Cooper Hewitt's mount maker discusses the challenges of displaying an object with a complex surface structure.
When dealing with experimental materials, such as algae and other bioplastics, conservators must consider the benefits of display with potentially unexpected outcomes.
Object conservators discuss how to repair chips in gilded porcelain
As the 2022 International Year of Glass concludes, study of the medium prompts questions about human history and culture.
In Google Glasses, glass interfaces with digital technology to augment the world around us.
Once a ubiquitous staple of home entertainment, CRT televisions were a technical marvel. Learn about the physics and engineering that made the transmitted moving image possible with the help of glass.
Learn how the iconic National Design Awards trophies at made in glass.
Artist Maurice Marinot translated the bold modern painting style of Fauvism into inventive glass objects.
An electron microscope and ultraviolet illumination can change what we know about the life of a glass object.
How do cut glass objects differ from those created using the innovation of pressed glass and what does this have to do with celery?
Written by Jasmine Keegan The United Nations has designated 2022 the International Year of Glass. Cooper Hewitt is celebrating the occasion with a yearlong series of posts focused on the medium of glass and museum conservation. Dutch glass artisans reached high levels of skill in ornamentation during the 18th century, as demonstrated in these beautifully decorated...
Start the 2022 Year of Glass with a modern glassmaker inspired by ancient Roman models.
“Conserving Silver-Leaf Mirrors in a Surtout de Table at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.” Sarah Barack, Jessica Walthew, and Drew Anderson. ICOM-CC Glass and Ceramics Interim Meeting, London, England. September 5–7, 2019. Download a PDF of the presentation poster here (6.5 MB). Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator, will be presenting the...
“All that Glitters: Treatment and Technical Study of an Ormolu Surtout de Table at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum,” Sarah Barack, Jessica Walthew, and Jakki Godfrey. ICOM-CC Metals Interim Meeting, Neuchatel, Switzerland. September 2–6, 2019. Download a PDF of the presentation poster here (6.5 MB). Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation and Senior Objects Conservator,...
Written by Sarah Barack, Head of Conservation, Senior Objects Conservator Thanks to a generous gift from the Smithsonian Women’s Committee, Cooper Hewitt’s spectacular surtout de table centerpiece was the focus of a recent technical study and conservation treatment by the museum’s conservation department. In this series of posts, conservators will be sharing the results of...
