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Yale Peabody Museum
Pre-program work
Prior to my conservation degree, I worked at YPMNH in various capacities. I started as a summer volunteer at the museum, working with Anthropology and Conservation on a collection move. After completing my BA, I spent two years as an intern, primarily working on the Pacific Barkcloth Project but taking on other projects as necessary.
Pacific Barkcloth Project
180 barkcloths (tapa)
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Aim: Stabilize, document, and repackage collection for storage
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Treatment:
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12 tapa needed major treatment, 26 needed minor repairs
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Tears and holes patched with strips of Japanese tissue, adhered with wheat starch
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Collection photographed for database, including some IR and UV photos
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Each tapa rolled onto a tube and wrapped in Melinex
Poster for the Society for Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) conference, 2016
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Piecing the puzzle together (ANT.248711)
Ceramics
6 South American vessels
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Aim: Reconstruct for storage
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Treatment:
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Vessels cleaned in water, old adhesive removed with scalpel, acetone
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Re-adhered with HMG Paraloid B72
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Gap fills deemed unnecessary for stability
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Colombian bowl, before treatment (ANT.128413)
Other Projects
Labeling bead collection, sewing beads onto a backing board
For more information, contact: aliza.taft@gmail.com
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