Made in Turkey, this Iznik flask entered the Brooklyn Museum’s collection in the early 1970&rs

Made in Turkey, this Iznik flask entered the Brooklyn Museum’s collection in the early 1970’s. Broken and repaired prior to acquisition, the flask’s ceramic body and lid date to the first half of the 16th century C.E.; however, the object’s metal components were likely added later in the 19th century. During an object’s history, new components may be added to fit an existing object to a new use, to suit changing aesthetic tastes, or to repair or reinforce valuable but vulnerable pieces. The copper alloy ring encircling this flask’s lid serves multiple purposes: not only decorative, the metal ring acts like a collar, holding the lid’s fragments together.The object arrived in the conservation lab with staining to the porous ceramic associated with adhesives from its previous repairs. The metal components may have contributed as well by trapping soiling and corrosion products. Beginning conservation treatment, the flask’s body was cleaned and the fragments disassembled. The lid’s fragments were cleaned, but only one could be fully separated, the other four remaining tightly held by the metal ring. Stains were treated using two types of reagents: a chelator and an oxidizing bleach. Chelators are molecules with multiple binding sites that have particular affinity for some metal ions. Chelators bind to and surround these metal ions, making them more water-soluble. Oxidizing bleaches, such as hydrogen peroxide, can decolorize stains, as well as render staining material more water-soluble. Dilute, water-based solutions of these reagents were mixed with paper pulp to create poultices for application to each ceramic fragment. The wet paper pulp acts like a sponge, initially releasing solution into the dry ceramic. Then as the paper pulp dries out, it absorbs the solution back out of the ceramic. As water evaporates, staining material is drawn out of the ceramic and into the paper pulp. Concluding stain reduction, each fragment was wrapped in lint-free tissue with deionized water to help rinse any residual reagents out of the ceramic. The treated fragments were reassembled with an acrylic adhesive, and missing areas of ceramic and glaze were filled and toned with conservation-grade acrylic paints. The flask is currently on view in Infinite Blue and will also be installed in the museum’s new Arts of the Middle East galleries, scheduled to reopen in 2018. Posted by Victoria Schussler  -- source link
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