa, Oceania and the Americas dept.
• Collaboration on the treatment of painted Egyptian coffins as part of a storage improvement project.

Previous projects

• Collaboration on exhibitions at the British Museum (Tales of Bengal (2006), Japanese Gallery (permanent from 2006), Past from above (2006-07)) and national and international loans.
• Conservation liaison for the Hazina exhibition at the National Museum of Kenya, Nairobi (2005-06).
• Collaboration on the Icons project led by Lynne Harrison
• Collaboration on the digitalization project of the Stein collection.

Membership of professional bodies

• Member of the Institute of Conservation (ICON)
• Member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM)
• Member of the ICOM Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC)

Recent publications

H. Delaunay, ‘Painted textiles and canvas paintings: a collaborative approach to lining and mounting’, with P. Cruickshank and L. Harrison, The Conservator, 30 (2007)

H. Delaunay,“Etude d’une peinture Cambodgienne en vue de sa conservation” , with S. Cailhol, A. Demongeot, M. Ovianniko, S. Vaneph, C. Viellescazes, Conservation Restauration des Biens Culturels, 11 (1998), pp. 33-38