Introduction to the Collection

The May Weber Collection was overwhelming upon first sight: 2,000 ethnologic objects packed in boxes stacked floor-to-ceiling. Because we literally started from the beginning of managing the collection, we kicked off the semester with a healthy dose of manual labor. The first two weeks were passed by moving boxes and archival supplies from one room to the next, organizing May Weber's private library into helpful categories for reference, and building proper workspaces for working with the objects.

Objects of Our Affection

When we began unpacking the objects of the collection, we started with the most numerous: the masks. There are hundreds of masks in the collection--many hailing from Latin America--with astounding diversity in material, size, color, and condition. Reporting on the condition of these masks was the next step in the process. We created a cataloguing system for the collection, carefully assigning an accession number for each object unpacked from a box. Using the original catalogue of the collection as a referential guide, we documented all available information on the objects, including: measurements, old accession numbers, country of origin, culture or ethnic group of origin, descriptive analysis, object sketch, and condition reports.

Condition and Repeat

For the condition reports, we analyzed the various wear and damages the objects have suffered over time. Many of the masks are made of wood, so common damages included pitting (from insects) and cracks in the surface. We examined the exteriors, interiors, and various attachments of the objects and documented their damages separately. The condition reports also allowed us to assess the conservation priority of an object, and while many of the objects had a low conservation priority, there were a few objects that were beginning to deteriorate or had become hosts to a vicious intruder: mold. After finding a few masks with dusty, inactive mold coating the eye holes and edges of the masks, it seemed that every mask we catalogued had thick sheets of gray mold on its surface! Thus, the research of mold in collections began. Luckily, we only found inactive mold on the objects, but the process of removing the mold to conserve the object will be tedious and time-consuming. It will also require some special equipment: face masks, gloves, aprons, and a special vaccuum.

Getting Intimate with the Objects

Though not as abrasive as the mold, we encountered another problem with many of the objects; many had been attributed to be from a specific country or region of the world that was inconsistent with the objects' design or overall form. Such objects were pulled away from the collection in anticipation of further research. One such object that we believed had been misattributed is pictured below. The original catalgoue said the wooden animal sculpture was from Asia. However, we found many of the object's features to be more consistent with an African sculpture, and some intense research began. It turns out the original catalogue was right! The object is a coconut grater from Thailand. More details about the sculptures and its story can be found in the object narrative section.

Picture This

After cataloguing roughly 250 objects, it was time to begin taking pictures for our new database. We set up a small studio setting to control as much of the environment as possible: plain white muslin background, powerful symmetrical lighting, and manual focus camerawork. We brushed up on some basic and advanced photography skills to further control the lighting and setup of the environment. Each object was photographed with its accession number and a scale for reference, and objects unable to stand alone were mounted on muslin-wrapped bases for display. The front, side, and back views of each object were captured in sets of two, and the photos were uploaded and edited with the best of each view chosen.

Photographing the objects not only taught us how to mimic the high-end photo shoots of the fashion industry but also taught us how to properly tie the cataloguing tags to the objects. In order to show the minute details of the objects in the photos, we removed their cataloguing tags and retied them once we were finished. However, removing them the first time proved difficult because many of the tags had been tied incorrectly, and only the nimblest of fingers (or a good pair of tweezers) could remove them.

Scaling Mount Permanency

Cataloguing the objects is all well and good, but in order to have a collection worth viewing, you have to know how to properly care for the objects, which includes storing them. We learned how to make permanent storage mounts for the objects, which is a lot more difficult than it sounds. Not only is there no standard for how to build a proper storage tray or box for an object but there are very specific archival quality materials with which each storage mount needs to be built. That means each object must be addressed individually with specific attention to the organic materials of the objects and what they are or are not able to touch. Our storage trays are primarily made from blue board—sized and cut to individually accommodate each object—and any additional padding needed is cut from ethafoam and covered in Tyvek or muslin. We also made pot rings for some of the lightweight vessels of the collection, which can be constructed out of backer rod (glued AND sewn together) and covered in muslin. The goal of the permanent mounts is not only to create proper storage containers for the objects but also to maximize the amount of objects in a space in order to conserve space.

Loose Ends and Tight Stories

Toward the end of the semester, we began reviewing the work we had already completed to fix any mistakes that had been made and to prepare for the next stages of managing the collection. Some objects had been catalogued using the same accession number twice, and others had been photographed without changing the accession number from the object photographed before it. We corrected these and other minor mistakes as we simultaneously began to sit down with an object of our choice to do some critical research on its origins, functions, and significance. After spending months jumping from object to object every five minutes, it was a treat to sit down with a single object and really get familiar with it as a material piece as well as an immaterial representation of the collection as a whole. It was as if we were choosing a symbol of our time and experience with the collection, a kind of logo for our individual contributions. And though the May Weber Collection is far from finished in terms of the work that it requires, these individual contributions have brought it one step further, and our experiences are visible in perhaps the most tangible and intangible ways.