Keene's cement

Description

A very hard, fast-setting gypsum plaster developed by Richard W. Keene in England about 1840. Keene's cement is made by heating plaster of Paris to form anhydrite then soaking it in an aluminum sulfate solution to reform the hemihydrate calcium sulfate. The alum acts as an accelerator which provide nuclei for the rapid, fine-grain solidification. Keene's cement forms a hard finish plaster that has been used in frescos as well as for the repair and modeling of sculptures. An imitation marble, marezzo, is also made with Keene's cement.

Synonyms and Related Terms

gypsum cement

Authority

• Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• Susan E. Schur, Conservation Terminology: A review of Past & Current Nomenclature of Materials, Technology and Conservation, Spring (p.34-39); Summer (p.35-38); Fall (p.25-36), 1985

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000 Comment: marezzo marble