https://www.penn.museum/sites/artifactlab/2017/04/07/back-in-business/
On 04/07/17 11:21, mollygleeson wrote:
Back in business Saturday April 8th is the official reopening of the Artifact Lab, complete with a modified name and some new objects on exhibit and in the lab.
View of the Artifact Lab, ready for reopening on Saturday April 8th
The Artifact Lab: Conservation in Action looks a lot like it did before we closed in December, but as you can see from the shot above, our focus has shifted from Egyptian mummies and funerary objects to a wider range of artifacts, with a special focus on objects being prepared for installation in our Middle East Galleries next year.
This glazed clay slipper coffin from Nippur, excavated by our museum in the late 19th century, is front and center in the Artifact Lab:
The slipper coffin (B9220) on display in the Artifact Lab
It has a fascinating history, including its restoration here at the museum in the 1890s, which is noted on its catalog card as being carried out by the restorer William H. Witte. The restoration work allowed this coffin and several others to be displayed for the opening of the new museum building in 1899, where they remained on display for 40 years. We are particularly tickled that this coffin was displayed in this very same gallery where the Artifact Lab is now housed, the Baugh Pavilion.
The Baugh Pavilion, one of two galleries devoted to the museum's Babylonian expeditions, as it appeared in 1899 with four slipper coffins on display. UPM Neg. #22428
118 years later, the slipper coffin has once again been installed in this space. It's exhibition this time would not be possible without the extensive treatment carried out by conservator Julie Lawson in 2005. You can read more about its history and her work in her article in Expedition Magazine. For those interested in a more in-depth discussion of the conservation treatment, Julie also wrote an article that was published in the American Institute for Conservation's Object Specialty Group Postprints, Volume 13, 2006.
There are many more stories to share about the objects and work being done and we'll continue to write about them on our blog. In the meantime, come visit us now that we are open again! Our open window times also have changed slightly – they are now as follows:
Tuesday – Friday 11:00 – 11:30 and 1:30-2:00
Saturday – Sunday 12:00-12:30 and 3:00 – 3:30
-- Sent from my Linux system.
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