The conservation of a trade union banner
Description
ASLEFF trade union banner with painted design on both faces
Client brief/Role of object
Make safe for long term display in glazed wall cabinet.
Condition before treatment
Fair to poor condition overall; some stains and ingrained soils; very crumpled. Main areas of weakness at paint edges. Inflexibility of painted silk compared to unpainted silk created severe distortion and splits in silk. Some green wool pole tabs are weak, seams loose.
Treatment
Mechanical action removed accretions from painted areas. Humidification reduced creases. Adhesive overlays of semi-transparent silk, re-joined silk to painted areas. Velcro™ provided an evenly tensioned hanging mechanism.
Condition after treatment
Banner sufficiently stable to be hung from Velcro™ in glazed display case.
Further information
[TCC 2625]
Acknowledgements
Reproduced courtesy of the March & District Museum and the Textile Conservation Centre, University of Southampton.’ Textile Conservation Centre, University of Southampton © 2009.
Kate Gill, TCC conservation team member
Treatment completed May 2008
Banner, before treatment
Detail showing cleaning of painted area in progress
Detail, before treatment
Detail, after treatment
Kate Gill applying a pre-cast adhesive patch support to the reverse face of the banner
Banner, after treatment