Preservation of blades and armour in museums
 

Hello,

During my many visits in various museums, I noticed that none of the swords I have seen there displayed any signs of oil or other type of protective layer.

The only exception was in the National Museum of Iran where the blades appeared to be lacquered.

I know that Picreator claims the museums use their Renaissance Wax for the conservation of swords and armour. I also use Renaissance Wax but I can normally discern the traces of its use. And I didn't see any of those traces in most of the museums.

I would like to know what others know about this subject.

Regards,

Marius

The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia is a museum that is principally concerned with technology and decorative arts, it stores bladed weapons and other objects on glass or perspex and in a temperature and humidity controlled environment.

Some years ago I worked with restorators at this museum and I never saw oil or any kind of wax used on the stored or exhibit items that I handled.

Renaissance wax properly applied does not give any evidence of it being applied at all. There should be no evidence this wax was used other than a slightly higher lustre but you would need a comparison of identical finished blades to discern this.
The wax can get caught in the parts where connected or in perforated guards, however a heat gun tends to melt this away and unseen.
Since the wax never yellows or attracts dust it remains an excellent choice to use.

Renaissance Wax is a fine product but for many years I've used Johnson's paste wax (for furniture, available at just about any hardware store), for great results on any ferrous surface that's on open display. One good application lasts a long, long time, you can handle the object (wipe down afterward) with no worries. I have even used it on guns that I've regularly taken out to the range, or gone hunting with. It's an inexpensive, tried-and-true product that's been on the market almost forever.

Yes, I have used Renaissance Wax for a very long time, I used to use it exclusively on the custom knives I made. It is detectable. In recent years I've used Antiquax rather than Renaissance, mainly because it is easier for me to get hold of.

Bear this in mind, I was working very closely with several people, over an extended period of time, I was in and out of both the work area and the storage area. I saw no evidence of the use of oils or waxes, and in conversation with the people I was working with the message was that the atmosphere was strictly controlled so they did not want nor need to rely on barrier protection. In fact, barrier protection of any kind in a museum situation would be totally impractical simply because of the immense holdings that they have.

For a small personal collection, I agree, a quality micro crystalline wax is the way to go for a smooth or polished surface, but for a textured surface an appropriate oil and plastic wrap is a better option.

But this sort of thing is not economically feasible for large museums.

Thank you for the very interesting replies!

So, controlled atmosphere and humidity seems to be the answer for the conservation in large museums.

It makes perfect sense as I don't even fathom how would be possible for large museums with thousands of pieces to re-wax periodically all their huge collections.

Thank you Alan for your insight! I am already using your "oil & foil" method on my krisses and the pedang I have and it works perfectly. :)

For the other blades, which I normally keep on display unsheathed, I use Renaissance Wax as it is quite easy to get, and while a tad pricey, one jar lasts quite long.

I normally use wax for polished steel, my preference is Renaissance, but as I said, Antiquax is easier for me to get, and seems to be just as good. In fact, I've also used ordinary furniture wax at times, and that seems to work OK too.

The oil & lunchwrap --- or plastic film --- is very effective for textured surfaces.

I actually do not display much. I've got one keris in a blawong, and one tombak in a stand. That's all. The other several hundred items are in chests of drawers. I used to have a dedicated display room, but the work involved in keeping things clean and in premium condition was just too much.

The link below from Picreator's website tells the story of Renaissance Wax and why it's so good (according to them).

http://picreator.co.uk/renaissance-wax/

I too have had great success with Renaissance Wax. As mentioned, it's a bit pricey to purchase, but it's not expensive to use. Great product.

That said, I've also used the Johnson's paste wax that Philip mentions, and it also works well.

Rick

"The other several hundred items are in chests of drawers. I used to have a dedicated display room, but the work involved in keeping things clean and in premium condition was just too much."


That's because we're all addicted and will never have enough room. LOL :D

Rick

Hi Marius,

the problem with the traces of its use can be solved easy. All you need to do is heating the surface a little bit by gently using a hair dryer or hot air blower (60-80°C). The traces will disappear by itself. Maybe this is the secret of the museums.


Regards,
Roland

Thank you Roland for your suggestion!

Will certainly try it and I am pretty sure it will work. :)

Regards,

Marius

Roland is 100% correct.

Here's a link to the possible problems resulting from use of wax, and the difficulty of removing same, in a museum environment.

Spoiler alert: I was taken aback by the curator's having to resort to using boiling xylene to effect removal.

Before I read the article, I had used Renaissance Wax on a keris blade that would benefit from treatment to restore pamor. Now I fear that it may not be possible. Fortunately I am a successful, even talented, procrastinator, so it's likely I'd never have made the attempt anyway.

Link:

http://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic...35-01-001.html

I think it's advisable to treat only that which needs treating. If it doesn't need treating I would avoid treating it. So I would not apply Renaissance Wax on everything simply for the sake of it. But if something looks like it would rust then I would treat it. Also if something wood or leather looked in danger of drying out then I would consider treating it. Obviously if you have a temperature and humidity controlled storage space there is no need to treat the objects just for the sake of it. Any time you take action to treat some material you run the risk of damaging or ruining it. So I would as a rule leave it alone unless there is some problem.