Welcome Back!
Welcome to the AOC Conservation Highlights blog, continuing on from my work on the Industrial Museums Scotland Internship blog!
A lot has been happening since the last post, so let me catch you up!
Following the completion of the Japanese Katana for the Devil’s Porridge Museum, the final few months of the Powering Our People Project were extremely busy, as we held a series of workshops and training sessions over several of the Industrial Museums Scotland (IMS) sites. These workshops were centred on several topics, including dusting and vacuum cleaning collections, corrosion reduction on iron objects, and application of microcrystalline wax. Everyone who came along had a great time, learnt some new skills, and several objects got a good clean!
The workshops went down so well that a series of instructional videos were commissioned covering the same topics, plus a few extras! These videos were filmed at AOC by videographer Joe Dalton and have received quite a few views since being posted on the IMS YouTube channel!
Finally, as the project came to an end, the incredible work and dedication of everyone involved was acknowledged when the project won the Marsh Award for Innovation in Conservation funded by the Marsh Charitable Trust, awarded through their partner ICON (Institute of Conservation). This award, which recognizes innovation in conservation practice, research or training, demonstrated the importance of the work undertaken throughout the project, and was a delightful end to a wonderful experience!
© James Pike Photography Ltd.
Marsh Charitable Trust – Marsh Award for Innovation in Conservation
Although the Powering Our People (POP) project has sadly come to an end, the work to empower staff and volunteers at all the IMS sites continues. For more information on what has been going on, visit the website or follow along on social media!
Since the end of POP, I have been made a permanent member of staff at AOC, and over the last year or so have been working on some extremely varied projects!
The first of these projects was for Historic Environment Scotland (HES), when three mysterious objects arrived in the conservation lab from Melrose Abbey, a HES site located in the Scottish Borders. These heavy, copper alloy cookware items had been on display in the Abbey Museum but looked like they had come straight from a witch’s lair, and needed some conservation intervention (see below)!
© Historic Environment Scotland
Their treatment proved challenging, not least because of their weight, but after hours of paint removal, corrosion reduction, and several coats of microcrystalline wax, the cookware was ready to be returned to the Abbey where they will be re-displayed with new custom mounts.
Melrose Abbey | Lead Public Body for Scotland's Historic Environment
© Historic Environment Scotland
My new role at AOC has also me offered the opportunity to gain more experience in archaeological conservation.
Towards the end of last year, I worked on this beautiful Roman Medallion for West Dunbartonshire Heritage. The medallion, which was discovered by metal detector in 2014, was identified as a rare medallion of Clodius Albinus, a Roman general, and usurper emperor from AD 196 to his death in AD 197. Hours of work on the microscope allowed me to reveal a little more of the decoration on both sides, and the medallion is now on display at the Clydebank Museum in West Dunbartonshire.
Clydebank Town Hall and Galleries | West Dunbartonshire Council
I have also worked on an assemblage of pottery sherds, discovered in 2018 during the excavation of a souterrain at Knockaird, Ness, on the Isle of Lewis. The excavation, which was undertaken by AOC Archaeologists, uncovered 264 ceramic sherds, representing approximately 23 different vessels, all Iron Age.
After hours of investigations, I was able to piece together partial reconstructions of several vessels, even revealing a full profile for one vessel, which had a beautiful incised design below the rim.
Finally, an exciting project came up earlier in the year, which offered two weeks onsite in beautiful Aberdeenshire! More details on this project to follow in the next post…. Stay tuned!