AIC's 44th Annual Meeting

Portrait Miniatures present interesting challenges to conservators, as the materials used for substrates, media and encasements vary significantly, as do the techniques used by artists to create them. The portrait miniature collection at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) includes over 130 portraits. Since 2003, LAC has invested in the development of in-house expertise in the conservation of portrait miniatures. In 2015 a new survey of LAC’s portrait miniatures collection was conducted by conservators with several goals; to include newly acquired portraits, to address any outstanding items requiring conservation treatment, monitoring or additional preservation care such as re-housing or frame repair and to be used as a tool for succession planning. This paper will focus on the subsequent conservation treatment of several miniatures on ivory. Case studies will be presented, covering a variety of conservation procedures including; opening and cleaning the miniatures, mould removal, consolidation of flaking paints, humidification and flattening of warped ivory, repair of cracked or broken ivory supports and the often lengthy process of acquiring and replacing a missing or broken cover glass.