Ceramic restoration

Museum of the City of Bucharest hosts exhibition entitled "The World of Ceramic Restoration".

Ion Puican, 28.12.2024, 14:00

The Suțu Palace, which is home to the Museum of the City of Bucharest, and located in the city centre, has staged an exhibition entitled “The World of Ceramic Restoration”, dedicated to the less visible part of ceramic exhibits. The objects made of ceramic material created by potters are not simple useful, functional containers, but distinct pieces, which through form, decoration and texture, enter into a spiritual dialogue with the viewer and are able, today and in the past, to trigger pleasure, delight and attachment. The passage of time leaves its mark on their appearance and integrity. This is where the restorer comes in, bringing the objects, through research and scientific restoration procedures, back to their original appearance and so that they can be exhibited in public. We spoke to the curator of the exhibition, restorer Mihaela Ciobanu, about the challenges she faces in her work:

“The restorer's challenges arise from the moment the objects enter the restoration lab, from research through to the completion of the restoration process. Each ceramic object requires a unique approach, depending on the deterioration that has occurred as a result of the passage of time.”
What is the primary responsibility of a ceramic restorer?
“The restorer has a great responsibility to apply appropriate restoration procedures to save the ceramic objects.”
What exactly does the restoration process entail and what is its final goal? Restorer  Mihaela Ciobanu tells us more:

“The destructive action of nature or man is removed by the restorer with patience, talent, seriousness and high professional conscientiousness, so as to restore the original shape, colour and appearance of the object.“

In order to understand the ceramic restoration process in more detail, restoration expert Mihaela Ciobanu gives us a brief overview of the steps of this painstaking and delicate process:

“The first step that the restorer takes is to study the processing of clay and its manufacturing methods. Throughout history, the craft of working with clay has evolved from modelling by hand, and using the potter’s wheel to industrial techniques for making ceramic objects. Starting from the quality of the clay, its composition, the modelling technology or the firing process, the restorer can determine methods of approaching certain treatments in the restoration process, using materials and substances compatible with the ceramic material in question. Determining the deterioration of the object is achieved through several types of investigations. Chemical investigations are carried out by fellow investigators who determine, through various methods, the nature of deposits that endanger the integrity of the object. Where appropriate, the restorer studies these reports and, together with the physical investigations made microscopically or macroscopically, determines the state of preservation and the diagnosis of the researched object. Professional restoration work is based on scientific research, principles and methodologies with application to all kinds of cultural goods. As I said earlier, the first stage of the restoration process is the research, followed by the physico-chemical assessments, the establishment of the deterioration factors and up to the conservation status of the objects. The accumulated information helps us in the next stage, that of diagnosis and the proposal of appropriate treatment methods. After that, the chemical treatments to remove deposits begin; the identification of objects where the object is in a fragmentary state; gluing them with adhesives specific to ceramic paste; completing the missing areas with compatible materials; chromatic integrations on filled areas and final conservation. From the desire to be up to speed with the new methods and materials and modern techniques, the restorer has a great responsibility to know what to use in the restoration process, in order to adopt the most appropriate treatment. In the therapy of the object restoration process, the passage of time leaves its mark on the appearance and integrity of ceramic objects.”

The "World of Ceramic Restoration" exhibition at the Museum of the City of Bucharest painted a portrait of the restoration of heritage ceramic objects, a portrait summarized by Mihaela Ciobanu as follows:

“Restoring ceramics aims to preserve tangible evidence for future generations as long as possible. The purpose of this exhibition is to show the entire journey of an object, from its discovery to its display in the museum. Through the unique theme of this exhibition, I hope that visitors will learn about the challenges of restorers in the face of the relentless passage of time.”