Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection   

ARTIFACT PRESENTATION

Recreational divers have two distinct views on what should be done to present an artifact for display. On one side, some divers clean and polish every brass piece they recover. On the other side, some divers preserve but don't clean their objects at all, allowing whatever rust, barnacles or coral to vividly show to all the origin of the artifact.

 

Photos: Small porthole from the Sea Cliff Wreck made into a clock and Bronze hatch from the San Diego shipwreck, converted into a table.

I've found that each artifact has to be looked at individually. Some need cleaning to show the original beauty, while others need to be preserved then left alone. Most need certain key areas to be polished while leaving barnacles and some growth in place to give immediate identification that the artifact has been found in the sea. As an example of this, I recently was diving on a World War I Navy vessel with some friends. When we all retrieved some brass valves and brought them home, most were completely covered in a conglomeration of rust from the steel the valves were lying on. Two weeks later, we compared our valves. Some were left covered in rust, which truthfully looked like a hunk of junk rather than a brass artifact. Some were polished to a high gloss which must have taken considerable time and effort and only resulted in looking like a piece of brass purchased in the local hardware store. I had left one of my valves covered in rust then chiseled away the rust that covered the wheel. I then cleaned and polished the wheel while leaving the rest covered or fossilized. We all agreed that this was the best of both worlds. This method can be adapted to almost any artifact. Say for example, that you had recovered a porthole and had already cleaned and polished the item. Simply find a few barnacles and glue them to the artifact in a couple of places; you'll be amazed at how much more authentic and historic your treasure will look.

Photos: Ed Maliszewski converted this bronze capstan cover from the Western World wreck into a standing lamp. Porthole from the 59th Street Wreck converted into a wall light and a WW I gunpowder canister made into a standing lamp.

Artifact presentation goes far beyond deciding how to clean an item. Many items can be put back into use. I have a ship's brass door frame mounted as an entrance into my office, a porthole as a window, another brass frame made into a coffee table, a standing lamp made from a gunpowder canister and brass valve wheels mounted onto my garden hose faucets. Although this is a bit extreme, it's not uncommon for divers to use recovered china or silverware or to electrify a cage lamp and hang it on the wall. Small portholes can easily be made into clocks or they make beautiful picture frames. Some artifacts can be mounted and hung from the wall, while some should simply sit on a shelf. Still others can be used and enjoyed every day.
Photo Shipwreck Helm from a Bermuda shipwreck made into a gate. Photo courtesy Teddy Tucker.

 This was the first Spanish coin I ever found. It was dug up while metal detecting a beach in New Jersey. We think this and other coins recovered in the area came from the wreck of the Live Oak. My wife had it made into a ring for me. Just another example of artifact presentation. Photo by Dan Berg.

 

Porthole Jewelry Display Case

This rectangular brass porthole was recovered from a small cabin cruiser wreck from an area known as Derelict Bay. The artifact had no historic significance at all. Capt. Ed Slater took the little porthole and transformed it into a beautiful display case gold rings recovered from metal detecting.

Brass portholes make great photo frames. This was just a porthole swing plate. Recovered with no glass. An artifact photo taken aboard the charter boat Wreck Valley was enlarged to fit and plexi glass was cut to replace the artifacts original glass. Photo by Dan Berg

Diver Steve Jonassen made a clock out of this small brass porthole swing plate. Photo by Dan Berg.
 

The Shipwreck Diving E-Book  Instant Downloadable E-Book  Shipwreck Diving, by Capt. Dan Berg is a complete how to book about the sport of wreck diving. This book is packed with information and heavily illustrated with over 80 sensational color photographs.

 

All photographs, sketches, images and text

Copyright Capt. Dan Berg / Aqua Explorers Inc

2745 Cheshire Dr
Baldwin NY 11510
E-Mail Wreckvalle@aol.com