NICAS Colloquium Online – 5 november 2026
We are pleased to announce a new, online edition of the NICAS colloquium on Thursday 5 november 2026 starting at 12.00 hrs. The colloquium will take place online through Microsoft Teams.
Throughout the year, NICAS organizes a bi-weekly Colloquium featuring short lunch lectures where researchers share updates, present new ideas, or discuss the outcomes of their work. The Colloquium aims to keep the field informed about the latest developments, foster the exchange of knowledge, and encourage collaboration.
This week’s presentations are by Dana Melchar (Rijksmuseum) & Aspasia Kopsida (Independent Conservator, Atelier Kapa) and Kirsten Weterings (Independent Researcher Dendrochronology). The session will be chaired by Sophie Glerum (University of Amsterdam).
From Tool Mark to Dataset: Imaging Historic Woodworking Evidence for AI-Based Analysis
Abstract
The NICAS-funded Digital Analysis of 17th-Century Dutch Tool Marks (DATUM) project explores how 2D digital imaging and computational methods can contribute to the study of historic woodworking practices. This presentation will focus on one of the project’s fundamental challenges: the accurate and repeatable capture of tool marks using raking light photography. Dana Melchar and Aspasia Kopsida will discuss the development of the imaging workflow, including practical considerations such as identifying types of tool marks, photography protocols and documentation standards. Aspasia will share and reflect on her experiences from the imaging process, highlighting both successes and challenges in producing datasets suitable for digital analysis.
Biographies
Dana Melchar is a furniture and wood conservator at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Previously, she spent eighteen years at the Victoria & Albert Museum and was lead tutor in wood conservation at the City & Guilds of London Art School. Trained as a furniture maker and holding an MSc in Art Conservation from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program, she is an ICON-accredited conservator. Her work focuses on wooden objects, decorative surfaces, and lacquer traditions. She currently leads the DATUM project, exploring AI-based analysis of 17th-century Dutch tool marks.
Aspasia Kopsida is an independent furniture and decorative wood conservator, holding a Bachelor’s degree from the University of West Attica, Greece, and Master’s and Post Master’s degrees in Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage from the University of Amsterdam. Her professional experience spans leading cultural heritage institutions and conservation workshops across the Netherlands, France and Greece, including the Rijksmuseum and Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg. Alongside her institutional work, she runs her own conservation practice, Atelier Kapa. Her research focuses on the conservation of furniture, painted and decorative wood, panel paintings, and frames. Within the DATUM project, she leads the photography and documentation of tool marks.
Documenting toolmarks with 3D scanning: Retracing the development of wood technology in the Euro-Atlantic region (1300 – 1600)
Abstract
Between 1300 and 1600, woodworking in the Euro-Atlantic region underwent significant changes: sawing increasingly replaced traditional techniques, accelerated by the introduction of wind- and water-driven sawmills. The ERC project WoodCulture: Domestic forests and wood culture in Europe (1300–1600 CE), led by Dr. Marta Domínguez-Delmás, combines ethnoarchaeology, experimental archaeology, 3D surface scanning and artificial intelligence to study these technological developments, with the ultimate goal to create a reference database for the classification of toolmarks by period of use and geographic region.
This presentation will focus on the preliminary results of the first stage of the project: the development of a protocol using a handheld 3D scanner to acquire toolmark data from wooden objects, and the advantages and challenges that come with 3D documentation. By upscaling the cataloguing of toolmarks on wooden heritage through machine learning, the project offers a new perspective on how technological developments shaped our wooden heritage.
Biography
Kirsten Weterings is an independent researcher specialized in dendrochronology and technical art history. After obtaining her interdisciplinary BA at University College Roosevelt, she earned her ReMA in Art History at Utrecht University. Her research focuses on how forest management, trade relations and woodworking technology shaped material use and workshop practices for wood in the visual and decorative arts. Currently, Kirsten works as an assistant researcher for the WoodCulture project, where she assists with the 3D scanning and processing of toolmarks.