Research questions
Twelve things nobody has established
Each of these is scoped small enough to finish, states what evidence would settle it, and records the dead ends already walked. Several need nothing but a photograph. One needs a specialist to look at the sheet against the catalogue.
Suits a student project
5 of the 12 are contained enough for a seminar paper or a dissertation chapter. They are marked below.
Cost to answer
Four are resolved by one photograph. Two need a conservator in the room. One needs a specialist with the sheet in front of them.
If you answer one
It is credited to you, by name, on the claim it changes and in the changelog. How to send it.
Open
- RQ-04Does the sheet carry a watermark, and can it narrow the period in which this impression was printed?This is the question with the highest information value in the whole record.high
- RQ-05What is the chain-line spacing, and does it match any impression already recorded in the census?Chain lines are the widely spaced lines left in laid paper by the mould's supporting wires.medium
student project - RQ-09Does any drypoint burr survive in this impression, and what does the plate wear indicate?Drypoint burr — the ridge of metal thrown up by the needle — holds ink and prints as a soft, velvety black.medium
- RQ-10What caused the dampstaining, and is it stable?Two distinct things are being asked.medium
- RQ-11Can any owner of this sheet before 2023 be identified?The sheet's own provenance is blank for roughly 177 years before 2023.high
Under investigation
- RQ-02Is this impression New Hollstein 170, state III?State is the field that locates a sheet in the life of a plate.medium
student project - RQ-12Which institutional impressions are the right comparators for assessing wear in this one?Every wear judgement is a comparison, and the comparison is only as good as the comparators.medium
student project
Partially resolved
Resolved
- RQ-01Does this impression carry the signature “Rembrandt f. 1638”?The working record described the sheet as “without signature”, which reads oddly against a plate that is signed and dated in the plate from its first state.low
student project - RQ-03What are the plate and sheet dimensions, and does a plate mark survive on any edge?Dimensions are how a census row is matched, and a figure whose convention is unstated cannot be compared with anything.low
- RQ-07Does the verso carry collector marks, dealer codes or inscriptions?The back of a print is where its ownership history is usually written: collectors' stamps, dealers' stock numbers, pencil annotations, mount and hinge remnants.low
student project
1 dead end logged - RQ-08Which sale and lot was this sheet bought as in 2023?The auction catalogue entry is the most recent independent description of the object by someone who had it in their hands.low
3 dead ends logged