Museum Artifact Case

From the jungles of Peru, archeologists Monica Clendenin, Joylyn Waegerle, and Beth Lowder brought back three prized artifacts. Ms. Clendenin's discovery was of a ritual martini glass, Ms Waegerle taht of an ancient clutch wallet, and Ms. Lowder an authentic ear phone listening device preserved in its own container. These valuable artifacts will be exhibited in the UNCG museum, encased in a contemporary museum case design by Eileen Carroll.

Three cases are joined together in a leaf pattern symbolizing the jungles of Peru where these precious exhibits were found. The leaf shaped cases are angled towards the viewer, drawing the observer into the space to experience the reality of the reality of the environment.

The entire case stands 60" tall from the floor with each leaf case sized at 20" wide by 15" deep with a glass exposure of 12" high. The base of the cases grow organically outward from an elliptical stand, 26" wide by 20" deep, with a dramatic angle widening up to 50" as it greets the glass exposure of the case.


The exterior color of the case is deep brown with a lighter beige hue interior. The martini glass located is located in the left case on its own stand, protecting the delicate quality of the artifact. The clutch wallet sits in the right case on a stand enabling the clutch artifact to be fully opened for the viewer. Both the martini glass, and the clutch artifact stand 9" tall. The ear pone devices within it own container is on a 2" raised platform, and opened for the view to see the artifact in its natural state, totally 6" tall.

The vibration proof case is of a sturdy constructed aluminum extrusion frame. The exterior of the case is of power-coated metal enamel, and laminated safety glazing. The interior of the case is illuminated with light diffusers of low-voltage halogen, hidden within the top portion of the interior glass case. The interior environment for the artifacts are protected with humidity controlled settings. The world authority in high tech museum case construction, Relicase, located in Shuangliu China, fabricated the uniquely designed case structure.

The design process of the museum case was a challenge, with the criteria to show drama and unity of the exhibit, which will highlight the artifacts without distraction. Ms. Carroll looked to nature for the inspiration of the design to give an identity to the exhibit as a whole. The initial process started with the interview of the archeologists Ms. Clendenin, Ms. Waegerle, and Ms. Lower, to understand the identity of the artifacts themselves. During the interview, Ms. Carroll envisioned the basic concept, and created sketches to covey her design. The second interview with the archeologist Ms. Carroll created a mock up of the design with some color choses, materials and possible vendors for the fabrication of the case. The final presentations for the archeologists showed a finish board with a perspective illustration drawing of the design with detailed dimension specifications of the case itself.