The Loong Conservation Project—conserving the oldest known imperial processional dragon
Dr Holly Jones-Amin
Loong 龍 is recognised as the oldest imperial processional dragon in the world. Made c. 1890, Loong 龍 is a widely respected living part of the Bendigo community in Australia. His survival is due to over 100 years of consistent care by the Bendigo Chinese community. This talk charts Loong’s 龍 performing life, his impact on the Bendigo and wider community, his contribution to cultural sustainability, his past repairs and recent conservation treatment. The Loong Conservation Project is the first Australian heritage conservation project to capture detailed carbon emissions measurements. The talk details the steps Grimwade conservators took to engage with the Chinese community and other stakeholders to conserve Loong 龍. Conservators and Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation Students utilised methods that actively reduced the carbon emissions of treatment practices and materials during over 1500 hours of treatment.
Biography
Holly has worked as a conservator for over 25 years. She is the Principal Conservator and Team Leader of the objects, textiles and archaeological conservation consultancy program at Grimwade Conservation Services at the University of Melbourne (UoM). In this role, she straddles research, teaching, engagement and commercialisation.
She is a foundation lecturer for the University of Melbourne Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation. From 2004 to 2014, she managed postgraduate coursework programs and lectured and tutored students. From 2015 to the present, she has taught as an expert in practice, delivering sessional lectures, tutoring, supervising, and marking minor theses.
She holds degrees in Archaeology and Conservation and a PhD in conserving low-fired archaeological ceramics. Holly has worked as a Conservator in the museum setting and archaeological sites in Australia, Syria, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Turkey, Italy and Georgia. She has specialist skills in treating archaeological, Indigenous and world culture objects. Her research interests include the degradation and stabilisation of porous archaeological ceramics, how conservation interventions impact future research and how cultural belief systems can be respected in museum settings.
She is a CABAH (Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage) associate investigator. CABAH is undertaking research to safeguard Australia’s national heritage, transform research culture, connect with communities and inform policy. The team of academics are from eight Australian universities and several museums in Australia and overseas. As part of the CABAH team, Holly aims for materials conservation to take a more active role within archaeological projects in Australia and beyond. She is an assistant coordinator for the International Council of Museums Committee for Conservation (ICOM-CC) working group for archaeological materials and sites.
Through CABAH, Holly is working with the University of Wollongong to develop conservation workshops for the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area in the Northern Territory.
