Appearances can be Deceiving
Interpreting the Surfaces of Metal Objects
The Oriental Ceramic Society is delighted to welcome Donna Strahan, Head of the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art at the Smithsonian Institution to share with members her research on Asian metalwork. Very few ancient metal objects appear as they did when they were first fabricated. They have been subjected to time, use, and/or burial in the ground. Both chemical and physical changes have occurred altering them permanently. Donna’s talk will explore how to interpret an object’s original, intended appearance when it was first fabricated. The discussion will be illustrated with photos of Asian metalwork surfaces.
Donna Strahan received a B.A. in Chinese Language and a M.A. in the Conservation of Ethnographic and Archaeological Objects from George Washington University. She has been a conservator at the Conservation Analytical Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution; and at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. She was Head of Conservation, at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco for eight years. From 2006 to 2014 Donna was the Conservator in charge of Asian objects at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Currently she is the Head of the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Her major interests are the technology and preservation of ancient metals and Asian lacquer.