Hi,

in principle, I agree with Dave. Nevertheless, here are some ideas for 
you why to keep the material.

Sometimes it is useful to have material for comparison (to compare some 
fake material with the real thing, to compare items of the same 
company/manufactury etc. etc.). Broken shards may be useful for test 
examples, too (invasive tests or TL tests, for example). They can be 
used for training of new personnel, for didactic purposes (see Dave), 
for glue tests by conservators etc.., for testing new reconstruction 
methods.

Maybe, there is an interesting story behind the broken material? A 
museum in Germany which is located in a town palace of the 17th cent, 
once made excavations near the building when they intended to add new 
exhibition spaces. Archeologists detected an excape tunnel which lead to 
the near river banks, filled up to the top with shards, pieces of glass, 
broken combs, etc. (when the tunnel became useless for flight to a 
waiting boat, it was used as rubbish pit). These artefacts of the 17th 
cent. were imported material from all over Europe, and opened new 
insights into the daily life of minor courts of these days. All finds 
were shown, some reconstructed or conservated, in a fantastic 
exhibition, the best ever shown in this particular museum.

By the way: Generally, shards are minor artefacts, but originals. On the 
other hand, faked ceramic vessels are known which were deliberately 
destroyed by the forgers or dealers suggesting that we are dealing with 
originals. In the Mediteranean world, faked shards which had been faked 
as shards (!), are sold in the markets.

Best


Christian



Am 03.04.2018 um 21:57 schrieb topladave:
> Hi Keith,
>
> If it is not an important object type for the collection or has an 
> important biographical or historical association then you should 
> review your collections management policy and the deed of gift for any 
> restrictions and if there aren't any you can either deaccession it for 
> education purposes (ceramic fragments are great for archaeology 
> exhibits or for hands on programs for kids) or you could dispose of 
> them, hopefully to another museum or a conservation training program 
> where they could use it.
>
> Cheers!
> Dave
>
> David Harvey
> Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant
> Los Angeles CA. USA
> www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com 
> <http://www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com>
>
> On Tue, Apr 3, 2018, 12:50 PM Keith Moore 
> <[log in to unmask] 
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
>     Hello all – I recently took a position with a local museum and
>     have been attempting to inventory their collections in an effort
>     to familiarize myself with the organization, the museum, and their
>     holdings. I have found several broken items that have been kept by
>     previous curators, but I have no idea why.
>
>     My question is this: What do I do with broken collection material?
>     This particular earthenware piece is shattered into probably a
>     hundred pieces. It was previously a stoneware syrup jug with an
>     Albany/Bristol glaze finish. It is of very little consequence to
>     the collection or the museum as we have about 30 ceramics which
>     were purchased 20 years ago when the museum was a historic home.
>
>     I’m interested in some feedback on what, if anything, I should do
>     with fragments of artifacts (including disposition) that no longer
>     are pertinent to the collection or the mission of the museum. I’m
>     inclined to just dispose of them but I wanted some feedback first.
>
>     Thanks!
>
>     *Keith L. Moore, M.A.*
>
>     Director of Historic Resources & Education Programs
>
>     Heritage Sandy Springs
>
>     404-851-1749
>
>     [log in to unmask]
>     <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
>
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