Patina on metal heritage surfaces is often treated as a narrow surface accumulation. This article reconsiders that understanding and proposes an analytical framework for distinguishing patina without causing damage. It argues that certain harmless physical transformations, including lustre resulting from use, polishing, and stable corrosion layers, may also fall within its conceptual boundaries. The fundamental question is not merely whether a surface change is visually appealing; the article rather deals with different situations where the surface change preserves material stability, jeopardises the object’s structure, and/or contributes to its heritage value. To address this question, the framework compares theoretical definitions, conservation perspectives, and selected examples from cultural heritage where corroded metal surfaces are left uncleaned, or where surface lustre resulting from use is interpreted as part of the object’s historical character. A conceptual imbalance runs through this discussion: whilst copper patina is widely accepted for its colour and aesthetic qualities, patina on iron surfaces remains less clearly defined. By examining this gap, the article clarifies when a surface condition should be regarded as patina, and when as corrosion or deterioration. Ultimately, it offers a framework to support more consistent conservation decisions regarding metal heritage objects.
Replicas of museum objects are important for research, education, and display. Among the most prominent methods for producing such replicas is molding and casting. Silicone products have been the most popular mold materials for decades; however, they remain difficult to permanently label. Stamping a label into the silicone before it cures yields the most legible and longest-lasting result, but these labels cannot be modified or added to after the silicone cures. This study presents a methodology for labeling silicone molds post-cure with inexpensive commercial tattoo equipment and archival ink. Labels were tested in collaboration with a professional tattoo artist on three different silicone products and with four different round liner (RL) needle cartridge configurations. Tattooed labels on all three types of silicone were more permanent, easy to modify, legible, and cost-effective than many previous label types. Seven-and five-pointed (7RL and 5RL) needle cartridges were suitable for most molds, whereas three-pointed (3RL) cartridges produced the smallest, most precise labels. Tattoo labels are recommended for any institution with a large collection of silicone molds to increase information accessibility and reduce metadata loss. Finally, this study highlights the benefits of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) collaboration in research.
As a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that has grown rapidly following China’s Reform and Opening-up policy, Zhuhai has undergone extensive urban spatial restructuring, industrial upgrading, and urban image reshaping over the past forty years. As a city museum, the Zhuhai Museum plays a crucial role not only in exhibiting the city’s history but also in narrating the success stories of the city’s transformation. Based on field research and semi-structured interviews conducted between June and December 2024, this paper explores how the Zhuhai Museum uses spatial narrative to integrate the memories of fishing villages, achievements of reform, and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) into its exhibition planning, bridging the historical gap between the pre-SEZ and the SEZ eras. The study finds that the museum operates through a tripartite logic of historical scene reconstruction, materialization of institutional discourse, participatory cultural practices and shared identity formation to translate policy discourse into tangible cultural symbols, highlighting the transformative impact of the Reform and Opening-up policy in Zhuhai. In this process, the voices of ordinary citizens are often marginalized or overlooked. However, the contemporary ICH initiatives provide citizens with opportunities to re-engage in the Museum’s spatial construction through participation in public education activities.
The purpose of this paper is to explore museum officials' perceptions of participation with Indigenous S & aacute;mi communities portrayed in their museums. This study draws on Goodnow's (2010) framework, which classifies participation in museums along four dimensions: access; reflection; provision; and, structural involvement. The findings are linked to Fraser's (2007) social justice condition of recognition and its related affirmative and transformative remedies. Interviews with museum officials indicated that they adopted participation practices that reversed dominant narratives to create more inclusive spaces (affirmative remedies). Participants also influenced change in institutional structures (transformative remedies), such as allowance of tangible and intangible contributions from S & aacute;mi community members (provision), as well as, employment (structural involvement) of S & aacute;mi Peoples. Implications for further research are discussed.
Museums as open and accessible public institutions is a concept conceived and developed in the West which then gradually became applied to the rest of the world. From the early days to the present, museums can be seen as a product of the Western world in terms of trends, circumstances, and interests. Western countries arguably remain at the forefront in leading the trends of museum display methods. A few paradigms, led by the West, can be broadly detected, from ‘collecting and preserving’ to ‘housing and displaying’ to ‘loaning and sharing’ to ‘a more sensory experience of the past,’ to mention a few. Efforts to apply a more sensory experience of the past can be observed in other parts of the world. This article focuses on how The National Museum of Korea, in 2021, applied various sensory methods in their special exhibition on Homo Sapiens: Evolution, Relationship & Future? The rationale for selecting this particular exhibition is that it effectively showcases how Western-derived and driven trends are proactively applied in South Korea’s representative national museum. This article is structured in three sections. The first examines the shifting paradigm of museum displays. The second gives an overview of The National Museum of Korea’s application of the sensory and participatory display methods in their special exhibition. The final section concludes by reflecting on how the shifting paradigm of museum displays is a product of the Western world and its time and how such paradigms have been and are currently being applied in other parts of the world.
