Potato starch

Has anyone encountered a painting with potato starch used as an
adhesive? I have one from the Old Master Collection at Olana
attributed to the Master of the Annunciation, Bartolemeo Passante,
circa 1640. It is a patched fragment with the structure oozing
animal glue and potato starch. The potato starch is clear with
polarizing microscopy. It looks as though the painting was
transferred from a wooden support. The painting was reconstituted on
a thin, fine handkerchief-like fabric with a thick potato starch
adhesive layer.

Joyce Zucker
Painting Conservator
NYS Bureau of Historic Sites
Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation
518-237-8643 ext 3242


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 19:10
                Distributed: Wednesday, August 17, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-19-10-032
                                  ***