Metal Conservation

The foundation of the historical military collection of the DHM is built on the collection of the former Museum for German History (MfDG), which was itself founded on the inventory of the old Armory and provided the basis for the military collection. A historical museum encompasses diverse subject areas such as military implements from the Middle Ages to the present day, everyday objects, decorative artworks, and technical cultural artifacts.  The use of metal is found in a wide variety of applications and is readily identifiable, like in a spectacular suit of armour, a bullet, a gun, a coin, a refrigerator, or a garden spade. The wide range of metal types quickly reveals the impact this has on the duties of metal conservators in a historical collection and the complexity of objects they have in their care. The objects and their embeddedness in historical events strongly shape the decisions – what to conserve and to what extent the conservation should take.  A hole in a steel helmet caused by a bullet (where the wearer would have been injured or even killed) is an example where a hole would not be closed so that the historical dimension remains visibly evident.

Because of the presence of mixed materials on objects, metal conservators often work together with conservators in other departments. A particular challenge is the display of objects in exhibitions. The metal conservation department of the DHM developed a specialised under-construction to create life-like displays of armour from the Middle Ages in ‘action poses’. This technique is being developed further.