Ligatus is a Research Unit of the University of the Arts, London. The main objective of the Unit is the study of historic bookbinding through the development of digital tools and resources with particular interest to conservation.
St. Catherine's Project
The monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai, Egypt, is the oldest active Christian monastery in the world with a unique library collection. Ligatus is offering conservation support through the St. Catherine's Project.
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This project is mainly funded by the St. Catherine Foundation.
Manuscript survey
On 3rd of March 2006, Ligatus conservators finished the condition survey of the 3,307 bound manuscripts in the old library of the Monastery. This completed the most detailed condition for a whole collection of this size, and it has involved the participation of 35 people from nine different countries.
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Printed books survey
On 1st of November 2007, the last team of conservator finished the condition survey of about 1,000 early printed books in the library, which is a good sample of the large printed books collection. The recording was done digitally using XML records and digital photography.
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Boxing programme
The protection of the books in the Monastery is a high priority and the use of boxes is an essential part of that. Ligatus has developed a new type of box which will allow horizontal storage of books (as Greek-style bindings were intended to be stored) and endurance in the extremely dry conditions of Sinai.
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Moving programme
In the next year the library will be rebuilt. The books will have to be moved and stored during building work. This programme will ensure that the moving will be done with the minimum risk and in the fastest possible way.
Conservation workshop
During the planning for the rebuilding of the library, space has been allocated for the construction of a conservation studio. Ligatus researchers have been developing the plans for the studio.
Cell 31A
The discovery during repairs in early 2003 of manuscript fragments glued to the walls of an alcove in the west wall of Cell 31A led to a project financed by the Ruth Breakwell memorial fund to remove the manuscript leaves and also some fragments of early paper from the late 17th-century wooden partition.
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Bookbinding Glossary
The main objective of this project is the compilation of a definitive bilingual glossary to describe Byzantine/Greek bookbindings by combining both the existing partial and conflicting terminologies and the new terms necessitated by the St. Catherine's library survey.
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This project is funded by the AHRC.
John Latham Archive
The visionary British artist John Latham died on 1st of January 2006. His influence on the visual arts is remarkable and yet consistently under-represented in the literature. His philosophical ideas on Events and Event Structures and 'Flat Time Theory', a unifying overview of the world, are fascinating, complex and worthy of serious study. This project focuses on John Latham's archive the survey of which will offer valuable material for this study.
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This project is funded by the AHRC and the Henry Moore Foundation.
Student Projects
Read summaries of our MPhil and PhD student projects or find our more here.
Theresa Zammit Lupi
PhD, writing up
A codicological study on the L'Isle Adam illuminated graduals: manufacture, condition and proposals for conservation treatment.
Nikolas Sarris
PhD, 3rd year
Classification of Finishing Tools in Byzantine/Greek Bookbinding: Establishing Links for Manuscripts from the Library of the St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, Egypt.
This research is funded by the AHRC.
Heather Ravenberg
MPhil, 1st year
An advanced digital record keeping methodology for conservation treatments.
This research is funded by the St. Catherine Foundation.
Konstantinos Hatziantoniou
MPhil, 1st year
Reused ecclesiastical textiles in a post-Byzantine monastic context: designs, materials and techniques as a means of assessing original use and provenance.
Martha Romero
MPhil, 1st year
Title to be confirmed.
