Rebecca Bunch has a job that is unlike any other in Canada. In her role as the conservation and Crown Collection specialist with the National Capital Commission, she is tasked with ensuring the life and history of the 4,000 Canadian artifacts continue to not only survive, but flourish for the next 150 years. The Crown Collection features many of the possessions found in the average family home, such as tables, lamps and couches. But these artifacts are different - they highlight the finest examples of Canadian art and furniture to showcases our British, French and Indigenous origins. (Header Image: Matt Gergyek, Centretown News)
While much of her office work is done at NCC headquarters on Elgin Street, Bunch's days are not always the same. On Nov. 7, she tours the NCC's biggest residence- Rideau Hall - on the lookout for pieces that need her restorative attention. (Matt Gergyek, Centretown News)
The main building of Rideau Hall contains about 175 rooms and is home to Canada's newly appointed 29th Governor General Julie Payette. (Matt Gergyek, Centretown News)
One recent addition to the Crown Collection is this portrait of Queen Elizabeth II installed in Rideau Hall in 2012 to mark the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee, a celebration of her 60 years in power. (Matt Gergyek, Centretown News)
Of all the various elements in this portrait by Phil Richards, one aspect is different than the rest. The artist has hidden two of the Queen's corgis in the image - can you find them? (Patrick Peori, Centretown News)
Bunch's job can be broken down into three roles - preventative conservation, which seeks to create an environment around the artifact to ensure its survival, remedial conservation, direct intervention on an artifact to prevent its decay or destruction, and restoration, the most intensive form of conservation, which restores a destroyed or flawed artifact to its original form. (Patrick Peori, Centretown News)
Artifacts in the Crown Collection are dispersed throughout the six official residences in Ottawa. These include 24 Sussex Drive (home of the prime minister and their family), Stornoway (home of leader of the Official Opposition and their family) 7 Rideau Gate, (accommodations for visiting dignitaries), Harrington Lake (country property for the prime minister and their family), The Farm (home of the speaker of the House of Commons), and finally, Rideau Hall. (Matt Gergyek, Centretown News)
This exceptionally rare piece of furniture from the 1750s still wears the same blue finish from the time of its creation. Now on display in the Pauline Vanier Room at Rideau Hall, Bunch opens it up to find out the right door no longer closes properly. (Patrick Peori, Centretown News)
This 1932 painting by Emily Carr, called "Forest," gets a thorough inspection from Bunch as she uses her magnifiers. From a distance, it looks appealing, but upon closer inspection she says the piece will need to be sent out for work. (Matt Gergyek, Centretown News)
Bunch says what makes the Crown Collection different than an average museum's collection is the ability to interact with each piece. Free of encapsulation and in physical use, the pieces are not "frozen in time". "Everyday, even as we are speaking, the provenance is being added, its living in history, people are interacting with it," Bunch said. (Matt Gergyek, Centretown News)
This is just a snapshot of the many tools and products used to make old things new again. (Left: Matt Gergyek, Centretown News. Right: Patrick Peori, Centretown News)
This gilt wood wall bracket from 1850 will require more than just one restoration session. The many layers of this piece require attention to detail and patience. "You have these microscopic pieces of gold ... if you breath slightly, they'll fly across the room and disintegrate," Bunch said. (Patrick Peori, Centretown News)