Fellow: Dr. Celia S. Chari, Conservation Scientist
The Mellon Conservation Hub (MCH), a collaborative research initiative affiliated with Harvard University, works with the Dogra Art Foundation to support rigorous, museum-grade scientific research and international collaboration in the conservation of South Asian art.
During Fall 2025, Dr. Celia S. Chari made substantial scholarly contributions that advanced material knowledge, strengthened international partnerships, and expanded research infrastructure in the field.
Research and Scholarly Output
- Authored and submitted Inside a Sixteenth-Century Indian Artists’ Workshop: Technical and Scientific Insights into the Dispersed Bhagavata Purana, acknowledging support from the Dogra Art Foundation.
- Authored and submitted Decoupling Diffuse and Specular Reflection Contributions to External Reflectance FTIR Signals of Indian Pigments on Paper, acknowledging support from the Dogra Art Foundation.
- Authored Investigating the Light-Stability and Laser-Induced Degradation of Arsenic Sulfide Pigments, examining photochemical reactions of the Indian pigment mensil, derived from the mineral bonazziite, with acknowledgment of Dogra Art Foundation support.
Institutional Collaborations
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA): Despite disruptions caused by a government shutdown, Dr. Chari established plans for remote collaboration in Fall 2025, with potential on-site work in 2026. This work has contributed analytical data to the MCH database, incorporating prior studies by NMAA scientists Jennifer Giaccai and Blythe McCarthy.
- Walters Art Museum: Initiated a new scientific partnership, with plans to conduct analyses on Indian and Nepalese paintings in January 2026.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: Formalized plans for a two-week research residency in February 2026 to continue spectroscopic analysis of Indian manuscripts.
Knowledge Sharing and Professional Engagement
- Delivered a webinar for the American Ceramics Society, sharing technical and scientific insights related to South Asian materials. (link to webinar page and video).
- Submitted an abstract to the 2026 Mineralogical Society of America Meeting (February 2026), presenting research on the MCH database of mineral pigments and its broader potential applications in geological surveying in South Asia and beyond.
Impact
Dr. Chari’s Fall 2025 activities demonstrate the Dogra Art Foundation’s commitment to rigorous, museum-grade research and international collaboration. Through publications, institutional partnerships, and knowledge dissemination, the Fellowship continues to advance the scientific understanding and conservation of South Asian art.
A PDF version of the full activity report is available to download from here.