Hi Textilians,

When I was a student I did some preliminary experiments that attempted
to show how effective pressure mounts were at buffering fluctuations in
RH.  An additional useful reference not on the list that Elpida just
circulated: 


Dierdre Windsor, Linda Hillyer, Dinah Eastop "The Role of Pressure
Mounting in Textile Conservation: Recent Application of US Technique" in
Preprints of the 13th Triennial Meeting ICOM-CC, vol II. Rio (2002) pp.
755-760.


There were a number of problems with the experimental technique that I
used and unfortunately I was not able to get a very good set of data
points.  With the set up used, it was difficult to obtain data on how
well the pressure mount could act as a buffer during extended periods of
high humidity, and how well it could buffer repeated changes.  
Also, the type of data logger used was a HOBO unit, about ½” thick,
rather than the sword probe used by Windsor et al., so it had to be
nested in a layer of Volara between the solid support and the batting,
below the Plexiglas.  This obviously does not imitate as well the
position of the textile in the mount.   So in conclusion, there are at
least three aspects of the set up I would have changed:  I would have
used a sword probe inside the pressure mount, put the whole assembly
into a chamber much larger than the assembly, and would have engineered
it so that the data logger/pressure mount assembly could be subjected to
fluctuations in RH without the need to transfer it in and out of the
chamber.

That said, during a 6-day period in the chamber, the RH inside the mount
did rise from 55% RH of the lab environment to the 65% RH inside the
chamber, seeming to suggest that the pressure mount was not able to
completely buffer changes in RH.  It seemed to do better during shorter
cycles.  I wondered at the time whether this was because a good deal of
moisture was absorbed by the paper Tycore panel, and whether this
phenonmenon might create problems in places where there would be
extended periods of high humidity, mold growth, etc.  At any rate, there
seems to be a lot of room for additional research in this area.  

Also, with regard to Konstantinos's question, I was taught to pressure
mount (fragile Islamic textile fragments) with polyester felt; cotton
was thought to not have adequate loft/resilience for the job.

Hope this helps, 

Anne Peranteau  

-----Original Message-----
From: Textile Conservators [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of 11th EBA E_CHRISTOPHORIDOU
Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 3:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Pressure Mounting


Dear Konstantine



A very good colleague (textile conservator) and friend Morwena Stephens 
alerted me, some years ago, on a workshop on “Contact/pressure mounting”

which was run by the UKIC and the British Museum(?).  If I remember 
correctly, Morwena told me that the workshop was initially run in the
USA. 
I am sure this workshop has produced quite a lot of very useful and
relevant 
info on the subject, but I am afraid this is all I know about it.
However, 
I am attaching a short reading list which you might find helpful.
Moreover, 
product information sheets from manufacturing companies can provide very

useful data, which worth looking at.



Good luck and best regards from home!



Elpida Christophoridou

Textiles’ Conservator

11th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities

Hellenic Ministry of Culture





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "K Hatziantoniou" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 2:05 PM
Subject: Re: Pressure Mounting


> Dear All
>
> I need to pressure mount several fragile islamic textiles, of 
> relatively
> small dimensions, for permanent exhibition in the museum environment
with 
> relatively stable RH and temperature. I need further information on
which 
> material to use for supporting the textile underneath the final cover
of 
> the mounted board. Polyester felt, cotton dommette or even other
material? 
> I am not experienced in pressure mounting and I worry about the 
> development of micro-climate in a country with very high humidity and 
> temperature.
>
> Many thank you
>
> Konstantinos Chatziantoniou
> Textile Conservator
> Museum of Islamic Art
> Doha
> Qatar 
> _________________________________________________________________
>
> http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/msnnkmgl0010000002ukm/direct/01/
>
>
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