Objects That We Treat:
Over these many years we have gained extensive experience in dealing with numerous materials and object types. Here are a few examples:Ceramics - Includes both ancient and modern pottery, porcelain and other ceramic types, e.g. 18th. Century Chinese Export, Meissen, Bow, Worcester and other period items, Toby Jugs, porcelain, bisque, china, earthenware, crocks, soft paste, bone china. We have extensive experience with modern ceramic items - prominent names include Armani, Boehm, Cybis, Lladro.
See Cup and Handle Footnote. Glass - See Footnote
Antique Dolls - See link in the left pane to more information on Antique Dolls. Also, under 'Photographic Examples', several illustrated essays on restoring antique dolls.
Faïence (e.g. Quimper, Dutch)
Porcelain - Ceramic items fired at very high temperatures, examples being Chinese Export Porcelains, 18th. Century Meissen Figurines, Doll Heads and parts (under 'Examples', see the photographic section on Minton Compotes.)
Pottery - Essentially any ceramic material is within our capability. We have done extensive work with American Indian (Pueblo) pottery, English soft-paste ware, historic and archaeological items, Ancient Central and South American pots, Quimper. (See also the Ancient Pottery Horse and Rare Pottery Jug Restoration pages).
Stone - Jade, Granite, other hard types of stone. American Indian Fetishes.
Wooden Objects - Native American Kachinas, and other small objects.
Ivory
Glass Footnote - We bond broken pieces, may polish off a few sharp edges, and can in some cases replace small missing pieces. The conservation adhesives we use for glass are especially clear and stable. Optical qualities with respect to clarity and refractive index are nearly the same as glass; long-term resistance to yellowing is excellent, resulting in clean and unobtrusive bond lines and fills. In many cases we can stabilize cracks in glass objects to lessen the possibility of breakage.
Adhesive Footnote - A sensitive laboratory digital balance is used for weighing conservation-grade adhesive components used for bonding and filling. Accurate weighing (to hundredths of a gram) produces very consistent and outstanding results.
Cup and Food ware Handle Footnote - While we are normally able to bond broken handles, we must caution our clients that we do not consider bonded handles suitable for actual use due to strong concerns about safety.
While our adhesives are amazingly strong and unlikely to fail, there are situations where such factors as use of dishwashers, and other uses beyond our control could cause a bonded handle to fail while the item is full of food, hot coffee, tea, or a staining liquid, and we absolutely do not recommend using restored handles on cups and other food service items for purposes other than display. We suggest marking restored items appropriately.
*In case you arrived here through an Internet search (possibly by using our name mis-spelled McDowell), please click the following link to start at:
MacDowell Restorations Home Page