Hi Rebecca,

Sand is fine as are other supporting materials. Depending on the
ceramic you may even be able to use a foot ring support made from
round polyethyelene foam - it all depends on whether you are mending a
zillion pieces or already have an intact base to start from.

Be sure to isolate the ceramic from whatever supporting material by
using a barrier film - we often use saran wrap, because sand can be
abrasive and also get into the joins.

There isn;t a "special" sand for this, but it would be good practice
to wash and rinse it out in a bucket and then drying it before using
it. I would not go too fine on the sand as that will inhibit getting
the object in - a medium grade should be fine.

Do NOT store ceramics in sand for storage. You can easily fabricate
foot rings or carve out platforms from closed cell polyethyelene foam
or other inert materials.

And remember NO DUCO!
(Duco adhesive yellows, embrittles, and fails within ten years - use
what conservators use - an adhesive strength mixture of Acryloid B-72)

Cheers!
Dave

Conservator
Los Angeles, California  USA


On 12/11/06, [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Good Morning Rebecca,
> Back in the 1970s when I was a curator of anthropology, we used to use
> kitty litter (that is clean kitty litter)....you could even use a kitty
> litter box to hold the kitty litter and the "mending" ceramics while the
> adhesive sets.
> Best Wishes,
> Wesley
> p.s.  However, I wouldn't want to have a cat in the lab for obvious
> reasons....
> Wesley S. Creel
> Administrator of Programs
> Pink Palace Family of Museums
> Memphis, TN 38111
> www.memphismuseums.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Rebecca Emans
> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 11:34 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: What to use for holding mended pottery
>
> Hi all,
>
> Is there a museum-approved material for holding mended
> pottery, such as sand? Would small aquarium stones
> work? Other materials?
>
> This is for both short-term and long term use.
>
> I know some people use rice, but I don't want to
> attract mice (which I've seen in the past).
>
> Finally, if there is a special material or kind of
> sand, where would I order it from?
>
> Rebecca
>
> Rebecca J. Emans, M.A., RPA
> Doctoral Candidate (ABD), Archaeology
> SUNY-Buffalo
>
> Lab Director and Staff Archaeologist
> Panamerican Consultants, Inc., Buffalo Branch Office
>
>
>
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