Carved wooden relief

Our collection holds a wooden relief hand-carved in Nigeria, c. 1950s.
It is made from a light-colored, dense wood.  Dimensions are
approximately 24 x 36 x 4 inches.

Due to cycling in temperature and humidity (I have a big folder of
complaints about this situation, but have yet to achieve a solution),
the relief is developing four cracks on its face.

    What can I do immediately to halt the cracking?

    Should I apply oil to the relief?  If so, what kind of oil?

    What should I do for long-term storage?   (The relief is boxed, and
    the temp./humidity is supposed to stay at 65 degrees, 45 per cent.)

Michael Cogswell
Louis Armstrong Archives
Queens College, CUNY
(718) 997-3670

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:57
                 Distributed: Friday, February 4, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-7-57-006
                                  ***