Laura Brill

HEADDRESS
This is a Yoruba King’s Crown from the Finley Collection at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum. During hurricane season of 2005 it suffered some water damage. The result was a significant loss of beading, especially to the bottom which curled under when the crown was wet. Unfortunately, many of beads which remain on the crown are only superficially attached. In order to transport the crown to Jackson for further treatment, the beads were held in place with embroidery floss and methyl cellulose. This seemed to work very well, and the crown arrived in Jackson with only 16 beads - some attached to strings dislodged.
The next phase of treatment is to reattach the missing beads, stabilize the remaining beads in a more permanent fashion, flatten the bottom of the crown, and create a proper storage and display mount.
CHAIR
This small chair is from the Beauvoir Collection and the veneer in the center of the chair was severely warped and brittle. The veneer was created from a burl which has many grain directions, and it expanded and contracted in many directions. It was amazing how well it humidified back into plane. It was reattached using hide glue.
TEXTILES
The textiles that were recovered from Beauvoir are generally in very poor condition. This jacket was discovered outside of the house, and was filled with debris. The textiles, are also covered in fiberglass - gloves and a mask must be used when handling them, and simple vacuuming does not seen to remove the fibers. Lauren completed vacuuming this jacket and it was packed into a pH neutral box.