Ceramics vary so much that there are few hard rules. One thing I would NOT suggest is wrapping them up in bubble wrap. Anytime you pick something up and cannot see what you are grabbing you increase the risk of breaking it accidentally, especially with dishes that have handles or other 3D bits and pieces. It is far too easy to pull or push on it too hard. You wold also have to open it up to identify it or look at it 

If they are in boxes, you do not have to have them covered completely in extra layers that cause more harm than good. For things like teacups or bowls I prefer to nest them in tissue (made into a birds nest shape) so that you can see them and it is still loose enough that you do not have to grab by the rim. Clinking against each other, or being squeezed or pulled too hard by someones fingers are the two main ways I have seen things get broken. 

The sheet ethafoam you can get cheaper from Uline or another shipping supplier. It makes a great cushion between plates as long a there is no risk of high temperatures. and at the bottom of a box to give vibration mitigation. 

Feel free to contact me off list with questions. 

-Elizabeth Walton



On Sun, Jan 22, 2012 at 3:23 PM, Kathie Gow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi listers! We will be taking down two displays of ceramics (mostly china from the 19th and 1st half of the 20th centuries) and storing them in boxes in an off-site storage room where they may remain for half a dozen (or more) years.

 

We are a very frugal New England historical society with many needs for archival supplies – especially to re-house paper and textile artifacts, which seem more at risk – so don’t want to spend more than necessary here. Should we purchase padding/separators such as a roll of polyethylene foam (Gaylord, for instance, sells a 12” wide, 1/8” thick, 550’-long roll of polyethylene foam for $65) – or would the items still be safely protected by re-using bubble wrap and/or  the plastic air pouches used for packing, of which we have a ready supply? And though I imagine flatter boxes would be better, we have a lot of acid-free square “banker’s boxes with lids that seem like they would do the trick.

 

Any frugal conservators out there who can advise on this? Thank you!

 

--Kathie

 

 

Kathie Gow

 

Oral History Producer

http://www.wordspicturesstories.com

 

Curator, Hatfield Historical Museum

http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com

 

 


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