Making Choises, by Jorinde Smits

Posted  by Jorinde Smits

We had to make some choices since there were  a lot of bowls, plates, hair brushes and other ceramics. To distinguish them we gave them names. We joked about ‘Harry Pottery’ and decided to choose the names from Harry Potter characters. We based our choices at differences of advantages and interesting characteristics. Since we didn’t know how much time it would take to digitalise the cups and plates, we numbered them in order of importance.
We took in account the different types of advantages.

1. Holes
   To make the cups useful again, we need to fix the holes.
2. Details
   Some cups like Harmione and Hagrid have some nice details. Since the CT scanner is not that accurate we have to find other solutions for bringing those details back.
3. Fixing techniques
   There are different ways used for fixing the objects. How can we translate those methods in our new design?

We decided to exclude the hair brushes in our process, because it has nothing to do with tableware.
1. Harry
Bowl with interesting holes the missing shards left. Diameter of +/- 15 centimeters.

2. Hermione
This one has some nice decorations. Diameter of +/- 12 centimeters.
 

3. Ron
Here the advantage is to replace the three separate shards. Diameter of +/- 18 centimeters.

4. Ginny
Small plate. Missing a piece and two repaired cracks. Diameter of +/- 15 centimeters.


5. Hagrid
Kind of fruit bowl with lid. It has nails and glue as fixing methods. The cracks are really fragile, but as good as complete. Diameter of +/- 25 centimeters.


6. Dobby
We liked this small cup because of its small hole. Diameter of 5 centimeters.


7. Snape
This one is familiar to Hagrid, but much smaller. The one defect is the bottom which is fixed. The cup is complete. Diameter +/- 15 centimeters.
 

Reconstructing the past take two: Herengracht 476

The next challenge was to use the Structure Sensor to capture a 17th century house on the 'Gouden Bocht' (Golden Bend) in Amsterdam. This two parcel wide majestic residence of the then Mayor of Amsterdam was the home where the porcelain teacup, we follow was used. The building is now used by the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds.

The team (Audrey Loef (Architecture), Rosan Foppen (industrial Design), Ingmar Klappe (Architecture) and Senna Meij (Industrial Design) of the Technical University Delft, needed to use all their resourcefulness to get the job done. Despite of the 'promise' the Structure Sensor proved to have extreme difficulties with reflective surfaces, such as windows and glass, high ceilings and strong light/dark contrast.

The result: the beautiful ‘salon’ changed into a more ‘cave-like’ space. Clearly the Structure Sensor wasn’t up to the task of scanning a historical abundantly decorated sitting-room! 

Herengracht 476, Huize de Vicq

Salon, huize de Vicq

Salon, huize de Vicq

3D scan by the Structure Sensor

reconstructing the past take one: a 17th century plate

Last week Audrey Loef (Architecture), Rosan Foppen (industrial Design), Ingmar Klappe (Architecture) and Senna Meij (Industrial Design) of the Technical University Delft have been working on a project for the Minor Augmenting Prototypes. They have tested a new 3D scanning device the 'structure sensor' for its use in reconstructing historical objects. This week the object was a porcelain plate, made in the 17th century in Japan, ordered by the then Mayor of Amsterdam. The plate is part of a set of tableware that was (likely) ordered for the marriage of the mayor with Aletta Pancras that took place at august 30, 1667. This plate is part of the collection of the Amsterdam Museum, and we are greatful that we had the oppertunity to scan the object in their depot.
Other (known) part of the set of tableware are two cup-an-saucers at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, a plate at the Victoria&Albert in Londen and a plate at the Idemitsu Museum in Japan.
Hre you can see the plate and the 3D computer reconstruction after the scan.

17th century plate, collection Amsterdam Museum, foto Senna Meij

3D scan of Structure sensor

3D computer model, modeled after scan, bottom view

3D computer model, modeled after scan, top view (excluding decoration)