The Fitzwilliam Museum - University of Cambridge

42 Conservation
Conservation
Jo Dillon, Objects
Conservator, cleans
an 18th century
Hunting Mug
New Division, new studios, new profile
With the re-opening of the Museum after the completion of the Courtyard Development
Project in 2004, the Conservation Division had new studios for paper conservation and for
applied arts, ending the need for conservators from different curatorial departments to share
very restricted space. New storage for paintings made the whole collection accessible and has
enabled a condition assessment of all paintings in store.
The installation of a radio-telemetric monitoring and
recording system for light, relative humidity and
temperature throughout the museum has produced
a precise picture of existing conditions, providing a
detailed record for the Founder’s Building which
will form part of an environmental survey of the
nineteenth century structure. A simple cooling
system which gives precise control of relative
humidity, designed by consultant engineer John
Downes, was installed by museum staff in the
Antiquities storage area. In another move towards
better preventive conservation, the Division has
instituted a series of housekeeping days when staff
and students of the Hamilton Kerr Institute – the
Museum’s department responsible for the
conservation of paintings – work with conservators
on Museum-wide projects, for example cleaning
secure storage areas.
The refurbishment of the Egyptian galleries gave rise
to a major conservation project. Generous external
funding enabled examination and treatment of the
collection, focussing mainly on coffins, cartonnages
and papyri (see ‘Ancient Egypt under the microscope’
pages 38-40). Three mummy portraits were the
subject of an internship project at the Hamilton Kerr
Institute. The conservation of the Handel Manuscripts
collection continues under the care of Bob Proctor and