Carousel horse

Jenny Dickens <jenny.dickens<-a t->dpd< . >vic< . >gov< . >au> writes

>I am looking at proposals for the treatment of carousel horses and
>would like to hear from anyone who may have had experience in this
>area.

My experience in dealing with strange objects is that the kinds of
institutions that specialize in carnival or circus material will
probably have wonderful examples of carousel horses, but little or
no insight in how to deal with their conservation.  Objects like
this that can be seen as popular culture, fine art, folk art, or
toys need to be interpreted by an experienced objects conservator
who is prepared to ask and answer questions about the advisability
of exposing original paint layers, the value of evidence of use,
physical protection of pieces still in use, the effects of artistic
quality, historical importance on treatment, etc. Dealing with the
conceptual questions is as important as dealing with the technical
ones. The object has physical needs, but both the object itself and
its owner have non-tangible needs.  The Shelburne Museum in Vermont
is one of the few I am aware of that has comparable collections and
has dealt with them on a sophisticated level.

B. Appelbaum

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:77
                   Distributed: Monday, March 3, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-10-77-013
                                  ***