MAWA_SOW.docx

Scope / Statement of Work (SOW) MAWA: Perform Conservation Survey of Furniture Collection

PMIS 236899A

Table of Contents

1.0 Project Description / Summary

2.0 Objectives

3.0 Background

4.0 Specific Work / Tasks

5.0 Optional Work / Tasks

6.0 Government Furnished Equipment / Materials / Other

7.0 Special Conditions / Requirements

8.0 Place of Performance

9.0 Performance Period / Schedule Requirements

Scope / Statement of Work

Task Order / Project Title:

Perform Conservation Assessment and Treatment of MAWA Furniture Collection

Park / Park Unit:

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site

1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION / SUMMARY:

This project will have conservators perform an object-specific furniture condition survey of approximately 155 pieces of original, cataloged wooden furniture from the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site (MAWA) collection. In accordance with the completed survey, conservators will perform conservation treatment of selected items at a later date.

The survey methodology will include photographing object at a few angles, examining the object for signs of deterioration, and making notes on its condition as well as any environmental concerns that may detrimentally affect the object. The report will identify conservation problems, assign treatment priorities according to condition and significance of the objects, and recommend preventive conservation measures in terms of storage, exhibit, and appropriate housekeeping techniques.

2.0 OBJECTIVES:

2.1 The Historic Architecture, Conservation and Engineering Center (HACE) will hire a contract conservator to examine and assess conditions of items as identified.

2.2 Contractor shall provide treatment proposals, treatment reports and surveys as needed by the government.

2.3 Contractor shall provide advice to the client on conservation issues (e.g., storage and exhibit questions, object condition observations, etc.) and participate in meetings as needed.

2.4 Contractor shall record and maintain records of treatments and surveys in conjunction with NPS guidelines/ protocols.

3.0 BACKGROUND:

Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934) is a nationally significant civil rights pioneer. Born into a slave society in the capital of the Confederacy, Walker grew up during Reconstruction and rose to prominence in the height of the Jim Crow era. As an outspoken community activist, a fraternal leader, newspaper editor, and the nation’s first African American female bank president, Walker championed civil rights advancement and gender equality through economic empowerment and education opportunities.

Walker’s success as a prominent businessperson afforded her an ability to decorate her home and dress her family in high style fashions at the turn of the 20th century. As a public figure, Mrs. Walker often showcased her material culture to illustrate her many accomplishments, in turn setting an example of hope and success for others in her struggling community. The Walkers’ eclectic furniture collection ranges from Victorian, Empire, Colonial Revival, and Art Deco styles and includes private pieces such as beds, wardrobes, and dressers as well as public pieces such as her piano, wheelchair, desks, bookshelves, settees, chairs, and dining room furniture. These furnishings are primarily exhibited in situ, within the Maggie L. Walker house museum, and thus form the backbone of the authentic interpretive and educational experience, offering a rare glimpse into black middle-class life against the backdrop of the Jim Crow South.

Despite its significance, the MAWA furniture collection has never had a thorough conditions survey. The majority of this furniture has been on public display since the site first opened in 1985 and the pieces exhibit instances of light damage, minor mold growth, past insect damage, warping, and surface cracking and peeling.

4.0 SPECIFIC WORK / TASKS:

Major Duties and Responsibilities of Contractor

4.1 Conservation Laboratory Responsibilities:

· The contractor will be responsible for performing a wide variety of conservation treatments, including difficult and complex technical analysis, testing, and treatment necessary to conserve objects of historic and artistic value.

· The contractor will examine objects to determine the nature and cause of deterioration, and tests and selects appropriate conservation techniques for treatment

· The contractor will develop treatments in consultation with the park curators regarding final appearance and intended use of the object, and provides written documentation for the examination and condition analysis phase, treatment proposal phase, and following approval of the object’s custodian (usually the park curator through the park Superintendent), the final treatment phase in a comprehensive dossier for each object treated in the conservation laboratory, with complete photographic documentation of the object before and after treatment, and during treatment, if warranted.

· The contractor will draw from professional experience and practical research in selecting professionally established treatment techniques, and in developing new treatment methodologies, including selection of conservation solvents, reagents, compounds, materials and application techniques. Treatment procedures often involve extremely delicate techniques requiring highly developed hand skills and mature professional judgement in determining the appropriate extent of intervention, and the desired final appearance of extremely valuable and irreplaceable objects.

· The contractor will make contacts with parks for treatment scheduling and proposal review, and to make recommendations concerning collection care in the realm of both preventive and remedial conservation. Contacts are also made with parks as a result of their requests for conservation information or services. Contacts with NPS and non-NPS conservators are usually for the purpose of information acquisition or exchange.

· The contractor will be responsible for compliance with all OSHA and NIOSH regulations in laboratory operations by all personnel working in the laboratory.

4.2 On-site treatment projects:

· The contractor will assess the condition and treatment needs of objects on-site and develop treatment proposals.

· The contractor will submit written treatment proposals to the curator/superintendent for approval.

· The contractor will identify and arrange for procurement and scheduled delivery of conservation supplies necessary for on-site treatments. On-site treatments are primarily, but not limited to, treatment of outdoor sculptures, treatment of architectural finishes or ornamentation, treatment of large-scale sculptural plaster casts, and treatment of objects too large or too fragile to be transported to the HACE/Collections laboratory.

4.3 Estimated time to complete this project is 90 hours. Objects to be included in the survey:

5.0 OPTIONAL WORK / TASKS NOT ON PMIS:

N/A

6.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT / MATERIALS / OTHER:

All supplies necessary to execute the treatment of this project will be provided in the HACE Object Treatment Laboratory and are included in the project cost.

7.0 SPECIAL CONDITIONS / REQUIREMENTS:

7.1 Contractor to adhere to all OSHA procedures and guidelines while in HACE Laboratory.

7.2 Contractor will consult with HACE Project Inspector during the project to ensure treatments are done in a timely and efficient manner.

7.3 Contractor to adhere to all local ordinances, such as, allowable work time and noise ordinances.

8.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

The survey will be carried out on-site at MAWA, with report-writing carried out at Historic Architecture, Conservation and Engineering Center in Lowell, MA.

9.0 PERFORMANCE PERIOD / SCHEDULE REQUIREMENTS:

52-week period of performance. Start date September 2022.

9.1 Time

Regular Hours: The contractor shall provide coverage at the specified government sites during the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M (core hours); Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Overtime: Overtime will be authorized in emergency situations such as natural disasters and/or activation of the Northeast Region Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP). The COR will identify which tasks are necessary during this emergency and what personnel will be required to report to work or work additional hours.

Travel: Occasional travel is required to various sites in the Northeast Region.

9.2 Invoicing

Invoicing shall be in accordance with the DOI ELECTRONIC INVOICING Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements – Internet Payment Platform (IPP) (September 2011) – See Contract Administration Data (below) for the full clause. The Period of Performance (POP) for each invoice will be one calendar month based on actual hours worked, beginning with the start date of this contract. The contactor shall submit only one invoice per month. Timesheets will be verified by NPS Contracting Officers Technical Representative monthly prior to payment.

9.3 Standards and References

· NPS standards and procedures will be made available upon task initiation.

· All work performed will be within the standards of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) Code of Ethics and Guidelines

MAWA #52

MAWA #70

MAWA #76

image4.jpeg image1.jpg image2.jpeg image3.jpeg