La collection de poupées Koenig : son histoire, la restauration de quatre poupées costumées. Etude et réalisation de supports de conservation présentation

The four costumed dolls that are the focus of this report belong the Musée national des Arts et Traditions populaires, and are part of the 19th century Koenig collection, considered an important ethnographic resource for precisely reproducing traditional regional costumes of the time. The introductory chapter details the history of the collection with a focus on a technical study of the dolls aided by x-radiography. Deterioration of the dolls is primarily linked to the damaging effects of light, climatic conditions and improper storage, evident in the accumulation of grime, alteration of colors, deformations, and loss of material. Following a methodological approach fitting with ethnographic materials, the conservation-restoration work carried out was limited to stabilization treatments such as the removal of surface grime, the reinforcing of weak textile elements with stitched sandwich supports, reshaping with humidification, and washing and re-shaping of hair. Attention is given to the development of suitable mounts and accompanying storage containers for the display and storage of the dolls, with a special focus on the analysis of polyethylene, a material already widely used in conservation, to confirm its compositional makeup and long term ageing characteristics with the help of a TA Instrument Dielectric Analyzer (DEA).