Some New Objects Came In - June 25 2013 (Continued)

July 2, 2013

Alcohol Jug - Luther

Alcohol Jug - Proverb

Perhaps the most important part of historical objects coming in the museum from the public as donations are the stories that accompany the objects.  Last week I wrote about the objects and briefly described two of them with photos.  This week I have two more from the same group that are of particular interest.  The person who brought them in shared what information he had on his objects.  This is especially exciting and important because these stories are what helps us to date them, understand how they were used, which family members used them, and any repairs done to them.

These objects are alcohol jugs with sayings inscribed in German on the front and raised images such as flowers and birds in many locations.  In both cases the handles on the back are broken with missing pieces.  One of them has a quote from Martin Luther, the other a German Proverb.  One of them shows many cracks with obvious repairs and yellowish-brown staining.  The staining is on or near the cracks so represents an excessive amount of adhesive used to do repairs.
 

There are several interesting aspects to these examples:

1. the owner said he had played with these as a child; 
2. the quotation on the front in German; and
3. the conservation possibilities. 

Since we know the age of the donor (in his 90's) we can date the jug to at least his childhood.  The origin is unknown.  I am continuing research on determining the maker and date of these objects.  If any of you know more about these please leave a comment below.

The quotation on one jug is attributed to Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) as follows:

"He who loves not wine, women, and song remains a fool his whole life long."

On the other jug the quotation is a German proverb:

"Happy is the one who forgets that which cannot be changed." 

The possibility for conservation on the jug with the Martin Luther quotation is that the adhesive could be removed, the object disassembled, the pieces cleaned and reattached with conservation grade adhesive.  The missing handles can also be remade (molded), painted with exact colour match, and attached.  The end result would be a "like new" object.  Repairs undertaken by conservators are done ethically in such a way that the original aspects of the object are restored but that the repairs will be obvious under intensive observation such as a magnifying glass or a microscope.  It is also critically important that any repairs be easily reversed.  The entire repair process would be documented in detail with photographs at every stage and becomes part of the historical record of the object.  This is a labour intensive process and would usually only be attempted on objects of special historical significance due to the cost involved.  In our case I would recommend that it be left as is since the repairs represent an important aspect of the history of the object.

Information Tip:

More information is available on novamuse.ca by searching on accession number 2013.014.001 or 2013.014.002.  Just type in or cut and paste the accession number in the search box on the upper right of the page and press enter to bring up more information.  There is a detailed description plus measurements, condition information, some history on the original owner, and conservation work.



Some New Objects Came In - June 25 2013

June 25, 2013

Someone came in this week with some historical objects from home to donate to the museum.  This is a regular occurrence as people clear out the attic or decide that it is time to make some of their family artifacts available for others to enjoy.  This is one of the joys of working in a museum....you never really know what may come walking in the door.  There are often pleasant surprises that can be of great interest to the public.  Here is what was brought in:

• a child's chair from the Victorian era (1837 to 1901) - possibly late 1800's,
• a bone handled straight razor in its box without a top,
• a fully functional mechanical pencil with lead refill - possibly early 1900's,
• a 1961 book of cartoons from the Halifax daily newspaper of the time in mint condition,
• a school reader from the 1930's with student notes, underlining, and other scribbles,
• a military canteen from the 1950s in its carrying case,
• a brass book mark with a colourful butterfly at one end,
• a silver plated 1880's spoon warmer,
• two tall, ceramic alcohol jugs with different sayings in German.

Tasked with doing conservation work on these objects I can say that very, very little needs to be done.  I generally concentrate on cleaning, polishing, very minor repairs, packaging, storage, photographing and database updates (www.novamuse.ca).  In all cases these were clean meaning that I did not have to brush off any dirt or wipe off dust.  They are all showing some of what could be called normal wear and tear which is part of the objects' history and thus would need no remediation.

Victorian Era child's chair.

An example is the child's chair which is very solid and sturdy but shows some rips, minor staining, and loose threads in the seat cover.  It has been refinished with a varnish and the seat cover may have been replaced.  With the under seat strapping and frame in very good condition I can see no reason to do any changes.  Normally, I would recommend that wood not be refinished, the natural patina is often best left as is.  Antique TV shows often point out that wooden objects loose value when refinished.  The natural wear and patina reflect the use of the object and from conservator's point of view is a valuable reflection of the history of the object.  This chair shows the craftsmanship of the era and is a testament to the maker's skills and pride in producing high quality goods.

Late 1800's spoon warmer.

Another example is silver plated spoon warmer which is showing the usual black spotting and scratches from polishing or wear.  Since it is silver plated there is very little reason to try polishing it further since there is little or no silver left in these areas.  This object was used to keep spoons warm when boiling water was poured inside and a small lid was closed to keep the spoons warm.  This practice was popular in some circles in the 1800's but died out at the turn of the last century.