Publicação
Filling in the Gaps: The conservation and restoration of a Ming dynasty porcelain dish from the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha
| Resumo: | The present thesis discusses the conservation and restoration treatment of a 16-17th century archae- ological Ming Dynasty porcelain dish from the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, in Coimbra, Portugal. This case-study was challenging for being fragmented in a total of 39 fragments and having considera- ble material loss that compromised the integrity of the object. The intervention’s goal was to obtain a unified stable object that could be appreciated by present and future generations. Addressing the in- herent instability of the dish was the focal point of this work. The decision-making process was in- formed by a bibliographic review of conservation methodologies for porcelain objects, complemented by an international survey. Ceramic conservators frequently deal with material loss. While several conservation and restoration disciplines use materials similar to the object, in ceramic conservation, contemporary substitutes such as plaster, epoxy resins and acrylic-based fillers are usually preferred to ceramic materials. This thesis goes beyond such preferences and explores a methodology to create fillings with an uncommon ma- terial - porcelain. Porcelain was considered an interesting filling material due to being robust, stable and having a similar nature to the one of the treated object, ensuring a durable intervention that re- spects the original materiality and aesthetic of the case-study. As such, in collaboration with Vista Ale- gre Factory, a methodology to create porcelain fillings was developed. This led to fascinating ethical and practical challenges. To overcome several of these challenges, a distinctive feature of this work was the successful exploration of three-dimensional (3D) techniques combined with traditional porce- lain crafting techniques, in a multidisciplinary industrial environment. Despite having succeeded in producing structural porcelain fillings, this material is unlikely to come to replace synthetic filling materials on a conservation daily basis. Nevertheless, this is an approach that allows to respect the materiality of the object and may open new perspectives and tools for the con- servator-restorer, as 3D techniques become more easily available and accurate. Vista Alegre, as a porcelain factory with a full-time conservator-restorer provides a unique environment for the further development of such methodology. In the end, the goal of this thesis was achieved, having successful conserved and restored the MSCV PP90 dish, which can now be exhibited and appreciated as a whole. |
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| Autores principais: | Conceição, Leonor Correia |
| Assunto: | Ceramic conservation Porcelain Fired fillings 3D printing Digital modeling Santa Clara-a- Velha |
| Ano: | 2022 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | The present thesis discusses the conservation and restoration treatment of a 16-17th century archae- ological Ming Dynasty porcelain dish from the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha, in Coimbra, Portugal. This case-study was challenging for being fragmented in a total of 39 fragments and having considera- ble material loss that compromised the integrity of the object. The intervention’s goal was to obtain a unified stable object that could be appreciated by present and future generations. Addressing the in- herent instability of the dish was the focal point of this work. The decision-making process was in- formed by a bibliographic review of conservation methodologies for porcelain objects, complemented by an international survey. Ceramic conservators frequently deal with material loss. While several conservation and restoration disciplines use materials similar to the object, in ceramic conservation, contemporary substitutes such as plaster, epoxy resins and acrylic-based fillers are usually preferred to ceramic materials. This thesis goes beyond such preferences and explores a methodology to create fillings with an uncommon ma- terial - porcelain. Porcelain was considered an interesting filling material due to being robust, stable and having a similar nature to the one of the treated object, ensuring a durable intervention that re- spects the original materiality and aesthetic of the case-study. As such, in collaboration with Vista Ale- gre Factory, a methodology to create porcelain fillings was developed. This led to fascinating ethical and practical challenges. To overcome several of these challenges, a distinctive feature of this work was the successful exploration of three-dimensional (3D) techniques combined with traditional porce- lain crafting techniques, in a multidisciplinary industrial environment. Despite having succeeded in producing structural porcelain fillings, this material is unlikely to come to replace synthetic filling materials on a conservation daily basis. Nevertheless, this is an approach that allows to respect the materiality of the object and may open new perspectives and tools for the con- servator-restorer, as 3D techniques become more easily available and accurate. Vista Alegre, as a porcelain factory with a full-time conservator-restorer provides a unique environment for the further development of such methodology. In the end, the goal of this thesis was achieved, having successful conserved and restored the MSCV PP90 dish, which can now be exhibited and appreciated as a whole. |
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