Collection Conservation

Come behind the scenes at Powerhouse Castle Hill and meet some of the people preserving the Powerhouse collection.

Conservators at Powerhouse protect and preserve collection objects. Their practice focuses on caring for objects at each stage, from acquisition to storage and display. The museum employs specialist conservators to treat materials ranging from textiles, paper, timber, ceramics and machines, along with preventive conservators who manage the environmental conditions for objects to prevent damage when they are stored, transported or displayed. In many cases objects are treated to minimise deterioration, rather than attempting full restoration to their original condition. Some objects may be sensitively repaired before going on exhibition or to extend their lifespan in storage.

Here, Powerhouse conservators share their expertise working with objects in the collection.

Senior Textiles Conservator

‘As textile conservators specialising in dress, we think of the whole components of the finished product. We think about the underpinnings and what type of silhouette is important to that era. For the 18th-century mannequin, we had to construct panniers correct to the silhouettes of that period. We dressed the garments over these panniers, which could consist of many layers of petticoats. But not only that, we needed to think about how it's going to look on display. We need to think about what sort of hairstyle the women had in that period, and then recreate it — and Powerhouse has a history of using paper to create silhouettes of hairstyles.