Stabilization of a
Palampur
A wonderful printed cotton Palampur from Doris Duke's collection in Newport, RI,
is now being worked on. The dark brown printed areas
were quite deteriorated. Evidence of previous attempts
to fill the losses were found.
In order to better stabilize the losses and weak areas
of the Palampur, the layers of the were released. Found
behind the top layer was a printed fabric that was used as
a fill material. It was the reverse side of the printed
fabric that was to fill in the losses. A few of the areas
were colored with ink.
After wet cleaning, the losses were color compensated
with a sheer fabric positioned behind that blended with the
overall appearance of the Palampur. The weak areas were all
stabilized with stitching. The entire artifact was fully
backed. It can now hang straight.
