Wax on pottery

On behalf of a colleague working on Peruvian ceramics, Angela
Steiner Neller <steinerh [at] ux1__cso__uiuc__edu> writes

>    We have come across some pottery that was cleaned and then
>    coated with wax to "seal" it. Any idea what kind of wax might
>    have been used by ceramics collectors in the early part of this
>    century? beeswax, or something else?

In 1904  W.F Petrie mentions in his book "Methods and Aims in
Archaeology" (p.88-89) the use of paraffin wax on glazed ceramic
with degraded glaze. In 1931-38 paraffin wax was used  on glazed
islamic ceramic to make degraded glaze more transparent. This use is
documented by written records on work done in Syria (by Danes) and
on the National Museum of Denmark.

Helle Strehle
Conservator
Moesgaard Museum
Dk-8270 Hojbjerg
Denmark


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:23
                Distributed: Tuesday, September 11, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-15-23-004
                                  ***