Before and after treatment.
The goal of this project was to prepare the banner for
display at the Ravena Coeymans Historical Society with
provisions to block light. The banner had been rolled in
storage for a long time, causing planar deformation of the
canvas. There were also tidelines, dark discoloration and a
thick layer of surface dirt, creasing, folds, ands and
fading and detachment of silk ribbon connected to the
banner.
First the banner was vacuumed overall and cleaned with
dampened swabs with a mild enzymatic solution and distilled
water. It was then humidified and flattened. Creases in the
silk ribbons were lessened with humidification. The ribbons
were then encapsulated between cotton fabric and a sheer
fabric called Stabiltex. The layers were secured along the
edge of the painted canvas and along the outer edge of the
ribbon. The fragments of the ribbon were positioned in
their original location and secured with stitching.
An aluminum honeycomb mount was covered with a layer of
padding and prewashed 100% cotton fabric chosen to blend
best with the banner and brighten the overall appearance.
The banner was then attached to the mount with fabric tabs
for the rod and stitching along the perimeter of the cotton
painted canvas and outer edge of ribbon.
Finally, a five-sided UV-filtered Plexiglas box was
constructed, cleaned and secured to the mount. The mount
was then attached to the wall with two aluminum cleats.