Conserving a Burmese offering vessel

Often, the first instinct when seeing a dusty object is to assume it needs to be cleaned. Cleaning or removing dust is not always necessary, however, as it can often remove vital historical evidence of the object's use and history. But with this vessel, this was not the case so we decided to remove more recently accumulated dust to allow the object to shine in the exhibition.

I tested various materials and found that three surface-cleaning products commonly used in conservation were effective in removing dust build-up in different areas. Firstly, I used a 'smoke sponge' to remove the heavily embedded dust on the sides of the object. Smoke sponges are made of vulcanised (strengthened) rubber which traps dirt and dust within its bubbled structure when swiped against a surface. This sponge was originally manufactured for the salvage of fire-damaged buildings, and its ability to clean soot from walls gave the sponge its name. For removing the superficial dust which had settled on flat surfaces, make-up sponges worked well. These are soft, absorbent sponges with very fine pores that readily pick up dust and dirt when applied to a surface. Lastly, I used Groomstick, another vulcanised rubber product, which takes the form of a putty that can be moulded onto a skewer to form a small tip. This proved very useful. With its slightly sticky surface, dust particles could be trapped while reaching into the tiny crevices found on the object.

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