Specialized in Object and Library & Archive Conservation
Ceramic Plate
Report Summary
Owner: Penn Museum (see the object on their website)
Accession #: 31091
Object: Ceramic Plate
Artist/Maker: Incan people
Object Date: 600-1000 CE
Materials: Ceramic
Dimensions: 24.3 cm (L); 6.5 cm (H); 17.2 cm (Dia)
Consulted:
Penn Museum Conservation Department
Keeper, American Section, Penn Museum
Report Date: 12.13.2021
Treatment Images
Historical Context and Significance
Clay plates like these are called pucu. This type of shallow plate is one of the most frequently occurring vessel forms in the Inca state assemblage. The most common type of shallow plate has a zoomorphic head, which is most often a bird. These plates may have been used as drinking ladles for soups or stews. This particular plate was found in the Sun temple, believed to be used by the Incas for sun worship.
See full report for citations and sources
Condition and Description
The plate has a flaring body with no neck or collar, an inward sloping rim, and a flat base. There is an effigy-zoomorphic handle on the rim in the shape of a bird head. The ceramic has a low porosity red body. The detail lines of the bird head are carved in relief. The bird head has black and red strip designs over the brown base color. There are also two small round feet with divots carved into them opposite the bird head. The rim is painted in a black strip on the outer surface of the bowl, and with black triangles on the inner surface. The rim design is continuous on the outside of the plate and disrupted by the central band design on the inside of the plate.
The plate has been reassembled with eight fills, with excess fill material remaining on the ceramic surface surrounding the fills. There are also small drips and other deposits of fill material throughout the body of the object. Overall, the piece seems stable, but will likely become more unstable over time as the fills age. The fills appear to shrink with age, evidenced by visible cracks between ceramic-fill joins, and pull away the ceramic edge as they shrink. Two fills at the rim do not reach the rim completely. Some joins are not completely flush, and the adhesive is visible between them. Fills fluoresce bright greenish/white in UV light.
Treatment Summary
Dissasembly
After the pieces came apart in the solvent chamber, some fills and excess fill material clung to the sherds. I used a smaller acetone solvent chamber to re-soften the fill material one or two sherds at a time, then employed mechanical action with a microspatula to remove the material.
Re-assembly
I used 50% Paraloid B-72 to re-assemble the ceramic-ceramic joins. I created removable plaster fills for the structural losses in the plate. I adhered these in place with B-72 as well. I used B-72 bulked with microballoons to fill small gaps between the plaster fills and the ceramic sherds.
Inpainting
I consulted the Keeper for the American Section to discuss desired aesthetic re-integration for the fills. We agreed on inpainting the fills with a comparable base color, but not re-creating the design elements. We also agreed the non-structural losses would remain unfilled.
PC: Tessa de Alarcon