Conservation

To undertake the conservation of the delicate objects on display in this exhibition, Penn Museum conservators have access to a more stable suite of materials (adhesives and paints) and more modern conservation methods than were available to Robert Burkitt and the Museum's early restorers (menders).

Before they could be effectively put on display, each previously mended vessel had to be disassembled, the potsherds cleaned individually, and the old adhesive and fills completely removed. Then, the process of reassembly could begin.