Vellum from a Psalter
Posted: Tue 09 Jul, 2019 8:38 pm
Hi all
Bit of a head scratcher this one…
I have been asked to frame a piece of vellum from a Psalter. It is 270mm x 185mm. It is printed on both sides, but the client seems comfortable to only display the more decorative side.
I have read all the previous posts on Vellum and Mark (NYAF) has offered his view specifically regarding mounting the vellum. Thank you, Mark!
I was keen to open this up a bit more to get other thoughts and ask if anyone has had any recent experiences with similar items?
The process I have gathered is to use ribbon on each of the corners to secure to museum mountcard that would allow the vellum to expand and contract, as it characteristically does and frame in a deep box frame with 19mm spacer to allow plenty of room.
I have read online (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/c ... d-storage/) an interesting article from the V&A that talks about using Mulberry paper and wheat starch, which was my first thought and as dry as possible. This is a method I use a lot.
Using the ribbon method seems logical but I haven’t had experience of this so far.
I assume that one would cut slits in the mountcard to pass the ribbon through, but I am not sure how to then secure the ribbon on the reverse side. Double sided tape (atg) seems crude and not within Museum standard… Equally how tight (or not) would these corner ribbons need to be to ensure it holds the item while being also loose enough to allow for movement.
As for the ribbon the client has requested silk, but I am not sure about silk’s properties with vellum, again if anyone has thoughts…?
I think I am kind of there with my execution just mindful of how fragile vellum can be and also its tendencies to expand and contract with humidity changes and keen to know as much as possible before accepting the job. As I say, any advice massively welcome.
Thanks as always!
Bit of a head scratcher this one…
I have been asked to frame a piece of vellum from a Psalter. It is 270mm x 185mm. It is printed on both sides, but the client seems comfortable to only display the more decorative side.
I have read all the previous posts on Vellum and Mark (NYAF) has offered his view specifically regarding mounting the vellum. Thank you, Mark!
I was keen to open this up a bit more to get other thoughts and ask if anyone has had any recent experiences with similar items?
The process I have gathered is to use ribbon on each of the corners to secure to museum mountcard that would allow the vellum to expand and contract, as it characteristically does and frame in a deep box frame with 19mm spacer to allow plenty of room.
I have read online (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/c ... d-storage/) an interesting article from the V&A that talks about using Mulberry paper and wheat starch, which was my first thought and as dry as possible. This is a method I use a lot.
Using the ribbon method seems logical but I haven’t had experience of this so far.
I assume that one would cut slits in the mountcard to pass the ribbon through, but I am not sure how to then secure the ribbon on the reverse side. Double sided tape (atg) seems crude and not within Museum standard… Equally how tight (or not) would these corner ribbons need to be to ensure it holds the item while being also loose enough to allow for movement.
As for the ribbon the client has requested silk, but I am not sure about silk’s properties with vellum, again if anyone has thoughts…?
I think I am kind of there with my execution just mindful of how fragile vellum can be and also its tendencies to expand and contract with humidity changes and keen to know as much as possible before accepting the job. As I say, any advice massively welcome.
Thanks as always!