Conservation: revealing a hidden skeleton of death | Barniz de Pasto cabinet | V&A

Video Description

Can you help us crack the code? Follow curator Nick, conservator Dana and conservation scientist Lucia on their journey to unravel the mysteries of this fascinating object. Made of a rare plant resin called mopa mopa and decorated with a technique known as Barniz de Pasto, the intricate piece is unlike anything else in our collection. When it was acquired in 2015, a routine x-ray revealed a remarkable discovery: a vivid skeleton of death, or memento mori, lay hidden beneath a layer of paint, applied some 300 years after it was made. Watch as the overpaint is finally removed to reveal the skeleton in all his glory, along with a cryptic message – the final part of the puzzle. 00:00 A secret skeleton 01:27 Colombian plant and animal life 02:03 What is mopa mopa? 04:14 European sea-monster or Andean deity? 05:10 Science conservation discoveries 06:08 Alterations and repairs 07:30 X-raying the cabinet lid 08:02 Micro computer tomography and XRF mapping 10:02 Memento mori 13:04 The last reveal – removing the overpaint 16:30 Lettering and the skeleton appear 17:34 The final puzzle – cracking the code