Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Reconstructing a Japanese Teapot Spout
4/18/2024
In our last post about the Miss Mariko Okinawa doll’s tea set, we discussed re-joining all of the tiny ceramic fragments.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Micromosaic Jewelry
2/22/2024
This week in objects conservation, we are working on several pieces of micromosaic jewelry made in Italy during the late-19th century.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Reconstructing a Shattered Glass Shade
1/25/2024
This iridescent green shade came to the lab in a box of fragments. Piece by piece, I built the individual fragments back into a shade.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Reconstructing a Japanese Doll’s Tea Set
12/28/2023
These tiny ceramic fragments are part of a Japanese doll’s tea set. I am working on putting these pieces back together so that they can be displayed with their doll in the future.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Revealing the Details of an Egyptian Scarab Ring
11/9/2023
Several small copper alloy objects, pieces of jewelry and articles of adornment, are all showing signs of bronze disease.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Repairing an Ancient Egyptian Jar
10/12/2023
In the Conservation Lab, we are working on this large ceramic jar from Dynasty I Egypt (3100–2900 BCE).
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Jain Shrine—Now on Display!
9/14/2023
If you’ve been following our Conservation blog posts, you may have seen several updates as we carried out treatment over the past two years.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Jain Shrine Nearing Completion!
5/18/2023
The treatment on our Jain Shrine is (finally!) nearing completion!
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Shell & Barnacle Covered Bowl
4/20/2023
This fifteenth-century Chinese ceramic bowl presents some intriguing features that tell a fascinating story of its past. Shells and barnacles cover the bowl’s surface. These unusual attachments are commonly seen on objects that have spent time in ocean environments, in this example, possibly the result of a shipwreck.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Filling-in Areas of Loss
3/23/2023
After removing all the old adhesive and over paint, we revealed several areas of loss to the painted scene on the glazed surface. This loss was likely caused by the same incident that damaged the foot causing the piece to break into multiple fragments.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Conserving and Displaying a Palampore
3/2/2023
Are you a pal of Indian textiles? Then be sure to see the palampore currently on display in the South Asian Gallery!
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Jain Shrine—Revealing Multiple Layers of History
2/23/2023
While cleaning and conserving our Jain shrine, we discovered several layers of paint from different periods of its history. The carved wooden designs would have been repainted several times during its use as a devotional object.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Preparing a Vintage Child’s Dress for Display
2/2/2023
Getting beautiful objects on display is a multi-stage process that often includes a stop (or several!) in Conservation. This week we installed some new objects in the Forecourt Gallery of the museum, including this child’s dress.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Cleaning Up the Jain Shrine—Work Continues!
1/26/2023
We are working on conserving a new piece of the shrine—which is cleaning up very well—revealing beautiful bright red and yellow pigments underneath the coating.
Ivory Shrine: Tiny but Mighty
12/21/2022
Many of the carved items (such as the bow held in the hand of the figure on left side of the archway) had broken and required repairs to be carried out under a microscope.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Jain Shrine Update
11/17/2022
This week in objects conservation: Almost 12 months from when we first started the treatment, half of the Jain shrine has been conserved, and a new batch of pieces has moved into the lab to begin treatment.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: A Pair of Ceramic Jars
10/20/2022
These large jars are in rough shape and are currently in the lab for some major repairs.
Behind the Scenes in the South Asian Galleries
9/29/2022
Take a peek into preparations for the reopening of the South Asian Galleries, December 2023.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Jain Shrine Reveal
7/28/2022
This week in objects conservation: We have finished coating removal and cleaning of one of the 44 pieces of our Jain Shrine!
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: The JoLynn and Byron Gustin Gallery
6/30/2022
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about their treatment progress and enjoy seeing them back in the galleries on your next visit!
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Small But Mighty
5/5/2022
This week in objects conservation: In contrast to our very large Jain shrine, this week we are working on a very tiny shrine!
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Shrine Time
4/7/2022
This week in objects conservation: We take another look at the progress being made on our 17th C Jain Shrine.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: 17th Century Jain Shrine
3/10/2022
This week in objects conservation: another large architectural object has entered the conservation lab!
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Wooden Cabinet Inlaid with Ivory and Brass
2/10/2022
This week in the objects conservation lab: A beautiful wooden cabinet inlaid with ivory and brass.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Ancient Middle East Gallery
12/16/2021
This week in objects conservation, we’re doing the finishing touches to the 100+ objects being installed in our newly renovated Ancient Middle East Gallery, opening Saturday, December 18.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Nabataean Pottery
10/14/2021
Catch this object on view later this year when our Nabatean collections return to the galleries.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: 19th Century Silver Bowl
9/15/2021
In the objects conservation lab this week: we have a beautiful, though heavily tarnished, 19th C silver bowl in the lab being treated before going on display next year.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: Grime Be Gone
8/19/2021
In Objects Conservation: This 19th C carved wooden box is in the lab undergoing conservation before display in an upcoming reinstallation of our South Asian Art Galleries.
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: 12th Century Mina’I Ceramic Bowl
7/22/2021
Catch this newly stabilized object back on display in the Islamic galleries later this year!
Behind the Scenes in Conservation: 12th–13th Century Water Jar
6/24/2021
This week in objects conservation: Anytime an object is selected for display our objects conservator assesses its condition to determine whether it is stable, or whether it needs conservation treatment before display.
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