8/3/2019 Mansen, E. y Bishop, M. Conservation of Painted Archaeological and Ethnografic Objects. 1993

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/mansen-e-y-bishop-m-conservation-of-painted-archaeological-and-ethnografic 1/2

Conservation Institute Home Publications and Videos GCI NewslettersNewsletter 8.1 (Spring 1993) Conservation of Painted Archaeological andEthnographic Objects

Conservation of Painted Archaeological

and Ethnographic Objects

By Eric Hansen and Mitchell Bishop

In a 1983 article describing the state of archaeological andethnographic collections, Professor Henry W. M. Hodges wrote: "If one compares the truly vast literature in the field of oil painting, suchas the provision of supports, with that which has been written aboutthe treatment, say, of untanned skins or feather work, one will seethe latter is almost non-existent, and one can gauge how littleresearch is being done aimed at preserving our ethnographiccollections."

Today, ten years later, the dearth of solutions to the conservationproblems of archaeological and ethnographic objects remains. Thesearch for answers is particularly urgent given the inherentimpermanence of these objects.

Most indigenous technologies used in the

manufacture of ethnographic objects did notproduce physically durable objects. Forexample, collections of objects such aspainted wood artifacts from Oceania or Africaare rarely more than two or threegenerations old because they containmaterials that deteriorate easily.

A major challenge in the conservation of ethnographic objects is the consolidation of 

matte painted surfaces. Paints formulatedwith a poor quality binder or a high ratio of pigment to binder are normally matte inappearance. When, as is often the case,these paints are in a powdery, friable, or

flaking condition, the result is continual paint loss. If a conservatortreats a surface such as this with a consolidant to improve the paint'scohesion, other problems can arise. Consolidants frequently causepaint that is matte and light in appearance to darken and discolor.

Unfortunately, technical literature on this topic is not readilyavailable. In 1990, the Getty Conservation Institute's Training

Photo: Guillermo Aldana

8/3/2019 Mansen, E. y Bishop, M. Conservation of Painted Archaeological and Ethnografic Objects. 1993

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/mansen-e-y-bishop-m-conservation-of-painted-archaeological-and-ethnografic 2/2

Program organized an advanced course, "The Consolidation of PaintedEthnographic Objects," to address this problem. In anticipation of thecourse, Institute staff evaluated existing technical literature, surveyedover one hundred ethnographic conservators in the United States andCanada, and implemented a program of scientific research focusing

on specific material and methodological problems.One result of this research was the development of a low cost, "lowtech" kit for the identification of binding media. Based on analyticalkits originally used for medical purposes, the "Binding MediaIdentification Kit" does not require the use of sophisticated chemicalor physical instrumentation, and can be assembled and resuppliedwith materials available from laboratory supply houses.Subsequent to the 1990 course, the Institute's in-house scientificresearch on the subject was further refined. This research indicatedthat the treatment method (and factors affecting the treatment

method) were more important in matte paint conservation than theconsolidant chosen for a specific application. Specifically, newmethods were explored that promoted the distribution of theconsolidant throughout the paint surface in the initial application.A description of this technique will appear in an article to bepublished in the Spring 1993 issue of the Journal of the AmericanInstitute of Conservation. Details regarding the GCI's "Binding MediaIdentification Kit" were provided in an article in the Journal'sFall/Winter 1992 issue. While the methods described in both articlesgrow out of research on ethnographic artifacts, they are applicable to

treatment problems in areas of conservation other than ethnographicones.Another addition to the literature will appear this year when Art andArchaeology Technical Abstracts (a publication of the GettyConservation Institute, in association with the International Institutefor Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works) publishes asupplemental bibliography titled Matte Paint: Its History andTechnology, Analysis, Properties, Deterioration and Treatment (WithSpecial Emphasis on Ethnographic Objects). The bibliography bringstogether material from a number of areas including anthropology,

archaeology, ethnobotany, artists' notes and interviews,contemporary art journals, organic chemistry, coatings science,analytical chemistry, and the conservation literature.As recognition of the importance of ethnographic collections grows,concern over the state of their preservation will likely increase. Theconservation community will need to continue exploring newtechniques if we are to protect this essential part of our collectivecultural heritage.Er ic Hansen is an Assoc ia te Sc ien t is t in t he GCI 's Sc ien t i f i c  

Progr am . Mi tche l l B ishop is a Research Ass ist an t in t he GCI 's  

D o cu m e n ta t i o n P ro g ra m .