Ann and I had fascinating time at the Conservation Centre this afternoon.
Lunch at the cafe was fine, and our brief visit round the exhibits was good, and makes me look forward to visting it again. But the best part was definitely the "Behind the scenes" visit.
We signed up for the visit when we arrived, and when the allotted time joined four others and one staff member, who showed us round just two of the twelve different rooms within the building. On different days, we would have seen other rooms, but today it was fabrics and metals.
The conservation centre is not primarily a museum, but a workshop. Twelve workshops rather. It is here that exhibits for the museums are worked on to prepare for going on display. They are not restored, as such, but conserved. The staff call themselves conservators rather than restorers. The emphasis is on cleaning, and stabilising them by arresting any decaying processes. They do not necessarily repair damage, which is part of the object's history, to repair it would be to remove the history.
We saw the conservators at work, and talked to them out what they were working on. We heard what they were doing and why, and considered the dilemnas they faced in deciding what and how much work to do.
We saw an Indian patterned sheet fabric, a native american decorated leather saddle, an Inuit fur set of outer clothing, a hat made of intestines, and a necklace with frogs as decoration.
I am not quite sure what made it all so interesting. I could imagine yawning as I walk past the same exhibits in an exhibition, and yet here they were exciting. Even the items lying around in the corridors seemed fascinating.
Certainly it was a privilege to see the objects not behind glass cases, and being able to quiz a real person about an object beats reading a small card next to the exhibit. Most of all though I was impressed by the dedication of the conservators; some came accross as very professional, others a little more as if it was just a job, and others still displayed a quiet passion. They all shared a common set of values and ethics which they put into practice every day as they determine how to deal with the amazing objects the care of which they have been entrusted with.
Mike Pendray
28 March 2001