Wax

Craig Deller <craig1708 [at] aol__com> writes

>I was recently asked about what appears to be mold growing on wax.
>The objects in question are 19th Century American wax fruit that are stored
>in an enclosed glass cabinet for display in a private home. The
>owner has observed (I have not) a whitish material that forms on the
>tops of the "fruit" and can only describe it as a mold.  They have
>also said that by placing moth balls in the case the "mold" seems to
>disappear.

Is it possible that the mold is actually stearate crystals from fat
in the fruit or the coating on the fruit ?  Could salt crystals be
affected by moth balls ?

Kate Roberts

                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 10:3
                  Distributed: Thursday, June 27, 1996
                        Message Id: cdl-10-3-004
                                  ***