Sometimes caring for the Auckland Museum collection looks a lot like housework. Louise Weston rolled up her sleeves to wash the dishes - a sink full of Crown Lynn dinnerware.
Home is where the collections are
The human history collection technicians work in a dynamic space called the Collection Hub at Auckland Museum. This space is home to some fabulous teams undertaking a number of different collections-related projects.
As well as the two human history collection technicians, the Collection Hub is home to the Pacific Collections Access Project team, some of the documentary heritage team, the collections imaging team and the First World War collection technicians.
It's in this space that the Museum's human history collections are being catalogued, including this collection of Crown Lynn plates, mugs, teacups, and saucers. Cataloguing a collection is a real team effort, and must pass through many hands before it can be safely returned to storage.
Checking the collection
First, the curator identified that the collection needed to be catalogued. This collection, donated by the late Crown Lynn historian Richard Quinn, came from the factory on the day of its closure in 1989. Many of the pieces show the shapes and decorations used by the factory in the 1980s, but the collection also contains some immediately-recognisable pieces such as 'Tam O'Shanter', as well as trial patterns and factory seconds. This group of objects was selected because it had a very small amount of information associated with it, had no photos, and the objects were not labelled.
A conservator then checked over these objects to make sure that they were stable enough to be handled. The ceramics had been stored in a warehouse prior to arrival at the museum, and were covered with a light layer of dust and dirt. Some of the objects in the Crown Lynn collection were not stable enough to be catalogued and photographed. They will need to go through a conservation process before they can be catalogued.
Washing (and storing) the dishes
Then it was time to wash the dishes! Same as usual - warm soapy water. Thrilling!
The Crown Lynn objects were not labelled with their museum accession numbers. We printed these out on 'goatskin parchment' (acid-free archival paper) and applied them using Paraloid B-72, a solution containing a small percentage of either acetone or ethanol. This mixture does not damage the object and is easily removed from the object if necessary.
Finally we were able to catalogue the collection. With each individual object, we recorded physical descriptions, measurements, markings, condition and any other relevant information.
The objects then went to the photographer. He took many shots of individual objects to capture every detail - and we ended up with beautiful photos!
The final step is to return these items to storage in a climate controlled room where they are safely packaged with foam.