Artcare - Auckland Art Gallery

Textiles / BasketryStorage units can be constructed from wood or the garment. The garments should be individually coveredwith fabric bags and well labelled to prevent unnec-metal. The metal shelving should be baked enamel onsteel to prevent corrosion products coming into contact essary handling.with the artefacts. Wood should be sealed with a moisture-curedpolyurethane to prevent organic acid vapours can be rolled onto ample-sized rollers. The plastic orRolled Storage—flat, unlined, undamaged textilesbeing emitted.cardboard tube should be covered with aluminium foilThree basic techniquesbefore wrapping in tissue, orare generally used to store tex-padded out with polyestertile-related artefacts: flat storage,handling storage androlled storage.Flat Storage—two-dimensionalfabrics and many typesof fibre artefacts can be storedflat, without folds, in drawers,on shelves or in boxes.Costumes can also be storedflat if all the creases and foldsare padded out with acid-freetissue, including sleeve andbodice areas. Three-dimensionalartefacts such as shoes,hats, baskets and upholsteredfurniture should be stored onflat shelving, or where sizepermits, in boxes.Shoes, hats and baskets should be padded out withtissue where necessary and along with upholstered furniture,covered with a dust cover.Boxes, shelves and drawers should be clearlylabelled to avoid excess handling of artefacts.Hanging Storage—light pieces of costume in goodcondition may be hung on a padded coat hanger. Paddedcoat hangers can be constructed from coated wood ormetal hangers covered with a wadding material, such aspolyester wadding (eg Dacron), finished with a washedcotton fabric. The costume should be hung on thehanger with fastenings closed. Cotton tape tabs, longenough to tie on the hanger, may need to be stitched tothe waist seam of some dresses to support the weight ofStorage Recommendations for TextilesFlat storage in acid-free boxes preferred forall textiles.Hanging storage on padded hanger forstrong and light costume pieces.Rolled storage on padded roller for flattextiles.wadding covered with calico.The textile, with right sideout, should be interleavedwith tissue as it is rolled.The rolled textile shouldbe wrapped in either more tissueor cotton fabric andsecured gently but firmly withcotton tape. The roll shouldbe well labelled to preventunnecessary handling.The rolled textile musthave a support system whichensures that no weight isplaced on the textile. A rodcan be passed through thecentre of the roll and its endssuspended on a cabinet frameworkor on a chain system. The unused ends of the rollcould also be used to hang the roll by placing them onblocks on a shelf, ensuring the textile does not comeinto contact with any surface.DisplayCareful display of an historic textile will help to ensureits long-term preservation. The same control of temperatureand humidity, protection from dust, dirt andinsects used in storage must be practised while a textileis on display. A display case is recommended to protectthe artefact from dust and handling by the public. Lowlevelultraviolet-filtered artificial lighting should be usedfor display.42