Academic thesis
| Elias Neugebauer: | Conservation of a gable mask from Papua New Guinea. Aqueous cleaning and strengthening of a fragile paint layer on Sago Palm-Petioles | back |
| Language: | Original - Translation | |
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| Abstract: | The central topic of this thesis is the conservation of a painted gable mask from Papua New Guinea, approximately two meters in size. The mask is part of the collection of the Weltmuseum Vienna. There is no information in the museum database about the place of origin, the intended use or the circumstances of the collection. A core objective of this work is to place the object in a historical, geographical as well as a context of use. Thoughts on working with ethnographic objects are presented, based on which a conservation concept was developed. The focus of the work lies upon conserving the objects history and stabilizing the existing material. The matte, flaking painting layer was heavily soiled and at risk of loss in large areas. Consolidation without prior cleaning would bind the existing contaminants to the surface. In the course of the works a contamination of the paint layer by DDT was detected. Cleaning and consolidating the matte, overall fragile and flaking paint layer was particularly challenging. For this reason, a gentle cleaning method was devised and carried out using rigid agar-agar gel plates. The aim of the application was the loss-free cleaning of the paint layer and the reduction of the DDT contamination. Areas of the paint layer which were at risk of loss were then consolidated with JunFunori®. The weakened structure of the object was statically stabilized. In the course of the work a packaging box was made. |
| Keywords: | Gable Mask, Papua New Guinea, Sepik (river), Sago Palm-Petioles, Weltmuseum Wien, matte paint, Agar-Agar-Gel, JunFunori® |
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