Six-Layer-Sofa

Caring for museum collections can be a time consuming and delicate project, but the process can also reveal a lot of information. Collection managers and conservaters are often like detectives, researching and investigating artifacts to learn more about how people lived their lives. Follow this link to see a research project undertaken by the the Minnesota Historical Society on one of their artifacts.

The MHS staff took a 1956 sofa that no longer fit into their collection plan. They decided to remove the upholstery to learn more about how the item had been decorated and used over the years. Surprisingly, they found several layers of upholstery that varied significantly in weight, color, and texture. After removing the older layers of upholstery, they re-upholstered the sofa in a material and color that would have been available and popular when the sofa was first built. It is surprisingly bright red in color. It is important to note that such projects must be thought through carefully as this can significantly change the value of an object.

An important lesson can be learned from this project, in that not all museum furniture was originally dull and plain, but got that way by fading over time through exposure to light and dirt. Also, generations past often appreciated furniture as bright and colorful as any produced today.