A Specimen of Art, Part II

In Part I of this blog, we told you what we've learned so far about the history of the Rochester Union Greys banner. In this blog we'll tell you how we managed some challenges faced by the textile conservators at Museum Textile Services.

Overall the banner was very fragile, due to its age and the fact that it is made out of silk. Before we could begin the cleaning and repair, we had to address the green and gold cotton fringe. The fringe was not properly tensioned, and parts of it were missing due to substantial areas of loss from rodent damage. The green dye had also bled into the surrounding silk. The tightness of the fringe accentuated the bagging in the center of both the front and back panels the banner, which was acentuated by the weight of the heavy embroidery. 

Detail of a corner of the banner, before treatment. Image by MTS.

Soil and dye bleeding were removed from the silk flag using deionized water and a micro suction platen. Image by MTS.

Stitches holding the fringe to the banner were snipped and each section of fringe was removed and marked so they could be returned to their proper place after treatment. The fringe was then vacuumed with a high-efficiency filtered vacuum on low suction to remove accretions of dirt. Next, both sides of each silk panel composing the body of the banner were vacuumed and gently pressed with a warm iron through cotton muslin. This treatment reduced the heavy creases in the silk and realigned the many fragments. Additional accretions of soil were removed using deionized water pulled through the silk with a mini suction platen. The same method was used to reduce the green dye that had transferred from the fringe.

Once the cleaning of the banner was completed, it was moved to a solid-support panel that we had  covered with Polyfelt and cotton poplin. We began reassembling the banner by centering the bottom layer face-down on the panel. A piece of hi-loft polyester padding in the shape of the embroidered wreath was placed in the center of the banner to ensure sufficient pressure against the acrylic. In order to compensate visually for losses in the top layer of the banner, a piece of cream cotton was then placed on top of the padding. The top layer of the flag was rolled out over the cotton and pinned into place. The final layer of support was a full overlay of sheer cream-colored nylon net. 

Technician Gretta Hemplemann reattaches the fringe after the banner has been reassembled onto the solid-support panel. Image by MTS.

​Once all the layers were in place, the flag was hand stitched to the support panel around the edges and through the embroidery. Any areas of weakness in need of additional support were also stabilized, such as loose areas of embroidery. The sections of fringe were placed around the banner and tensioned to their maximum length. The client agreed to allow us to start the fringe further from the sleeve end to provide the length necessary to minimize gaps between sections. We hand stitched the fringe along the perimeter, and any errant strands were tacked down by hand. We decided to pressure mount the banner under UV-filtering acrylic in order to minimize the amount of stitching necessary to hold the fringe and support the fragile banner. A sheet of UV filtering acrylic was screwed to the front of the panel through pre-drilled holes. An aluminum powder-coated frame was then screwed into place to complete the pressure mount.

In just under one year, this beautiful silk banner was salvaged from a trunk full of rodent-damaged memorabilia, identified as being an important historical document, and returned to stability and splendor through textile conservation. We are grateful to its owner for trusting us when we proposed this extensive treatment, and recognizing the value of preservation.
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Courtney Jason has worked with MTS since 2010. She completed her ALM in Museum Studies at Harvard Extension School in 2017.

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