For the past month, I have been on placement in Portsmouth. I am fortunate enough to work alongside two incredible organizations; the National Museum of the Royal Navy (where my supervisor is Diana Davis, Senior Conservator) and Historic England, Fort Cumberland (supervised by Angela Middleton, Archaeological conservator).
The first week was not what I expected, I was not prepared for it. I was nervous about working in a professional environment and I figured dressing the part would give me a tad more confidence – I was wrong. I met with Diana Davis to discuss a few formalities and was sent to familiarise myself with the Historic Dockyard and get an idea of the objects that are in the collections. Needless to say, I was not dressed appropriately.
The touristic introduction to the site enlightened me on the provenance and historic significance of most of the collections I would work with. I was prepared to spend the rest of the week researching and analysing objects to begin my conservation bench work. Again, I was wrong.
For the remainder of the week, my supervisor allowed me to accompany her to a series of meetings. I appreciated this greatly as the meetings allowed me to see the role of conservators in the wider museum context – in terms of project management, heritage, financial budgeting, museum outreach programs, etc.
When I received my first object, in an excited voice Diana said, “Look at what I’ve got for you!” but I had no idea what it was. So yes, my knowledge of the maritime industry is enlarged on a daily basis. My first object was a navigational instrument, an octant – a composite object composed of wood, textile, copper, iron, glass, rubber and [possibly] ivory. I am also fortunate that my supervisor is keen on exposing me to new and exciting opportunities. I have since been entrusted with a silk handkerchief acquired from the second world war- which is interesting because I have never worked with an object of this nature.
I have also had a taster week at Fort Cumberland where I worked on the desalination, freeze drying preparation, storage and data entry of a variety of objects from the London wreck. Angela Middleton, was thorough and engaging in discussing the science, importance and process of the tasks we completed.
Despite me being on placement for only a month, I have come to the realisation that transitioning from the lab meant I have just moved on to bigger things. My first experience in the engine of the H.M.S. Warrior was almost intimidating – especially because I got all dressed up. As I approached my first task, I realised that these were the same materials I worked with in the lab, just a lot bigger.
The work environment is definitely different and some resources are not available. I have been challenged to become creative in my approaches, expand my knowledge and skills, become more resourceful, more confident, and build time management practices; I am looking forward to the experiences the remainder of this year has in store. A lot of what we learnt in [the safety of] the lab over the last academic year concerning the conservation of materials and conservation as a discipline are very much applicable- the application scale is just… bigger!
Bria
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