How did the conservator sort the fragments? How could she tell where each piece should go?
The conservator was presented with a room full of trays of sherds. She sorted out which of the larger pieces belonged to each vase by doing a draft reconstruction of all three at the same time. The shapes, curvatures and diameters of the three vases are all slightly different. So too are the underglaze and overglaze designs and the colour schemes, for example the rim and foot patterns differ on the two yan yan vases. The conservator uses these clues to match pieces and and put them together. The thicknesses also vary greatly – from 3cm near the base of the largest jar to less than 1cm near the rims. Pieces of the lid, flat bases and glazed rims were very easy to identify. The recovery system used meant that many of these were found adjacent to each other in the relevant grid squares/trays. The neck and base of the baluster vase that had sat on the left of the sill were largely intact. The quality of the painting also varies. The painted enamels on the largest baluster jar is much coars
