Carved wooden relief

I fully agree with the other comments regarding avoidance of coatings on
the carving.  Coatings essentially contaminate the object and yet do not
work for moisture control.  The PEG treatment is possible, but results
can be very variable. PEG can discolor the surface significantly.  A
relatively tight enclosure with buffering materials can be very
successful, providing that you protect the package from gaining too much
moisture and then maintaining a detrimentally high RH. I have used
pelletized clays (such as cat-litter) in display cases (in a concealed
chamber beneath) to provide buffering mass.  It is both cheap and
effective.  Clays do not have the run-away dangers of silica gel.  If
you use a powdered clay such as Attapulgus, make sure that it is well
contained so that you don't get dust migration.  Nonwoven polyester
fabrics such as Pellons make good filters, as does ordinary lightweight
paper or filter papers.

Geoffrey Brown
Kelsey Museum
University of Michigan
313-747-0439

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:59
                Distributed: Tuesday, February 15, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-7-59-004
                                  ***