A Samarian Ivory Plaque, possibly a furniture inlay, c. 9th C B.C.E

Excavated in current-day Israel in the 1930s, this ivory plaque was reconstructed using an inappropriate adhesive which had worsened the cracking of the delicate ivory. This object was requested for a long-term loan from the Harvard Art Museums, and the curators and conservators agreed that it should be properly conserved prior to travel.

Images courtesy of the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard Art Museums. Photographs by S. Balachandran.

 

Overall view of the front of the plaque before treatment. Many of the joins in the ivory were misaligned.

 

Overall view of the back of the plaque before treatment showing the numerous cracks and breaks in the ivory.

 

Left image: Detail of losses, cracking and ingrained dirt on the front of the plaque

Right image: Detail of numerous breaks, losses and shiny, old restoration adhesive on the back. The gray material visible inside some of the cracks is actually an ancient mixture of calcium carbonate (chalk) and animal glue which would have been used to secure the inlay in its original location. This ancient material was not removed during the conservation treatment because of its historic importance.

 

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During the complete disassembly and reassembly of the the nearly 100 tiny fragments of the plaque.

 

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After treatment, overall view of the front. Some of the losses in the ivory were filled with acid-free cellulose powder for stability. These fills were then toned with watercolors to make them less visually obtrusive.

 

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After treatment, overall view of the back. Losses were filled with cellulose powder (see the white areas) and were backed with thin patches of Japanese tissue paper for additional stability.

 

Left image: Detail of the front, after re-aligning the joins and cleaning the ingrained dirt.

Right image: Detail of the back showing the cellulose powder fills and patches of Japanese tissue paper backing.