Over the last quarter, we’ve seen a host of varied conservation case studies undertaken by the best in the industry and we love sharing them on our LinkedIN page. From ceramics and paper to sculpture and paintings, we’ve selected the most popular projects we’ve shared to showcase them once again in this blog! Which one is your favourite?
The complex treatment of a 17th century majolica pharmacy jar.
The jar had fallen off a high bookshelf during an earthquake in 2013 and broken into 40 major pieces and innumerable tiny flakes and chips. Conservators often need to differentiate between different types of physical changes that may occur during an object’s lifetime and may choose not to intervene if an object is stable. In this case, because the damage caused by the earthquake was very recent and extensive, we decided to proceed with reconstructing the jar and minimizing the damage as much as possible.
Read more on the project and see the finished jar here.
Restoration of a Steinbeck First Edition Dust Jacket
Book and Paper Conservation Services was thrilled at the chance to work on this project, being fans of Steinbeck themselves, they knew that a little repair and inpainting would go a long way on the ratty pictorial dust jacket of the book.
Read more on the project and see the treat dust jacket here.
Watch the preservation of the Drunken Satyr, a rare ancient Roman bronze
Go behind the scenes with Getty conservators, curators, and scientists as they work to preserve the Drunken Satyr, a rare ancient Roman bronze on temporary loan to the Getty Villa from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy. Learn what makes this statue particularly fascinating, what conservators are doing to stabilize it for the future, and how the Getty partners with colleagues in Italy to study and conserve outstanding examples of ancient art in the Naples collection.
The newly conserved sculpture will be a centerpiece of the exhibition Buried by Vesuvius: Treasures from the Villa dei Papiri at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles on now until October 27, 2019.
Watch the full video and see the treated bronze here.
Too much restoration can be a bad thing as seen at Winterthur/University of Delaware…
Fellow Lindsey Zachman was reminded of the damage that too much restoration can cause last fall when she treated a Dutch engraving that showed evidence of many restoration campaigns, with results as varied as they almost certainly had been well intentioned. The engraving, dated 1604, depicts an oft-painted Biblical scene from the Book of 1 Kings, the meeting of the prophet Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, and is by Dutch contemporaries, artist Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651) and engraver Jan Saenredam (1565-1607).
Read more about the treatment process to address all of the issues presented here.
A Fascinating look at the International Conservation Partnership Preserving Herculaneum, Ancient Roman Town Buried by Vesuvius
In Federico Fellini’s 1972 movie Roma, workers excavating for a new Metro line discover a luxurious Roman villa decorated with beautiful, perfectly preserved wall paintings. Within minutes, the wall paintings start to disintegrate due to contact with outside air. “We have to do something,” cries one of the workers, but alas, it is too late. The paintings disappear, lost forever.
A similarly dramatic scene has unfolded, albeit much more slowly, at Herculaneum.
Take a look at the complex issues, new approaches to management, scientific investigation and conservation now taking place to stabilise wall paintings for the future here.