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Ethnographic Collections

The ICOM-CC Working Group on Ethnographic Collections is an international forum that promotes the discussion and dissemination of information on ethical and technical issues concerning the conservation of ethnographic objects and collections. Ethnographic objects represent particular challenges to the conservation professional: from a technical point of view, they are often made of a huge variety of organic and/or inorganic materials, which often may be found exclusively in their place of origin; and from an ethical point of view, these objects are linked to a history of use and to the community from which they originated before they were collected by the museum – thus, their care and conservation is to be carried out in a way that is respectful of the object’s history and community of origin.

Who Is in this Group? Who Can Join?

Approximately 200 conservators or others interested in ethnographic conservation are members/participants of this Working Group as of February 2008. Currently, about 45% are from Europe, 45% from North America and the rest from other countries in the world. Anyone interested can join. To subscribe, email Carole Dignard.
World

Activities and Services

  • the ICOM-CC Working Group on Ethnographic Collections will hold its Working Group Session and Business Meeting during the upcoming ICOM-CC Conference in New Delhi, India, September 22-26, 2008. There will be 10 talks and 4 posters presented. As well, there will be 2 papers originating from our Working Group taking place during the Plenary Session. Click here for the list of talks and abstracts. For more details or to register for the conference, click here A Forum Discussion on the Conservation of Thangkas will be held during the ICOM-CC Conference in New Delhi, the morning of Friday Sept. 26 2008. This 3.5 hour session is a joint initiative of the 3 ICOM-CC Working Groups:
  • the ICOM-CC Working Group on Ethnographic Collections Collections held a Session of talks and a Workshop on Pesticides Issues as well as Interim Business Meeting within Symposium 2007 - Preserving Aboriginal Heritage: Technical and Traditional Issues, September 24-28, 2007 in Ottawa, Canada. Deadline for submissions: January 15, 2007. For more information, contact the Coordinator.
  • A major project currently underway is the Pesticide Database Project.
  • The elaboration and promotion of a Programme of research topics. Reviews of these activities are provided in Newsletter 29
  • The elaboration and promotion of a new Programme of research topics will be fleshed out during the ICOM-CC Triennial Conference in New Delhi. Input for all Working Group members and participants will be welcome during the fall. A definitive 2008-2011 Programme is planned for December 2008.
  • Dissemination of ethical and technical information within the ICOM-CC Triennial Preprints. . The 2008 Triennial Preprints will be available in September 2008.
  • Dissemination of news, reports and miscellaneous information through the ICOM-CC Ethnographic Conservation Newsletter. . The latest issue (May 2008) is now available (see below). Submissions are currently being accepted for Number 30, expected out in January 2009; deadline: November 30, 2008. Please send to Kim Cullen-Cobb.
  • Informal communication and discussion list through the ICOM-CC-ethno listserv

Pesticide Database Project

The Pesticide Database Project aims at developing a centralized information resource on developing a centralized database of pesticides used in the past in museum collections. The Pesticide Database would offer a forum where pesticide related information is accumulated, organized and made available to museum and conservation professionals. As a first step, a questionnaire was sent out to the Working Group membership in 2006 to survey their needs on this issue. Further information can be found in Newsletter 28 (January 2007); or, contact Monika Harter or Farideh Fekrsanati. An update on the Pesticide Database Project and a bibliography on pesticide contamination in museums will be provided during the ICOM-CC Triennial Conference in New Delhi.

Programme 2005-2008

Past Programmes

ICOM-CC Triennial preprints

  • Articles published within the 'Ethnographic Collections' section of the ICOM-CC Preprints of the 14th Triennial Meeting, The Hague, 12-16 September 2005, Vol. I, James & James, 2005:
    • Mônica Lima de Carvalho, "Kuikuro and Karajà techniques for gathering, processing, and using plant materials", pp. 83-88. ABSTRACT: A comparative and contrastive analysis of construction methods and the technology of Kuikuro and Karajà ethnographic artifacts is presented. The work focuses on techniques of harvest and use of plant materials in the production of ethnographic objects, with special attention to weaving and basketry construction. The data discussed in the paper were gathered in fieldwork sessions with the Kuikuro people of the Xingu National Park and the Karajà people of Goiàs. The understanding of plant material technology gained by this comparison has largely aided the conservation of artifacts of the Museu Antropològico (Goiânia, Brazil) collection and, it is hoped, will serve as a contribution to the field, because it provides a broader understanding of the technology involved in the construction of these cultural artifacts.
    • Jessica S. Johnson, Susan Heald and Lauren Chang, "Case studies in pesticide identification at the National Museum of the American Indian", pp. 89-95. ABSTRACT: The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), like most museums with older collections, is dealing with a legacy of past pesticide application that has left these collections contaminated. NMAI, along with several institutions and individuals, has recently been involved in several projects to develop resources and techniques for identification of the pesticides. The work at NMAI has focused on developing methodologies and informaton resources that are as useful to tribes as we can make them. The goal is to provide information that allows people to make informed decisions so that the health and safety of individuals is not threatened when objects are returened to the community.
    • Marian A. Kaminitz, Robert Kentta and David Moses Bridges, "First person voice: Native communities and conservation consultations at the National Museum of the American Indian", pp. 96-102. ABSTRACT: Conservation consultations with Native peoples produce more valuable results for conservation treatment work than when conservators work with secondary sources. The conservation staff at the National Msueum of the American Indian have been consulting with Native peoples through much of the museum's 16 year history. The impact for Native communities is reported from the perspective of co-authors Kentta and Bridges.
    • Angie Liow, Alvin Tee and Timothy S. Hayes, "A study of the materials and techniques of two Dayak longhouse models", pp. 103-109. ABSTRACT: This paper presents the findings of a recently completed research projet that studied the materials and techniques used in the construction of a collection of Southeast Asian house models. A comparative study of tropical plant fibres determined whether the models were constructed of similar materials to the buildings they represent. Each category of plant fibre was evaluated for its botanical features, material properties and characteristic forms of deterioration. Two of the largest models are examined in this paper for their material composition, structural condition and conservation treatment.
    • Helene Tello, Achim Unger, Frank Gockel and Erich Jelen, "Decontamination of ethnological objects with supercritical carbon dioxide", pp. 110-119. ABSTRACT: In the past, ethnological objects were extensively treated with highly toxic arsenic and mercury compounds as well as chlorine-containing pesticides. As a consequence it is now very difficult to handle, store, exhibit and conserve such objects. This paper describes the effect of decontamination with carbon dioxide above its critical point (+31 degrees Celsius and 74 bar). The decontamination rate for mercury, DDT and lindane is very high. Arsenic and PCP can be removed to a lower extent. Materials with oily and fatty components are sensitive to supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with carbon dioxide.
    • Désirée C. J. Wisse, Agnes W. Brokerhof and Tatja Scholte, "Decisions on the restoration ofa Trobriand yam storehouse: the 'Decision Making Model for the Conservation and Restoration of Modern Art' applied to an ethnographic object', pp. 120-126. ABSTRACT: In this paper the application of a decision-making model is described for the conservation of an ethnographic object: a Trobriand yam storehouse kept in storage at the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam. The process leading to advice for treatment based on the meaning and the condition of the object, and the applicability of the model, are discussed. The paper concludes with specific remarks on the actual restoration in progress and general remarks on the meaning of ethographic objects and the ethics of their conservation.

    Poster submissions published within the same publication:

    • M. Klaus, J. Plitnikas, R. Norton, T. Almazan and S. Coleman, "Preliminary Results from a Survey for Residual Arsenic on the North American Ethnographic Collections at The Field Museum, Chicago", p. 127.
    • Bella Zurcher, "Conservation of Marind-anim 'dema' costumes", p. 127.

For more information on the ICOM-CC Preprints, or to order, go to: Earthscan - James & James

ICOM-CC-ethno listserv

Members of the Working Group can communicate to each other or post messages using the ICOM-CC-Ethno listserv, a discussion list chaired and moderated by the Working Group Coordinator.
To subscribe, email the moderator Carole Dignard,

Newsletters

The Working Group publishes the Ethnographic Conservation Newsletter in electronic format on an annual or semi-annual basis.

Coordinator and Assistant Coordinators

The Coordinator of the Working Group Ethnographic Collections is:

Carole Dignard

Canadian Conservation Institute
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M5
CANADA
Tel : +1 (613) 998-3721
Fax : +1 (613) 998-4721
E-mail : carole_dignard@pch.gc.ca

The assistant coordinators are:

Kim Cullen Cobb (also Newsletter editor)

National Museum of Natural History
MSC – Anthropology Conservation Laboratory
4210 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
USA
Tel : +1 301 238 1303
Fax : +1 301 238 3109
E-mail : cobbk@si.edu

Farideh Fekrsanati
Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde/
National Museum of Ethnology
Postbus 212, 2300 AE Leiden
THE NETHERLANDS
Tel: +31 (0)71 5168 784
Fax: +31 (0)71 5128 437
E-mail: farideh@volkenkunde.nl

Monika Harter
Horniman Museum
100 London Road
London SE23 3PQ
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: +44 (0)20 8699 1872 ext.126
Fax: +44 (0)20 8291 5506
E-mail: mharter@horniman.ac.uk

Jessica Johnson
National Museum of the American Indian
Cultural Resources Center
4220 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, Maryland 20746
USA
Tel.: +1 301 238 6624 ext. 6318
Fax: +1 301 238 3201
E-mail: johnsonjs@si.edu

Marian A. Kaminitz
National Museum of the American Indian
Cultural Resources Center
4220 Silver Hill Road
Suitland, MD 20746
USA
Tel:+1 301 238 1415
Fax: +1 301 238 3201
E-mail: kaminitzm@si.edu

Janet Mason Canadian Conservation Institute
1030 Innes Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M5
CANADA
Tel: +1 (613) 998-3721 ext. 298
Fax: +1 (613) 998-4721
E-mail: janet_mason@pch.gc.ca

  		 
Ethnographic Collections