Museum artefact collections

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Hi. Welcome to Collections Matters where we discuss all things relating to the storage, care and conservation of museum artefacts. I’m Darren Levstek, Curator of Collections for the City of Ottawa Museums. Today we will be taking a virtual tour of the City of Ottawa’s Museums storage facilities. So, join us as we visit these sites and look at some of the more interesting artefacts in our collection.

The City of Ottawa operates five museums…They are:

Cumberland Heritage Village Museum
Billings Estate National Historic Site
Nepean Museum
Fairfields Heritage House
Pinhey’s Point Heritage Site
We also manage two rather large collections

The Gloucester Collection
The City of Ottawa Archaeology Collection
Our collection is comprised of over 300,000 artefacts and archaeological specimens. Through research, visual presentation and digital resources, these objects tell the story of the Ottawa’s evolution and the people who shaped it – from the earliest settlers to its local celebrities.

For example, this Renaissance Revival chair was owned by Braddish Billings, the patriarch of the Billings family. This was a favorite of Braddish’s and if we look closely, we can get a fairly good idea of how he used the chair. Over years of continuous use, the natural oils from his body and hair, along with dirt and sweat from the clothes and skin, have stained the chair. This is most notable on the back rest and the right arm of the chair. If we look at the upper portion of the backrest where his head sit, we can see stains on both the right and left sides, but the left side is much darker than the that on the right. Similarly, the right arm of the chair is much darker than the left arm. This suggests that when Braddish sat in this chair, he probably slouched to the left-side, resting his weight on his right arm and his back, likely while reading a book or taking a nap. Did I mention that this is probably the same chair that he sat in for his post-mortem portrait although because the chair was covered, we can’t be certain.

Many of our artefacts are presented to the public through the programs, events, and permanent and temporary exhibitions at our museums. Although these artefacts are on display, this is considered a method of collection storage. When artefacts are not being displayed, they are stored in one of our five storge facilities. The City of Ottawa Museum Storage facilities are strategically located in the south, central, north, east, and west regions of the city.  These facilities are quite large and combined, they hold 275,000 cubic feet of artefacts.

The collection is as diverse as it is large and ranges from farming vehicles and machinery to toothbrushes and silver; from clothing and textiles to photographs and maps; from dolls and toys to vacuums and telephones and from archaeology to signage.

Each artefact is given a unique three-part identification number, or accession number. Which is essentially a code telling us when the artefact was donated, the order in which it was received and the number of objects that are associated with that donation. In other words, this chair was donated in 2018. It was the first donation accepted that year and this gift included at least one object – which of course was the chair. The artefact is described in detail and photographs capturing each unique feature of the artefact are included in the file. The artefact is then assigned a storage location, which is also documented. The accession number is physically applied to the artefact and the artefact it tagged and placed in a safe location.

This last point, regarding a safe storage location, is perhaps the most important element of collection management. Ensuring an artefact is safe and protected requires our collection management team constantly attend to the collection, checking for any irregularities that may surface. This includes maintaining proper temperature and humidity, pest management and having plans in place for all emergencies such as flood.

Our east storage facility, one of our largest, is generally used to store oversized artefacts such as cars, tractors, combines, threshers, wagons and other vehicles and machinery. Typically, these artefacts are not harmed but colder climates, but can be damaged when exposed to rain, snow and excessive sunlight. This facility allows us to keep the artefacts in a dry, covered environment and it is big enough to allow us to move the vehicles when necessary.

Our north facility has an elaborate HVAC system which is perfect for the storage of furniture. Furniture, specifically furniture made of wood, must be stored in a controlled humid environment. If there is too much humidity, wood can wood can warp and become misshaped. If the climate is too dry, the wood can split. Aside from protecting the wood, the controlled humidity also protects the decorative elements of the furniture such as inlay, embroidery and even the porcupine quills ornamenting this piano bench. Additionally, these massive rolling shelves allow us to stack heavy artefacts and maximize storage space.

Storing like artefacts together, or according to the artefact’s nomenclature, lets us to have a better visual understanding of the complexity of our collection. This also allows for better pest management control. Insects and rodents can cause immeasurable damage to a collection – especially textiles and any object with an element of protein in it, like leather.

Leather artefacts are generally located on higher shelves or in boxes, protecting them from rodents.

Textiles are covered and placed on hanging racks, in boxes or in sealed cabinets, keeping them out of reach from insects and rodents. Quilts are wrapped in tissue and rolled onto a sono tube covered with mylar. The tubes are then hung to maximize storage space.

Unlike wood, metal artefacts require an arid climate, free of any moisture which prevents corrosion and rust. Silver is wrapped in special cloth and sealed in Polyethylene bags to prevent oxidization – minimizing the need to continuous polishing.

Fuel and chemical containers are aired out to release any toxins prior to being placed in a collection storage location. This prevents both corrosion of the container and the potential of contamination to other artefacts.

Archaeology is stored according to the archaeological site location, or the Borden number. The specimens are placed in individual Polyethylene bags and then stored in boxes. The boxes are tagged and filed away

Ceramics, pottery, china and glass are relatively innate meaning they are less likely to be damaged by the environment. As long as these artefacts are protected from the elements and do not face extreme temperature fluctuation, they will be fairly safe.

Although monitored regularly, the artefacts in our collection do require conservation from time to time. Depending on the artefact, this work is either done on site, out sourced, or in the laboratory located at our central storage facility.

The objects in our collection are held in trust for the people of Ottawa. As stewards of Ottawa’s material culture, we are responsible for ensuring the artefacts in our collection last as long as possible so that future generations may experience the captivating and intellectual merits the City of Ottawa Museums collection has to offer.

I hope you have enjoyed this brief behind the scenes tour of our collection storage facilities. If you are interested in viewing some of our collection that are online, visit the Ottawa Museums & Archives Collections by typing ottawa.minisisinc.com

Thank you for joining us. If you have any questions about our storage facilities, or anything else relating to the care of artefacts, you can reach out to us at artefacts@ottawa.ca - and remember, if it's worth keeping it's worth preserving.

See you next time.