Hello,

I've searched the archives and didn't find this topic:  What's the 
current philosophy on using cotton gloves for different materials?  I 
have a temporary assistant who was trained differently than I, and she 
says you need to wear gloves for glazed ceramics because skin oils can 
interact with the glaze (depending on type of glaze).  I was trained 
that you use gloves for metals, paper, fabric, leather, unglazed 
ceramics and unfinished wood.  Slippery artifacts - glass, glazed 
ceramic, polished wood - and any object with condition problems (flaking 
paint, raised veneer, brittle paper that could be torn by gloves, etc.) 
are better handled without gloves (and with well-washed hands).  There 
are a number of exceptions, which I did see in the archives, but is this 
still basically true?  Does bare skin contact affect glazed ceramics? 
 I'd like some input before I pontificate about "the right way" - maybe 
I've missed something.

Thanks,
John Marks
Curator of Collections
Geneva (NY) Historical Society

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