Sejal Goel

Object Conservator

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Restoration

Restoration describes treatment procedures intended to return objects to a known (or assumed) state (American Institute of Conservation). This is often through the addition of non-original material in order to clarify different aspects of the object (aesthetic, historic, etc.).

ACT UP Coffin from Missouri History Museum

Read about it here: ACT UP Coffin

All Cannings Cross Iron Age Cooking Vessel from Wiltshire Museum

41 x 38 cm

This vessel was originally restored by Maud Cunnington in the 1930s. However, the restoration used Portland Cement, which is known to present issues in salt migration into ceramics, causing damage. In 2015, the ceramic pieces, a previous restoration job using plaster, and the cement were separated. However, the Wiltshire Museum requested the ceramic be reassembled for display

18th Century Tableware from Tavira, Portugal

Beatrice from a Private Collector (Copeland & Co., 1880)

A Parian statuette from 1880, it is extremely soiled, the head was previously readhered to the body, and there are two fingers missing on the proper left hand. 56.5cm x 22cm

The “Beatrice” statuette after restoration. The head was removed and readhered with a clear Paraloid B72 adhesive that is clean and not distracting, the body of the statuette was cleaned with 2% Laponite, and fingers were moulded and cast using miliput and painted to match the Parian

Read about it here: 3781Beatrice

Napoleon Box from a Private Collector (Serves, early 20th Century)

A porcelain and brass trinket box from the early 20th Century. The lid depicts Napoleon I of France The box has broken into seven individual pieces. Light evidence of a previous repair on the inside of some pieces. Body of the box has detached from the brass frame. Brass frame is corroding around hinges.

The sides are painted with green with a floral motif and an “N” in script. Small area in the base of the box is missing, as is part of the wall. Base has a maker’s mark “M.IMPle de Sevres”.

Read about it here: 3772TrinketBoxBrooks

The Be-Ro Rubber Mat from Beamish Museum (Redferns Rubber Co., 1950s)

This mat advertises Be-Ro Self-Rising flour and is 97 cm by 53.7 cm. It is made of vulcanised rubber with carbon black and white vulcanised rubber for the lettering. the mat was rolled up, with a stiff and dry surface that made it difficult to unroll without damaging. There is cracking throughout the mat’s surface, likely both from strain and general deterioration over time.

First and foremost, the mat had to be unrolled so as to fully assess its condition. After this, the aims in conservation included the cleaning and stabilisation of the mat to prepare it for possible display.

After the mat was unrolled, it was cleaned using a large soft brush. This removed loose dirt. Ingrained dirt was removed using deionised water and a hard bristled toothbrush, before being patted away with a soft tissue. Areas of tearing and cracking were readhered using a neoprene adhesive

Read about it here: 3792BeRoBeamish