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Textiles |
“We Hurry to the Rescue”
Treatment of an 1857 Silk Flag Using Beva-371 Coated Fabrics
By Katherine Lechuga
Presented at the Midwest Regional Conservation Guild Conference, Cincinnati, Ohio
October 2006.
This paper describes the treatment of a 19th century silk fire fighter commemorative parade flag. The flag was in a considerable state of disintegration exhibiting such problems as shattering silk, severe slitting, staining, detaching metallic fringe elements, and large areas of loss that had to be compensated for by using new fabric as infill material.
The flag was first stabilized in a “sandwich” of nylon net and secured with hand stitching using white cotton thread. Then it was immersion cleaned in a warm water bath of filtered water and anionic detergent then was neutralized in an acetic acid rinse and filtered water. Next, it was accelerated dried using forced air and cotton toweling, removed from the net, blocked and aligned and prepared for consolidation. The immersion cleaning removed most of the dirt and provided the flag with a new healthy sheen and soft hand.
I created Beva-371 coated nylon net in appropriate colors using a 50% solution of Beva-371 gel in naphtha then applied a moderate flocking using a spray gun. These fabrics are an indispensable material for textile conservation. They facilitate the treatment of the most fragile fabrics, especially silk, when hand stitching is too traumatic or invasive to properly consolidate an object. This fabric can be cut into any shape or size and with gentle heat and hand pressure can coax even the most stubborn pieces back into place causing no further damage to the textile. Aside from being so easy to use and so effective in stabilization, Beva-371 is completely reversible in isopropyl alcohol.
The final step in the treatment was developing a display system that would allow easy viewing during the exhibit while simultaneously providing a safe and secure environment. After both panels had been adequately stabilized and infilled, they were then mounted to a double-sided fabric covered strainer that had been previously sealed with polyurethane. The fringe was reattached to its original panel and couched in place along the edges. The framing system was then glazed with UV protected Plexi-glass on both the front and back and contained in a walnut colored frame. This allowed both panels of the flag to be viewed simultaneously without creating any unnecessary strain on the textile.
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The paper that was presented at the conference detailing the treatment procedures and Beva-371 coated fabric preparation.
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A Power Point presentation that was shown in conjunction with the paper illustrating the various steps and improvements during treatment.
Images courtesy Textile Conservation Services, Indianapolis, IN.