Ellen Pearlstein
Biographic Data
| ID | 650706 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ellen Pearlstein |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ellen |
| FAMILY NAME | Pearlstein |
| SIGNATURE | PEARLSTEIN E |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Los Angeles |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1982 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Conservation of Native American Indigenous collections: Views from both sides of the Atlantic
Central Yup'ik masks in the Vatican Museums; indigenous American heritage in European museums
An exploration of conservation and curatorial practices surrounding Indigenous American heritage in European museums began with an American Academy in Rome Prize fellowship which served to reconnect three of the co-authors. The stunning discovery of seven Yup’ik masks from western Alaska at the Vatican Museums led two of the co-authors to connect with Chuna McIntyre, a Yup’ik artist and performer. In an effort to pilot a collaborative process whe…
Identifying intrusive, non-indigenous basketry in museum collections
After becoming aware of a 1903 unprovenanced museum collection kit designed for beginners to make ‘American Indian’ baskets with non-indigenous materials, the authors examined baskets possibly made from such kits. Seventy-seven baskets at six museums were examined. Research goals include 1) understanding the social and economic framework through which these imitative baskets were created, 2) exploring their creators and collecting histories, incl…
Basketmaking Guides and the Appropriation of Indigenous Basketry
The first quarter of the twentieth century saw Anglo entrepreneurs rapidly develop how-to books, instructional kits, and models for the manufacture of American Indian-style baskets. Purveyors appropriated styles, stitches, and tribal names, and zealously marketed such creations as more affordable than the purchase of an Indigenous basket. Books, imported materials such as raffia and rattan, and stitching methods were disseminated not only across …
Bishop’s Miter and Infulae, a Feathered Masterpiece from Museo degli Argenti in Florence
The feathered bishop’s miter and infulae (liturgical headgear and lappets) of the Museo degli Argenti, Florence, are one of seven such sets of Catholic regalia known from Mexico, perhaps one of a group of miters made in the Michoacan area of Mexico that were taken to Spain in 1547 for delivery to
Museum Conservation
This entry describes the history and evolution of the conservation of culturally valued materials found in museum collections. Significant steps in the evolution of museum conservation in the twentieth century include the introduction of chemists to a field previously dominated by artists and craftsmen and a redefinition to include the prevention of damage through environmental management rather than only through activities designed to restore al…
Beyond the Surface: Where Cultural Contexts and Scientific Analyses Meet in Museum Conservation of West African Power Association Helmet Masks
How should museum conservators balance respect for objects created within secrecy contexts with concern for technical understanding and preservation? As described in this article, West African power association leaders draw on guarded knowledge to construct masks and other objects from a variety of animal, vegetal, and mineral matter. The works feature accumulations of diverse materials but often enter museum collections with scant or inaccurate …
California Featherwork: Considerations for Examination and Preservation
Birds, and by extension, feathers, hold a central role in California's Native American cultures. Feathers are utilized in a variety of ways and are selected based on the cultural significance and availability of the birds, aesthetics, tribal preferences and tradition, and intended use. Featherworking is a cumulative process, and some items are augmented and repaired during their lifetime. Feathers are increasingly understood as complex materials,…
Restoring provenance to a Native American feather blanket
A technical examination of an unprovenanced feather blanket in the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in California found turkey feathers, yucca fiber cordage, human hair, associated botanicals, and a documented twining technique indicating that the blanket likely derives from the prehistoric Southwest, possibly Basketmaker III–Pueblo I (ca. 700–950 AD), rather than from eighteenth to nineteenth century California as originally believed. Sources on ex…
A Technical Study of the Rosebud Winter Count
Plains Indian drawings and historical records produced in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries made progressively greater use of nontraditional drawing materials such as commercial colored pencils, crayons, ink and watercolors. Similarly, cloth and paper begin to supplant traditional hide supports during this period. These non-traditional materials rarely have been studied in this context, yet their dates of manufacture and subsequent ava…
The Feather Conservation Survey; Introduction to Conservation Issues for the Feather Creations Seminar
Feather creations represent a rich and varied group of objects, almost all of which are composed of feathers joined together with other materials. The feather condition and technical surveys were created in order to determine whether there is any observed relationship between deterioration and the construction of a feather object, its length of time on display, the type of display lighting, and how often the object has traveled. With the help of …
Conservation Research
Beyond the Surface: Where Cultural Contexts and Scientific Analyses Meet in Museum Conservation of West African Power Association Helmet Masks
How should museum conservators balance respect for objects created within secrecy contexts with concern for technical understanding and preservation? As described in this article, West African power association leaders draw on guarded knowledge to construct masks and other objects from a variety of animal, vegetal, and mineral matter. The works feature accumulations of diverse materials but often enter museum collections with scant or inaccurate …
California Featherwork: Considerations for Examination and Preservation
Birds, and by extension, feathers, hold a central role in California's Native American cultures. Feathers are utilized in a variety of ways and are selected based on the cultural significance and availability of the birds, aesthetics, tribal preferences and tradition, and intended use. Featherworking is a cumulative process, and some items are augmented and repaired during their lifetime. Feathers are increasingly understood as complex materials,…
A Technical Study of the Rosebud Winter Count
Plains Indian drawings and historical records produced in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries made progressively greater use of nontraditional drawing materials such as commercial colored pencils, crayons, ink and watercolors. Similarly, cloth and paper begin to supplant traditional hide supports during this period. These non-traditional materials rarely have been studied in this context, yet their dates of manufacture and subsequent ava…
Conservation Research
The Feather Conservation Survey; Introduction to Conservation Issues for the Feather Creations Seminar
Feather creations represent a rich and varied group of objects, almost all of which are composed of feathers joined together with other materials. The feather condition and technical surveys were created in order to determine whether there is any observed relationship between deterioration and the construction of a feather object, its length of time on display, the type of display lighting, and how often the object has traveled. With the help of …
A Technical Study of the Rosebud Winter Count
Plains Indian drawings and historical records produced in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries made progressively greater use of nontraditional drawing materials such as commercial colored pencils, crayons, ink and watercolors. Similarly, cloth and paper begin to supplant traditional hide supports during this period. These non-traditional materials rarely have been studied in this context, yet their dates of manufacture and subsequent ava…
Restoring provenance to a Native American feather blanket
A technical examination of an unprovenanced feather blanket in the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in California found turkey feathers, yucca fiber cordage, human hair, associated botanicals, and a documented twining technique indicating that the blanket likely derives from the prehistoric Southwest, possibly Basketmaker III–Pueblo I (ca. 700–950 AD), rather than from eighteenth to nineteenth century California as originally believed. Sources on ex…
California Featherwork: Considerations for Examination and Preservation
Birds, and by extension, feathers, hold a central role in California's Native American cultures. Feathers are utilized in a variety of ways and are selected based on the cultural significance and availability of the birds, aesthetics, tribal preferences and tradition, and intended use. Featherworking is a cumulative process, and some items are augmented and repaired during their lifetime. Feathers are increasingly understood as complex materials,…
Beyond the Surface: Where Cultural Contexts and Scientific Analyses Meet in Museum Conservation of West African Power Association Helmet Masks
How should museum conservators balance respect for objects created within secrecy contexts with concern for technical understanding and preservation? As described in this article, West African power association leaders draw on guarded knowledge to construct masks and other objects from a variety of animal, vegetal, and mineral matter. The works feature accumulations of diverse materials but often enter museum collections with scant or inaccurate …
Museum Conservation
This entry describes the history and evolution of the conservation of culturally valued materials found in museum collections. Significant steps in the evolution of museum conservation in the twentieth century include the introduction of chemists to a field previously dominated by artists and craftsmen and a redefinition to include the prevention of damage through environmental management rather than only through activities designed to restore al…
Bishop’s Miter and Infulae, a Feathered Masterpiece from Museo degli Argenti in Florence
The feathered bishop’s miter and infulae (liturgical headgear and lappets) of the Museo degli Argenti, Florence, are one of seven such sets of Catholic regalia known from Mexico, perhaps one of a group of miters made in the Michoacan area of Mexico that were taken to Spain in 1547 for delivery to
Basketmaking Guides and the Appropriation of Indigenous Basketry
The first quarter of the twentieth century saw Anglo entrepreneurs rapidly develop how-to books, instructional kits, and models for the manufacture of American Indian-style baskets. Purveyors appropriated styles, stitches, and tribal names, and zealously marketed such creations as more affordable than the purchase of an Indigenous basket. Books, imported materials such as raffia and rattan, and stitching methods were disseminated not only across …
Identifying intrusive, non-indigenous basketry in museum collections
After becoming aware of a 1903 unprovenanced museum collection kit designed for beginners to make ‘American Indian’ baskets with non-indigenous materials, the authors examined baskets possibly made from such kits. Seventy-seven baskets at six museums were examined. Research goals include 1) understanding the social and economic framework through which these imitative baskets were created, 2) exploring their creators and collecting histories, incl…
Conservation of Native American Indigenous collections: Views from both sides of the Atlantic
Central Yup'ik masks in the Vatican Museums; indigenous American heritage in European museums
An exploration of conservation and curatorial practices surrounding Indigenous American heritage in European museums began with an American Academy in Rome Prize fellowship which served to reconnect three of the co-authors. The stunning discovery of seven Yup’ik masks from western Alaska at the Vatican Museums led two of the co-authors to connect with Chuna McIntyre, a Yup’ik artist and performer. In an effort to pilot a collaborative process whe…
Conservation Techniques and Studies (8 works) · Archaeology (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · Indigenous (6 works) · Biology (5 works) · History (5 works) · Museums and Cultural Heritage (5 works) · Ecology (4 works) · Art (3 works) · Computer Science (3 works)