Conservation of Ceramics and Related Materials
Ceramics conservation aims to strike a balance between structural repair and respect for the object’s intrinsic integrity. Treatments may include stabilizing cracks, rejoining fragments, filling losses, and addressing surface issues such as soiling or missing glaze. Where appropriate, areas of loss can be visually integrated to restore coherence while maintaining retreatability and respect for the original material.
Each project begins with a detailed assessment, including the object’s material nature, construction, and condition. Observations at every scale - from the object’s historic context to evidence of the artist’s hand - inform a tailored treatment proposal. Conservation ensures stabilization and long-term preservation. The appropriate level of reintegration is decided in collaboration with the client is only undertaken to support the object’s integrity and cohesion.
As a Professional Member with the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), Derrin’s work maintains compliance with the ethical framework of AIC’s Code of Ethics. Comprehensive documentation, minimal and removable intervention, and the use of stable, compatible materials underpin every treatment.
Services
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![Photographing a ceramic maiolica plate for museum-quality ceramic conservation or restoration treatment; pottery restoration; photography and documentation. Glazed earthenware plate being restored by a ceramics conservator in San Francisco Bay Area.]()
Condition Assessment and Documentation
We examine your artwork and create a detailed report describing its current condition issues. This can serve as a record of the object prior to shipping, exhibition or conservation treatment. It can also be provided to your insurance company for insurance claims.
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![Ceramic maiolica plate in a conservation workshop / lab. Museum-quality ceramics conservation services in San Francisco, CA. Edge-bonding a broken earthenware platter in a conservation studio. Repair and restoration of antique ceramic pottery. SF.]()
Reassembly and Edge-bonding
Edge-bonding is a conservation technique used to stabilize and repair fractured edges. We apply precise amounts of reversible, conservation-grade adhesives, such as an acrylic or epoxy resin, directly to broken edges to create strong, carefully aligned joins. The goal is to restore structural integrity while ensuring the treatment remains stable and safely removable in the future.
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![A person in black gloves is using a tool to carefully restore a large, ceramic vase with a gilded interior. The vase is supported on a cloth, in a conservation workshop. The conservator is filling losses on the exterior.]()
Filling and Loss Compensation
Loss compensation is the ethical, reversible repair of damaged or missing areas to restore an artwork’s visual and structural integrity. Conservators use stable, compatible materials to reintegrate losses while ensuring treatments can be safely removed in the future.
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![A conservator restoring a Greek ceramic terracotta vessel in a studio, inpainting broken pottery. Studio specializing in objects conservation and ceramics in San Francisco, CA. Conservator / restorer of ceramics and art, objects and sculpture.]()
Inpainting / Retouching Fills
Inpainting, or retouching, is a precise and removable conservation process that restores damaged or lost areas of a decorative surface while preserving its aesthetic integrity. We apply stable, lightfast pigments and binders, carefully matching surrounding colors and textures so the work appears visually complete without altering the original surface. Depending on the approach, restorations may be seamlessly blended or subtly distinguishable in keeping with professional conservation standards.
About
Derrin Compton has extensive experience working as an objects conservator in private practice and in museum settings. He specializes in ceramics and related materials, including glass, plaster, stone, etc.
He holds the peer-reviewed Professional Member designation through the American Institute of Conservation (AIC) and has earned an MA in Conservation Studies from West Dean College of Arts and Conservation.
Contact
Interested in working together? Please reach out with any questions and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!