Tray decorated with butterfly wings

Judy Greenfield <judygreenfield [at] earthlink__net> writes

>I would appreciate any information about an artifact decorated with
>butterfly wings.

I worked on the same type of object several years ago.  Generally,
these trays are made and sold in Brazil and brought back as
souvenirs.  I had to deal with the same problem: broken glass and
damaged wings.  I found that the wings are indeed pressure
mounted--merely laid on a cardboard backing over the wood base of
the tray, then the glass is placed on top.  You have to be extremely
careful when removing the glass so as not to disturb the arrangement
of the wings.  Needless to say, avoid drafts of any kind.  You might
want to even wear a dust mask to avoid breezes from your exhalation.
Some of the scales might stick to the broken glass, but there is no
way to avoid that if some 'ferrotyping' of the wing surfaces has
occurred.  Use the flat end of a micro-spatula to aid in separating
the wings from the glass.

I replaced the glass with filtered museum glass because the owner
wanted to display the tray in her home.  I would suggest avoiding
the use of plexi glazing due to the static problems.  If you have
further questions, contact me off list and I can give further
details.

Paul S. Storch
Senior Objects Conservator/
    Section Head/Internal Unit Preparation Specialist
Daniels Objects Conservation Laboratory (DOCL)
B-109.1, Minnesota History Center
345 Kellogg Blvd. West
St. Paul, MN  55102-1906
651-297-5774
Fax: 651-297-2967


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:44
               Distributed: Wednesday, February 14, 2001
                       Message Id: cdl-14-44-005
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