Illuminations

Patricia Mouraud <patricia.mouraud [at] ara__archief__nl> writes

>I'm working on an manuscript with 6 illuminations (15th century) and
>I looking for a material to protect them which can not damage them
>mechanically and chemically (e.g reaction with pigments?). Now they
>are protected with silk that is quite damaged (not original). I
>would like to know if a new piece of silk would be a good solution
>with the advantage of being very smooth (no risk of abrasion) or
>should I choose a good paper (silversafe for example)?

Does Patricia Mouraud  mean that the MS has silk curtains sewn over
the miniatures, or (as Jack C. Thompson infers) that they have been
'silked'?

If curtains: they are very rare (at least, in Western MSS--rather
more common in Ethiopian ones) and well worth the effort of
documenting and preserving. (I'd love photos and details!)  I don't
think curtains need replacing for *conservation* reasons, since
miniatures survive adequately without them, but it would be a nice
touch to do it as part of a *restoration*.

Mark Clarke
Instituut Collectie Nederland
Gabriel Metsustraat 8
1071 EA Amsterdam


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 15:72
                  Distributed: Tuesday, April 23, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-15-72-005
                                  ***