wysiwyg3d 3d scanning heritage victorianguttaperchamourningcross

3D Scanning Rare Museum Mourning Cross for Education

Queen Victoria wore mourning black after the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861, until her death in 1901. The rest of the British Empire followed, wearing mourning jewellery following the death of a loved one. Whitby jet was the favoured material for mourning pieces, but substitutes such as Gutta Percha were also used.

This is a stunning antique and rare book piece Victorian mourning cross in gutta percha. It is circa 1860 and has superb textured clusters of roses and leaves in high relief all over the cross shape. This piece is pictured on page 56, in the 7th edition of Old Jewellery 1840 – 1950 by C. Jeanenne Bell (2008). The piece is large, beautifully made and has the soft luster and deep warm black of gutta percha.

Challenge:

Most museums don’t allow students and visitors a chance to handle artefacts up close. There is just too much risk and pieces could be damaged. The Hyde Park Barracks Museum wants this to change.

Solution:

The mourning cross is small 89mm in length x 25.4mm x 12.7mm in depth and weighing only 13.3grams

Not only in the cross small but it is detailed. This piece needed scanning with the arm based scanner reaching 30microns in accuracy.

The 3D pointcloud was meshed using Geomagic Wrap ready for 3D Printing.

Results:

More and more museum’s around the world are now scanning their collections and opening them up to children all around the world allowing access to treasures that are usually in glass cabinets or down in the archives never to be held and passed around on a school excursion.

What better way to learn about history than to hold and feel that heritage item by downloading the digital file.

Putting a treasured possession in the hands of students now available from the Sydney Living Museums.

For more information on 3D Scanning and 3D Printing for heritage and museum pieces Contact Us.

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