Rhinoceros skin

We are currently working on a early 1950's light table (for slides
and so) from the collection of the Royal Palace Museum 'Het Loo' in
Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. The top of the light table is made out
of rhinoceros skin which is about 1 cm thick and translucent. We're
not sure how the skin was prepared. The skin is deformed, possibly
due to the warmth of the lamps underneath it. The iron rim which
holds down the skin is corroded, around the edges of the skin iron
corrosion products stick to it and it looks like the corrosion
process has 'eaten away' some of the skin in spots (possibly somehow
like iron gall ink does?).

    Has anyone treated similar objects?
    Does anybody know how this skin was prepared?
    Do we treat it as leather or parchment?
    Can we somehow flatten the skin?

Our most important question is how to stabilize the rust on the
skin--removal of the rust is not necessary.

Michiel Langeveld and Charles de Smet
Royal Palace Museum 'Het Loo'
Metals conservator and Furniture conservator

M Langeveld Metaalrestauratie
Zamenhofstraat 150, UNIT 236-238
1022 AG Amsterdam
+31 6 50218260


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:42
                  Distributed: Friday, March 11, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-42-033
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