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Lauren Piper ACR

Lauren Piper is a Conservator at the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

The conservator Lauren Piper stand behind a brown fabric jacket measuring it

Lauren graduated from the University of Reading in 2003 with a BA (Hons) in Archaeology before undertaking a Masters degree in ‘The City of Rome’ at the same institution the following year. She went on to complete her DPhil entitled ‘A study of the painted funerary portraits from Roman Antinoopolis’ at the University of Oxford in 2009. During this period Lauren also worked at the Ashmolean Museum, first as a volunteer and then as an intern.

Further voluntary work at the Bowes Museum fuelled Lauren’s interest in conservation: she studied for her MA in ‘The Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects’ at Durham University between 2010 and 2012. As a part of this course, she undertook a nine-month placement at the Manchester Museum, gaining experience in the conservation of a wide variety of materials and object types including archaeological material, taxidermy and social history items.

After graduating, Lauren Piper was appointed as conservator for Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, based at Clifton Park Museum, where she worked until 2014. During this time she was project leader for the conservation of objects for the York and Lancaster Regimental Museum (which opened within Clifton Park Museum in 2013) as well as project leader for the set-up of a new conservation laboratory funded by Arts Council England.

Since 2014, Lauren Piper has worked as a conservator at the Royal Armouries. In this role she is responsible for the remedial and interventive conservation of objects as well as preventative collections care. This has enabled her to expand her knowledge of the conservation of firearms, armour and edged weapons. Lauren is an Accredited Member of the Institute of Conservation (ICON).

Publications

  • McGhee, L. 2016. ‘Conserving a Late Eighteenth – Early Nineteenth Century Indian Helmet: A Technical Study’. Arms and Armour 13, No. 2: 157-176.
  • Piper, L. 2019. ‘Tailored for Combat: The Conservation of an Elizabethan Jack of Plate’. Arms and Armour 16, No. 2: 196-218.
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