Many Questions, Few Answers

“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

~Thomas Edison

I've had plenty of experience with research papers over my past three and a half years at Loyola. Both of my majors, history and anthropology, involve a lot of reading, writing, and at least one research paper per semester (but usually more). I am no stranger to the library and its bountiful resources.

This time around, as I continue my research on the jacket in the May Weber Collection, is another whole level of research. As I mentioned in my last post, I have almost nothing beyond the artifact itself and my own instincts to begin my research. It sounds like some sort of grand academic adventure, but it's also a lot like trying to find your way out of a maze without a map. You're never quite sure that you're going in the right direction, and there is always the lurking threat that you're about to hit a dead end, even if the clues seem to be pointing you in the right direction.

The trusty tools of a researcher: a book and a laptop  

My jacket and some of the objects my fellow interns are researching.

This past week I've been following a maze-like trail of evidence to determine the origins of my jacket. Originally I agreed with what the old catalog recorded; the jacket looked like it could be European. After seeing images of European floral patterns, I realized that it actually looked less European and more non-Western, possibly Indian. The European floral textiles are usually more curvy and less geometric than the pattern on my jacket. This jacket still could have been exported to Europe, but it was almost definitely made in India. Despite being wrong about its origins, I learned that I was not crazy or making an ill-founded assumption when I thought that it came from Europe. Indian textiles were very popular imported goods in Europe and eventually the Europeans decided to make their own copies and variations, so naturally these styles have appeared in Western clothing throughout the past few centuries. After some more searching, I noticed that it resembled woodblock prints from the state of Rajasthan, India. It seemed to resemble most closely the floral woodblock patterns from Sanganer, a town near Jaipur renown for its woodblock prints. In fact, Sanganeri textiles are so special that they received their own geographical indication tag, which protects and ties a product and its characteristics to one geographical location. It is #119 on India's Geographical Indications Registry.

The red marker is on Jaipur and Sanganer is just past the end of the marker.

Despite many hours of googling, I couldn't find the exact pattern on my jacket anywhere on the internet. (Yes, I used an image search. I even searched Pinterest.) Unless I find an exact match, I can't solidly confirm that this jacket is a Sanganeri textile. You can imagine my frustration. I'm so close, and yet so far to a concrete answer.

BUT, I've found a very close match. An example of a woodblock print in Masterpieces of Indian Textiles, by Rustam J. Mehta shows the same overall design of three flowers surrounded by a diamond of flowers and leaves. My jacket has more leaves in the center design and more flowers in the diamond design, but this is the closest match I have found.

Ta-daaaa!!

The jacket and the woodblock print from the book-so similar!! 

Even better is that some books from the May Weber Collection (All those books we organized in the beginning of the semester are coming in handy!!) support this connection with other patterns that are similar. Although, the above pattern is the most similar one I have found so far.

Boxes of books (and some empty boxes): still a "cardboard jungle" after all this time 

A box of books about India

Over the next week I plan to continue researching and eventually organize everything I discovered about this jacket into a document that can be placed in the official records for this object. The exciting part is knowing that my research will be connected to this jacket for the rest of its time in the collection (in theory, for eternity). The scary part is that now my research will hold a decent amount of authority, yet I am not 100% sure that the jacket is what I think it is. It will be bittersweet if I come back in ten years and find out that I was horribly wrong about the jacket. However, this is one of the mixed blessings of having the opportunity to be among the first to work with the May Weber Collection. It's all uncharted territory.

Stay tuned for next week's post, and thanks for reading!!

If Objects Could Talk

"I don't love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful."

~Natalie Portman

Now that we've more or less finished our general collection tasks for the semester, my fellow interns and I have been "set free" to work on interpreting an artifact from the collection. Of course, there will always be accessioning and mount-making waiting for us if we need a break from research, but these are no longer the main priority.

We can choose to interpret any artifact in the collection, from the masks and shadow puppets we accessioned to one of the untold wonders inside the mysterious boxes. Obviously, we are limited in some sense. If you find an interesting object in the old catalog, then you have to find its box in the paperwork and then in the rooms. The last part is easier said than done. I've called it "The Cardboard Jungle" for a reason.

Lots and lots of boxes

 Floor to ceiling boxes

As for me, I've chosen to investigate a floral patterned coat. I ran into it while organizing textiles over the summer and it's been in the back of my mind ever since. I found it interesting because it looks vaguely European and yet also somewhat Asian. It stands out from the other clearly non-Western textiles that make up most of May Weber's textiles. Fortunately, since I packed the textile boxes, I knew exactly where it was in the room and did not need to hunt through all the paperwork.

If objects could talk, I'd love to do an interview.

An up-close view of the coat's pattern

Although it is not required, I made accessioning the coat my first priority. Since I have chosen to work with it, I prefer to take care of it from start to finish, and it would need to be accessioned eventually anyway.

Taking measurements 

My drawing's proportions are a little...off...but readers will get the idea and that is most important.

To finish up the accession process, I had to sew the tag to the inner lining of the coat. Instead of the paper tags we used for other artifacts, I used a piece of twill tape with the catalog number written on it in archival ink pen. This type of tag works better for textiles.

Sew cool!!

Now the hard part begins: research. There is very little to information to begin with for this textile. There isn't a tag on the back saying "Made in ___" or a brand name that I can Google, and the old catalog isn't very helpful either. I have to begin with my my own background knowledge. In this case, I can start with my basic knowledge of fashion history and work from there. What attracted me to this object in the first place was how much the pattern resembled 18th and 19th century European clothing I have seen on the internet, in books, and in movies over the years. So, for the next few weeks, I will be busy scouring the depths of the internet and the library looking for more about this jacket. Wish me luck.

As I look at the calendar, I see that my days in the May Weber Collection are limited. It's a sad realization because I've genuinely enjoyed this internship, and I want to continue to be part of its growth. For now, I'll try to forget this unpleasant reality and to appreciate the remaining time, even if that's easier said than done.

Thanks for reading!!!!

Some Assembly Required

"If you can dream it, you can do it."

~Walt Disney

This week brought a group of Indonesian shadow puppets out from the deep, dark depths of the Cardboard Jungle. All of us interns teamed up to accession, fill out condition reports, and make storage for the puppets. As you can imagine, it's been a busy week for us!!

Before I elaborate on our work, a little information about Indonesian shadow puppets is required. This art form goes back hundreds of years and has been recognized by UNESCO. (To learn more, you can visit the UNESCO website.) Puppet theatre is called "wayang" and that word refers to both the artform and the puppets used. "Wayang kulit" is the name for shadow puppet theatre, which is the type of puppets we are working with in the May Weber Collection. Other forms of puppet theatre include three-dimensional puppets. Each performace is accompanied by a gamelan orchestra, a traditional form of Indonesian music. One of the reasons we are making storage for them so quickly is because they are fragile. They are usually made out of carved and painted buffalo leather (we suspect some of ours may be made out of paper) with bone or horn handles (ours could be wooden). The leather (or paper) has not proven to be incredibly durable, so we are trying to prevent the deterioration from growing worse.

I assure you that this background information wasn't irr-elephant.

Look at that detail!!

As with all the artifacts (eventually), we needed to accession these puppets and fill out the condition reports. The biggest issue with the condition of most of the puppets is the paint flaking off. Despite that, these puppets are so intricately designed that they are still gorgeous.

In the process of accessioning a unique shadow puppet. This one has a painted wooden body instead of a leather or paper one.

It's been a while since I accessioned artifacts...

This large shadow puppet is wearing its new tag and ready to be stored.

The next job was to make the archival storage mounts. Because the shadow puppets are flat, they don't need a lot of room for storage and trays work perfectly. Each tray has a base of blue board and a border of backer rod. This way we can save room by stacking them on top of each other, like an archival quality sandwich.

To make these archival storage mounts, first you need to measure out the blue board. Since archival quality materials are expensive, we are trying to get the most out of each piece of material. The fewer leftover pieces of material too small to use, the better it will be for us and our budget.

 We love the May Weber Collection. 

The blue board returns.

Then you need to measure out the backer rod. We have backer rod in two sizes, a small diameter and a large diameter. At first we were planning on using the smaller diameter backer rod because we have more of it, and thought the larger diameter would be obnoxiously large for the trays. It turns out that the shadow puppets are not as flat as we originally thought (surprise!), so now we're using the larger diameter backer rod because it will do a better job separating the storage mounts when stacked without crushing parts of the puppets. As with many situations in the May Weber Collection, this situation has reinforced the need for flexibility and creativity.  

Small diameter backer rod

Large diameter backer rod

Does it measure up?

 Blue board and backer rod ready for assembly

Finally, all that's left is gluing the backer rod to the blue board. Now we can safely store the shadow puppets!!

A shadow puppet in its archival storage mount 

An archival quality sandwich of shadow puppets

Now that the shadow puppet project is completed, it marks the end of our basic training. We are qualified to accession/do condition reports, photograph, and make storage mounts for artifacts and that is the majority of the work that still needs to be done in the collection. Despite the vast amount of work that still needs to be done, there is a wonderful sense of accomplishment. We've come a long way through some uncharted territory. So, congratulations to us as we continue our last month in the May Weber Collection!!

Thanks for reading!!

Thinking Inside and Outside the Box

“If you never venture outside the box, you will probably not be creative. 

But if you never get inside the box, you will certainly be stupid.” 

~Christopher Peterson

Now that we've recorded just about every detail of these artifacts, it's time to put them away. Properly. In other words, it's time to build boxes. Each artifact is going to need its own container (also know as "mounts") so that it can be protected and preserved for years to come. The complicated part of this task is that each artifact needs its own CUSTOM-BUILT container. That's right, one size does not fit all in the museum world. So for now, us interns are building storage containers for the various artifacts that need the most attention. This task requires more creativity and crafting skills than you would expect for something as unassuming as a box. Building this kind of storage requires thinking inside AND outside the box. You need to find creative solutions for safely securing artifacts inside their box. To complicate things further, each artifact has its own preservation needs, especially if it has attachments that need extra support, so the box builder must figure out how to fulfill these needs. All those grade school and Pinterest craft projects pale in comparison.

How to Build a Box/Tray

Materials:
Archival quality blue board
Archival quality foam
Archival quality hot melt (special hot glue gun)
Tyvek or unbleached muslin
Box cutters

• Notice a trend? We can't use just any materials to make storage for our artifacts. The materials need to be "archival quality" so we know they will not damage the artifact in the future. It may seem like some sort of kiddie craft project, but I can assure you that there are no popsicle sticks, construction paper, or tubes of glitter here in the May Weber Collection. 

I had to make a tray for this Mexican mask, so look for it in the pictures below.

1. Sketch the outline of the box/tray on a piece of blue board. It should be big enough to allow room on the base for any extra foam that may be needed to secure the artifact. 

Remember this? It's one of the things we had to haul over on our first day in the collection. Glad to finally put it to use!

An outline of the tray

2. Cut out the tray using the box cutters. 

3. Fold over the sides of the tray and glue together, using the archival quality hot melt.

Not your average hot glue gun 

Now it looks like a tray!

4. Make supports for the artifact using foam. This is the tricky part. The foam needs to be just the right size and shape to protect the artifact. This can mean creating bumpers for the sides or platforms underneath, for example. In my case, I had to figure out how to support the metal crown attachment and the wooden mask without creating stress on either one, even though they were connected. I accomplished this by cutting out a rectangle of foam, scooping out part of the middle to match the shape of the crown, and placing that piece underneath the crown. I also added raised parts on the sides to keep the crown from moving side-to-side too much. For the wooden part of the mask, I stacked foam underneath to match the angle of the mask.

 Cutting out foam. Watch your fingers.

Foam support for the crown

Testing to see if the foam fits correctly

5. Wrap the foam supports in Tyvek (unbleached muslin works too because both are archival quality). The foam is too rough to use on most artifacts without some sort of barrier between them. 

6. Glue the wrapped foam supports to the base of the box. You don't always need to do this, but it is helpful in my case since the supports need to stay exactly in place in order to do their job. 

7. Place the artifact in the new box and label the container with the catalog number. 

Ta-daaa!! Now this mask can rest for years to come in a safe and secure environment.

Since we only have a limited amount of time (and available space) in the collection, we cannot build boxes for every single artifact. That is a job for future students. For now, our first priority is taking care of those artifacts that are especially damaged or are oddly shaped, like the mask with the crown that I worked with. Once we have finished building boxes, then we can begin interpreting some of the objects. 

Stay tuned for more adventures from the "Cardboard Jungle"!!

Thanks for reading!!