Artefacts

Conservation of artefacts occasionally requires the manufacture of mounts and supports but this is not as routine an activity as it is for my textile and paper conservation colleagues.

Generally speaking the aim of conservation mounting is to provide a sympathetic physical support for the object, using conservation-grade materials.

An example of an artefacts mounting project is illustrated below.

 

 

Mounting of an African dance costume

The mounting for display of an African dance costume was requested by Dundee City Museums. The costume is made of woven fibres and was in good condition, and a simple mount was needed as opposed to a full-scale mannikin. This was mainly because access into the costume was not easy as there was only a single aperture in the upper back. It was agreed that a flat mount would provide an appropriate means of support on display. The mount was made of acid-free card honeycomb board, covered with a scoured black cotton fabric. The various segments of the mount such as arms, legs and head slotted into the torso using aluminium tongues that fitted into recesses. The costume was mounted by inserting the first inserting the segments for arms, legs and head into place, then inserting the torso and slotting the mount together. The costume can be demounted by reversing the method. The costume was trasnported unmounted back to the museum, and was mounted into the display by Dundee City Museum's conservation team.

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