Ultra-Realistic Imaging: Applications in Museums Hans I. Bjelkhagen Hansholo Consulting Ltd www.hansholo.com Museum Holography_2014

Virtual Artefacts Programme Bringing the Artefacts Back to the People project funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation One of the aims of this programme was to have original artefacts recorded using colour holography. The recorded holograms were then included in a travelling hologram exhibition. It was not possible to have the original objects on display in local Wales museums due to the low security of the these sites. The colour hologram recording took place at at CMO/OpTIC/Glyndŵr University, St Asaph, Wales, UK. One of the first artefacts to be recorded was the 14,000-year-old Decorated Horse Jaw Bone from the ice age. The bone was discovered in Kendrick's Cave in Llandudno and is the only piece of artwork dated to the end of the last Ice Age or Late Glacial period in Britain. [British Museum 1959,1203.1] the hologram was recorded in April 2009. Museum Holography_2014

Jaw Bone Hologram Recording Museum Holography_2014

Jaw Bone Hologram Decorated horse jaw bone from the last ice age (about 13,500 years old). Museum Holography_2014

British Museum, London Jill Cook, Deputy Keeper of Prehistory and Early Europe at the British Museum attended the recording in St Asaph said: “The British Museum is committed to sharing the collection as widely as possible in the UK and across the world. This new technology provides another opportunity for people to engage with the collection, it is an important step to wider access.”   Museum Holography_2014

Bringing the Artefacts Back to the People Recording setup Elisabeth Royles, Grosvenor Museum, Chester The recording of the Tudor Owl Jug (16th Century) and Sergeant at Arms Ring The Artefacts from Grosvenor Museum in Chester. Museum Holography_2014

Bringing the Artifacts Back to the People Tudor Owl Jug and Sergeant at Arms Ring in one hologram Museum Holography_2014

Mobile Recording Equipment Mobile recording equipment essential for applications, such as, e.g. museum artefact recording. Thanks to the new lasers on the market, it is now possible to build the necessary recording equipment. The Hellenic Institute of Holography in Greece has a portable three-colour analogue holographic camera, the ZZZyclopTM camera. The three lasers: Red laser: 638 nm at output power 80 mW (CrystaLaser laser) Green laser: 532 nm at output power 100 mW (Cobolt Samba laser) Blue laser:  457 nm at output power 50 mW (Colbolt Twist laser) Museum Holography_2014

Mobile Recording Equipment Colour holography recording equipment and the recording setup in a museum Museum Holography_2014

Mobile Recording Equipment ‘Heaven and Earth’: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections at National Gallery of Art, Washington from October 6, 2013, through March 2, 2014; Travels to the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, April 9 through August 25, 2014. Some 170 rare and important works, drawn exclusively from Greek collections, will offer a fascinating glimpse of the soul and splendor of the mysterious Byzantine Empire. Recognized masterpieces, many never lent before to the United States, will be on view with newly discovered and previously unpublished objects from recent archaeological excavations in Greece. Museum Holography_2014

Mobile Recording Equipment ‘Heaven and Earth’ Recording August 2013 Museum Holography_2014

Mobile Recording Equipment Nikos KONSTANTIOS, Archaeologist, Museologist, BYZANTINE & CHRISTIAN MUSEUM, Athens: “We have opted to use display holograms -- instead of digital media - for the visual replacement of selected cultural artifacts during their temporary loan as we felt that their one-to-one ultra-realistic 3D optical representation through full-color holography allows the viewer to form an accurate view of the object –even when the original artifact is not present. Moreover, this happens instantly at first glance without any interaction or complications introduced by the digital media (touch screens, buttons, image quality, etc.)” Museum Holography_2014

Mobile Recording Equipment Hologram: Full-color Denisyuk-type, originated in-situ at the Thessaloniki Museum of Byzantine Culture in October 2013 by A. Sarakinos on ‘Ultimate’ glass plate, size 20x25cm. OptoClone [bracelets from Thessaloniki, about 9th–10th century AD] Museum Holography_2014

Museum Colour Holography: Summary The virtual 3-D colour image behind the holographic plate represents the most realistic-looking image of an object that can be obtained today. The extensive field of view adds to the illusion of beholding a real object rather than an image of it. The wavefront reconstruction process recreates accurately the light scattered off the object during the recording of the color hologram. Museum Holography_2014

New Book Published in June 2013 It covers interferential imaging techniques, Lippmann photography, analogue and digital colour holography, including in-depth details about panchromatic recording materials and recording equipment, including RGB lasers and digital printers as well as applications of colour holograms. Museum Holography_2014

Professor Hans I. Bjelkhagen Hansholo Consulting Ltd Contact Details Professor Hans I. Bjelkhagen Hansholo Consulting Ltd Email: hansholo@aol.com www.hansholo.com Museum Holography_2014