Conservation in focus
Asahi Shimbun displays
11 September – 26 October 2008
Room
3
Admission free
Stone: 11 September – 25 September
Organics: 26 September – 12 October
Metals and ceramics: 13 October – 26 October
The work of conservators is integral to museum
practice – it enables objects to go on public display and preserves
our cultural heritage for future generations. The display
showcases this often hidden side of Museum work and allows the
public to engage directly with the curators and conservators. The
display will consist of a team of conservators working on three
categories of objects for the duration of the show: Stone
(figure of Bacchus; marble votive relief; marble torso);
Organics (bark cloth tunic; bark masks);
Metal/Ceramics (Chiseldon Cauldron; Chertsey medieval
ceramic tile).
This distinctive display provides a unique
opportunity for the public to engage with conservators to discuss
their work, ask questions and watch conservation procedures taking
place. Visitors will also be able to engage with supplementary
material including fully conserved objects, conservation tools and
material samples and digital screens telling the stories of other
conservation projects.
Museum conservators do not work in isolation.
They collaborate and make decisions with many people across various
disciplines to reveal new information about objects.
Jody Joy, Curator of the Iron Age
collections:
'Through careful excavation Alex will be able to re-construct
how the cauldrons looked. This is fascinating as we don’t know what
cauldrons from this period looked like. Her research will also help
explain what the cauldrons were used for and why so many were
deposited in a pit in Wiltshire. These are the questions that
really interest me.'
As part of the display, there will be gallery
talks taking place in Room 3 between conservators and curators:
Thursday 18 September,
13.15
Greek and
Roman Sculpture
Amy Drago and Peter Higgs
Thursday 2 October,
13.15
Pacific Barkcloth
Sherry Doyal and Lissant
Bolton
Thursday 16 October,
13.15
Medieval
tiles
Rachel Swift and Beverley Nenk
Thursday 23 October,
13.15
Iron-Age cauldrons
Alex Baldwin and Jody Joy
For further information or images please
contact Katrina Whenham on 020 7323 8583, kwhenham@britishmuseum.org