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The Pottery Project

The Pottery Project has recently completed construction of the new climate controlled vault, conservation lab and gallery. These new facilities are the result of years of hard work by the Museum staff. These improvements provide state-of-the art facilities for the Southwestern ceramics collection and increased work space for the Preservation division’s continuous work to ensure the long term survival of the Museum’s collections.

Conservation Lab

The new lab provides facilities for the treatment of a wide range of materials. The collection of archaeological and ethnographic materials includes a diverse array of materials that can receive specialized care in the new conservation lab. The new conservation space includes flexible space for treating large and small objects. The wet chemistry and analytical rooms provide space for specialized research and treatment. The wet chemistry lab offers a large fume hood, and space to perform chemical tests away from valuable objects. The analytical lab accommodates the lab’s microscopes, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) equipment. The addition of these analytical facilities allow the Preservation division to conduct primary research and improve the quality of conservation treatments.

Pottery Vault

The creation of a secure, climate-controlled pottery vault is an important improvement in the preservation of the Museum’s collection of Southwestern pottery. The collection of approximately 20,000 whole vessels will now be housed in this vault. The relative humidity and temperature within this vault are carefully controlled to dramatically slow the agents of deterioration that would otherwise damage this collection. Windows adjoining the gallery allow the public an insider’s view at the storage conditions and impressively illustrate the breadth and depth of the collection.

The new vault uses moving compact storage units to optimize the limited space for this large collection. The new vault will alleviate the overcrowding now found in some of the storage areas and has provided the opportunity to conduct a complete survey of the entire collection. Vessels that are in danger are being treated and stabilized before they are moved to their new storage locations.

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Current Progress | How You Can Help | Contributors | Treasures of Clay Article

Also on this Website

Pottery Project Online Exhibition