I know that you've been dying to know how in the world conservators fill in the missing pieces of archeological ceramics. Aren't you glad you know me.
First you have to take a mold of a part of the pot that is complete. We did this with a sheet of pink dental wax heated with a hair dryer. Once this has cooled and hardened, you slide it into place over the missing fragment.
Then with the edges of the break protected with masking tape, you start to fill the area with a wet mixture of tinted dental plaster.
Within just a few minutes the plaster gets very dry, and you finish filling with a spatula. When the filling is dry, you can smooth it and shape it to match the rest of the piece. I'll post pictures when I do this next week.
