Collections Care: Scale Reproduction of Ancient Rome overview image
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Collections Care: Scale Reproduction of Ancient Rome

  • Post Date: 03/17/2017
  • Author: Christa Deacy-Quinn
  • Reading Time: 2 minute read

Visitors to the Ancient Mediterranean: "The Dawn of the Individual" exhibit may notice a scale plaster reproduction of Ancient Rome, depicting the city as it looked like in the 4th Century. Unfortunately, this artifact, which was acquired by the Museum in 1913, had some damage with cracks appearing in the plaster and paint chipping. As a result, our collections manager, Christa Deacy-Quinn, repaired some of the damage and properly cleaned the artifact before remounting it on display in the gallery. Take a look behind the scenes to see how this process unfolded.

  • clean off the old chipped paint from the plaster model
    First, Christa uses a small vacuum cleaner attachment along with a delicate bristle-brush in order to clean off the old chipped paint from the plaster model.
  • mixes up a solution of plaster
    Christa next mixes up a solution of plaster in order to repair chipped areas of the model.
  • repairs small cracks and chips in the model
    Christa repairs small cracks and chips in the model by using a small detail brush in order to expertly apply the plaster into the problem areas.
  • mixes up a series of paint swatches
  • paints areas where the original color has faded
    Christa paints areas where the original color has faded due to many years of light exposure.
  • filling in some of the cracks
    One of our interns helps out with filling in some of the cracks in the frame.
  • clean the plexiglass protective frame
    Next the plexiglass protective frame that protects the artifact when its on display is cleaned.
  • model hung for display
    Finally, the entire model is hung for public display in the Mediterranean gallery. Be sure to stop by and see how it looks post-restoration!