Ceramic restorer: a craft profession
Restoring a ceramic does not always mean making it look new. It depends on where the piece will live and what its owner expects.
In a museum or independently
A distinction is made between conservation-restoration as practised in museums and restoration carried out independently, as a craft. Both share the same principles, described on the ethics page, but not the same aims.
Fragment of an old dish, glaze and polychrome relief 
Moustiers zoomorphic jug, restored
Three approaches, with levels in between
A piece can be restored in three main ways:
- Minimal restoration: the object is stabilised without trying to erase its damage.
- Conservation-restoration: the object and its marks of time are preserved, using reversible interventions.
- Illusionist restoration: the decor is rebuilt so that the piece becomes legible again.
Intermediate levels exist between these approaches. The choice depends on the condition of the object and on its owner’s decision, discussed when the piece is examined. Details are on the ethics and levels of restoration page.
A book on porcelain can be read online: view the book on Google Books.
A piece to restore?
Send us a photo for a preliminary estimate.