Conservation Works and Technique of Making of Two Silk Painted Banners from the Collection of National Museum in Kraków

Abstract

The article presents conservation works and the technique of making of two silk, two-sided painted banners from the collection of National Museum in Kraków: the 16th-century banner of the Poznań or Mazowieckie voivodship (acc. no. MNK-XIV-882) and the 18th-century guard banner of Stanisław Poniatowski of the King of Poland (acc. no. MNK-XIV-883). The banners found their way to the collection of the Princes Czartoryski at the beginning of the 19th century. At that time, they were exhibited at the Sibyl Temple in Puławy, and then at the Princes Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. The selection of appropriate methods and means for conservation was difficult due to the high degree of silk degradation, the large number of loose fragments of fabrics, as well as the multi-layer technological structure of the objects. Secondary layers in the form of collagen membranes glued to the surface of the banners with a starch glue during historical conservation were also a problem. In order to remove them, positive results were obtained when using a steam scalpel and Gellan Gum compresses. However, for the temporary protection of the paint layer, a Cerex synthetic fabric was used with the use of Acrylharz P-550 acrylic resin. This resin was also used to spray silk crepelin, which was used to join separate pieces of the fabrics. In order to define the technique of making the banners, powder samples were collected for testing and analyzed using the fluorescence X-ray spectroscopy (XRF) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The cross-sections of the layers were observed in analytical lights using an optical microscope and tests were carried out using a scanning electron microscope with energy dispersion X-ray analysis (SEM / EDS).