The #YalePeabodyRenovation will increase the Museum’s gallery space significantly. And curators and collection managers are collaborating with hardworking members of our Exhibitions team to select the objects that will fill those spaces and determine how they should be presented.
Talented conservators, designers, mount-makers, and museum assistants carefully analyze and discuss each object to determine how it should be restored, mounted, and illuminated to best tell its unique story.
An item may contain a crack or blemish that can be easily repaired. The shawabti (above) for example, has a visible stain on its cheek. Can that damage tell an important story, as well? Using techniques like X-ray fluorescence, staff can analyze the surface of objects to better understand their material history, often shedding light on past collecting and museum practices.
This meeting to discuss Egyptian objects from our Anthropology collection is just one of dozens that will take place before our galleries reopen in 2024. The ivory game pieces, used for playing Mehen (above), date back to 3100 BCE and are some of the oldest pieces in our Egyptian collection.
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