Conservators and Restorers Give a Special Place to Pottery!
Antique ceramics, antique
potteries, history ceramic tiles
Artisans have always loved working with ceramics, especially pottery!
It is a multi-purpose handicraft that involves working with clay. Considering
that pottery has its architectural, decorative and utilitarian uses, it
has survived since ancient times. In fact, these ceramics convey so much
information about past civilizations and their lifestyles.
Imagine the joy that pottery items provide to both archaeologists, as
well as to conservators! Whether the former are digging out facts about
early Mesopotamian civilizations or Colonial times, they get information
about religious practices, dates and periods, lifestyles, trade routes,
how technology was interpreted in those times, the daily routines, and
so much more.
As far as conservators are concerned, they are well aware that ceramics
can be very stable and long-lasting. Yet, intervention becomes necessary
at times for the purpose of restoring shards to their original glory,
stabilization of deteriorated surfaces, chemical analysis for dating,
and fabrication of missing elements (to either conceal damages or enhance
value). A restorer loves to work on antique pottery!
Of course, with the advancement of science and technology, vast inroads
have been made into the process of conservation and restoration. Yet,
there are many objects which prefer to be repaired the “olden” way.
One procedure that was practiced during the latter part of the 18th century
was called “china burning”. Any broken item had highly fluxed glaze or
enamel applied to the separated edges; then the vessel was re-fired. Of
course, it goes without saying that this method did not prove very successful.
Many amateurs did not bother to either clean or align the broken pieces
properly. But they did not hesitate to affix their signatures to these
badly-repaired articles! The bizarre arrangement remained for the rest
of the ceramic article’s lifetime!
Techniques improved over time. Let us take 10,000-year-old ceramics,
for instance. Their bodies are bound to have softened over time. Plant
juices proved very useful at restoring broken objects—tree saps, gums,
mulberry, and garlic. Layers of shellac, an insect resin, also found popularity
as a versatile adhesive plus surface coating. Glues made from fish and
animal hides were utilized too.
Workers in different countries did not lag behind in offering their own
home-made recipes for repairing pottery. The English restorer suggested
gum mastic, brandy, and isinglass. Another formula consisted of quicklime
or orange shellac combined with boiled Gloucester cheese and rectified
spirit. The Chinese came up with various adhesives—wheat gluten plus lime;
egg whites plus bamboo resin; and glutinous rice plus egg whites. The
problem lay in the application of these vitreous combinations!
Mechanical repairs made their appearance too. The life-like human figurines
of Egypt had missing heads or limbs replaced with the same from another
like object. The Europeans and Chinese followed suit. Even in modern times,
you can see pewter handles, silver tea spouts, ormolu mounts, etc. restored
by the same method. The repaired piece gets back its functionality and
charm. After all, even the conservator realizes that “a thing of beauty
is a joy forever!”
