Storing and displaying torn paintings

This painting (oil on canvas) was recovered from Petar Lubarda's
house (one of the most famous Serbian painters) after the death of
his wife, along with many other works of art.  As the house was
abandoned for some time, the paintings were found in a devastated
state.  The house was occupied by cats, pigeons and rodents so a lot
of paintings were stained with animal feces and infected with mould.

The painting in question suffered the most, being torn in several
places with pieces of canvas missing (it wasn't mounted on a frame).
The paint layer was even more damaged, so very little of it
survived.  However, it was decided to try to save what can be saved,
basically as a testimony to the carried out salvage operation.  Now,
the conservation-restoration treatment is over and now we must
figure out the best way to store the torn canvas with several
detached pieces, keeping in mind that the remaining paint layer and
the back of the canvas are important, so it is not possible to apply
secondary canvas backing to the original.  It is also not advisable
to sandwich the canvas between two sheets of Plexiglas or Klirit,
because of the fragility of the remaining paint layer.  The painting
will be very rarely displayed, but both sides should be available
for review.

Has anyone experienced similar problems? Any suggestions?

Veljko Dzikic
Conservator
Department for preventive conservation
Central Institute for Conservation in Belgrade
Terazije 26
Belgrade
Serbia


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 26:43
                 Distributed: Saturday, March 30, 2013
                       Message Id: cdl-26-43-029
                                  ***