Blog @ the Nelson-Atkins

Senior Conservator Kate Garland recently completed a project cleaning a 10th-century Persian earthenware Platter with Kufic Inscription. Garland noted that the platter appeared to have many fills as well as several areas where overpainting was done by a 20th-century restorer to conceal old breaks.

The platter was cleaned with acetone solvent to remove as much of the dirt and overpaint as was safely possible. As she slowly cleaned, using a wooden stick and cotton tip soaked in the acetone, Garland pointed to areas around the platter’s edges where restorers added paint over the original glaze.

Conservation on 11th-14th-century Islamic objects has been a recent focus for Museum conservators. Among those projects was a survey, repair on a vase, and careful cleaning of an inkwell. A recent project for Kress Fellow Conservation Intern Jiafang Liang has been on the late 12th-early 13th century Persian bowl pictured below. It is composed of earthenware with a lead glaze and depicts a scene of a courtier and attendants, hence its descriptive title: Bowl with Scene of Courtier and Attendants. During her examination, Jiafang found evidence of previous restoration. She pointed out areas where that work is more obvious, including cracks in artificially painted glaze as well as differences in enamel paints, design and texture.