Objects and paintings

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Objects and paintings conservation

The National Museum of Australia's objects and paintings conservation lab is brought to life in the Museum Workshop exhibition.

Some conservators specialise in a particular material or object type – for example metals or furniture – but many are multi-skilled and able to treat a range of objects.

The same person might switch from peering through a magnifier to dismantle a clock with tweezers, to repairing the mechanical parts of a parasol, reassembling an old television camera, or using a brush-vacuum to clean a grass sculpture.

Conservators working in all areas of the Museum practise minimal intervention. This means treating the object as little as possible to make it stable and preserve its significance.

Peter Bucke has worked at the National Museum for more than 20 years and came into conservation though his expertise and training in clock and watch making.

Peter's horological skills will be on show during the Museum Workshop exhibition, where he has set himself the task of servicing as many of the Museum’s chronometers as he can in the three month exhibition period.

Peter is also a musician, and has also been drawn to treating the Museum's musical instruments. His varied career and personal interests have given him a depth of knowledge about many objects in the collection.

But Peter's expertise extends well beyond clocks and musical instruments, and he has treated objects from ladies' parasols and sporting trophies to an 1821 landau coach and the Paddle Steamer Enterprise. 

Learn more about Peter and his conservation work at the Museum

This clock from about 1907, which uses different technology to Bundy’s design, incorporates innovative materials of the day, such as bakelite, one of the earliest plastics. As the clock’s electrical circuitry fails to comply with modern safety standards, it will not be returned to working order.

Manufacturer International Time Recording Co. Australia.

Acquired 2006, purchase.

Condition Untreated. The clock is in reasonable condition, although a full condition report has yet to be completed. Electrical circuitry does not comply with modern safety standards.

Treatment Corrosion of metal components and the increasingly brittle condition of the plastic parts are the main concerns. Mechanisms will be cleaned to remove corrosion-causing lubricants. The clock will be stored in a temperature-and-humidity controlled environment.

This eye-catching pram is being prepared for display in the upcoming exhibition Glorious Days: Australia 1913, opening in March 2013.

The pram was made in Hobart by Wignalls and acquired by the National Museum as part of the Bothwell Museum collection.

The body of the pram is made from timber and shaped bamboo, with cane and seagrass decoration and a green canvas hood. 

In a composite object such as the pram, it is vital to understand each of the materials, along with their deterioration characteristics and how they interact and affect each other.

Conservators will treat the pram during the Museum Workshop exhibition.

Caring for canvases and bark paintings

Stretching without straining

Conservators in the objects and paintings lab stretch paintings to keep canvases taut and prevent damage during storage or display.

Loose canvases respond to changes in humidity, which can cause paint layers to separate from the surface. Paintings can be stretched on either stretchers or strainers.

Conservators opt for stretchers because, unlike strainers, they are adjustable. Keys in the corners of the stretcher allow tension to be fine-tuned as the canvas expands and contracts, preventing it from becoming too taut or slack. All stretchers are custom-made to fit the artworks.

Splitting images

The National Museum also holds an extensive collection of Aboriginal bark paintings. These works are inherently unstable. The bark itself can split and crack with changes in temperature and humidity, causing extensive structural damage to the object. Traditionally, plant resins and animal fats were used as binders to hold together the particles of ochre pigment and fix them to the surface of the bark. Resins and fats can deteriorate over time, causing the paintwork to flake or crumble. Conservators carry out structural repairs to the bark in several ways, including using splints of Japanese repair paper. Then individual flakes of pigment are meticulously reapplied to the bark using tiny dots of adhesive.

All manner of objects and their conservation: video

Caring for objects ranging from chronometers to an 1821 horsedrawn coach owned by the Ranken family requires knowledge of a range of materials and an understanding of how those materials deteriorate.

Conservators Andrew Pearce, Peter Bucke and Natalie Ison describe their backgrounds, training, experience and their work at the National Museum of Australia.

More on the Ranken family's horsedrawn coach