Treatment
Conservators conduct treatment on artifacts and specimens to preserve and restore artifacts to protect them from deterioration while maintaining their integrity and authenticity.
When an object arrives at the Field Museum, it often has lasted longer than expected and may be in a fragile or worn condition. Sometimes, repairs or stabilization are necessary to prevent further damage. For example, archaeological pottery is often found in pieces and needs to be reassembled. Repairing a museum object to improve its appearance or restore its functionality is a meticulous and sometimes costly process. This process can take anywhere from a few hours to several months, and conservators always keep in mind the risk of damaging the object or altering its original features.
The goal is to preserve the original object as much as possible. Conservators also consider the cultural importance of the object, which is just as valuable as its physical form. Many modern adhesives and materials used for restoration typically last only between five and ten years. They can change color, weaken, or become unusable over time. Therefore, conservators select restoration materials that will remain stable for a long time and can be removed if necessary in the future. They also try to use materials that differ from the original ones, making it easier to distinguish what is new.
Every step in the treatment process is thoroughly documented, including the materials used and the resulting outcomes. This careful record-keeping allows future researchers to tell what work has been done on the object compared to its original state when it was first collected by the museum.
Treatment Examples
Collaborative Conservation Treatment with Indigenous Communities
At the Field Museum, conservators act as stewards - entrusted with the long-term care, documentation, and preservation of the collections. However, informed stewardship requires collaboration. To achieve this, we partner directly with invested communities, often Indigenous. Understanding cultural knowledge, practices, and values shapes how we best care for the collection.
Collaborative conservation shifts authority away from museums alone determining treatment choices. Instead, we work together with communities to make decisions about condition, care, and display. This can mean integrating traditional methods of repair or preservation, choosing not to intervene when degradation and wear reflect cultural norms, or creating new housing and supports that honor both conservation standards and cultural priorities. In modern conservation, restoration is rarely undertaken, but may be embraced in collaborative work. These shared decisions ensure that the objects remain living connections to the communities from which they come, rather than static artifacts.
By placing Indigenous voices at the center of conservation, we strive for a practice that is not only technically rigorous but also culturally responsive. Collaborative care ensures that while the Field Museum houses the collections, authority over their meaning, use, and preservation remains rooted with the communities themselves.
Restoring Pottery
Reassembling broken pottery from archaeological sites is a crucial task for conservators. In the past, they used adhesives such as unstabilized cellulose nitrate, which broke down quickly, rendering the pottery unsafe to handle. Some restorers even painted over original designs or added new pieces, which created a false impression of the pots. Today, conservators strive to use minimal intervention techniques, selecting adhesives that are stable and can be easily removed.
When reassembling pottery, conservators follow three main rules: they ensure each pottery piece is secured on at least two edges, use fillers that can be removed without damaging the pottery, and ensure the fillers are visually distinct from the original pottery. For low-fired pottery, they often use a filler called Polyfilla along with a special mesh for support.
Before applying the filler, they coat the edges of the pottery with a long-lasting acrylic resin to prevent the filler from absorbing into the pottery. They shape a thermoplastic mesh called Varaform, which becomes flexible in warm water, to fit the gaps. Sometimes, they use cyclododecane (CDD) to stop the filler from penetrating the pottery. Finally, they apply Polyfilla in thin layers and finish it using different types of sandpaper while being careful to keep the surrounding area clean.