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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Material
The do's and don'ts of handling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage items
Handling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage items with care and commonsense will help to prevent damage.
It is best to handle all items as little as possible and to fully support all objects when handling them. This includes objects made from stone, wood, fibres, feathers, bark, fabric and paper, as well as painted objects and paintings on canvas or other supports.
If objects are painted, try to touch them on unpainted areas where possible. For example, carry barks by holding the edges and decorated carvings in the areas of plain decoration.
If an object is made up of different materials, examine it carefully to find the strongest, most stable part, so that you can handle it there.
Ochre-painted items are particularly vulnerable to pigment loss—take extreme care when handling these works.
Wear gloves to reduce the risk of pigment rubbing off, and the possibility of transferring sweat, grease and grime from uncovered hands.
| CAUTION: |
| Do NOT wear white, cotton gloves when handling objects with flaking or powdery pigment surfaces, for example, Aboriginal bark paintings. The pigment can be picked up by the cotton gloves. If you must touch pigmented areas, wear clean, close-fitting surgical gloves instead. |
Remember, feathers are fragile and should not be handled directly. If you must pick up single feathers, handle them at the rachis, that is, the vein portion.
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