Skip to content
SJ Conservation

Gallery

Qing dynasty famille rose porcelain dish

Object
Lotus-form dish
Material
Hard-paste porcelain with overglaze enamels
Collection
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth
Scope
Removal of failing riveted restoration, re-bonding and loss compensation

Before

Qing dynasty famille rose porcelain dish before conservation, front, with earlier riveted repair.
Front, with earlier riveted repair

After

Qing dynasty famille rose porcelain dish after conservation and restoration treatment, front.
Front

Reverse: before

Reverse of the Qing dynasty famille rose porcelain dish before conservation, with earlier riveted repair.

Reverse: after

Reverse of the Qing dynasty famille rose porcelain dish after conservation and restoration treatment.

Condition

Broken into three sections and previously restored with rivets; the restoration was failing, with loose and stained joins, discoloured lifting fills and enamel losses.

Treatment

  1. 01Museum labels removed, lined and preserved.
  2. 02Rivets and plaster fills removed; rivet holes cleaned.
  3. 03Stained joins cleaned with controlled, localised poultices.
  4. 04Sections re-bonded with a low-viscosity epoxy.
  5. 05Losses colour-filled and retouched to match the enamelled surface.

Process

Museum labels being removed from the porcelain dish for preservation.
Removal of museum labels, preserved for re-attachment
Earlier riveted repair on the dish before dismantling.
Earlier riveted repair before dismantling

Join: before cleaning · after colour-filling · after retouching

Stained join on the famille rose dish before cleaning.
Stained join before cleaning
Join on the famille rose dish after colour-filling.
After colour-filling
Join on the famille rose dish after retouching.
After retouching

Outcome

A stable, visually integrated dish suitable for display, with treatment choices adapted to the vitreous, translucent body.

Photographs: Sujin Jung.

← All projectsDiscuss a project