archival mounting

[robc]

this afternoon I happened across a very small exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci drawings in Exeter(UK). Being the geek I had to look to see how the drawings were mounted.

There was a double overmat and then a 1/4 inch space and then a rear mat. The drawings were suspended by 4 thin diagonal strips, one in each corner which were attached to the rear of the overmat and the rear of the drawing so that the drawing was not touching either the rear mat or either of the two overmats. I don't know what the hanging strips were made of.

For those of you who want the ultimate in museum archival mounting then this is probably it.

The exhibition was from the collection of HRH QE2

[Patrik Roseen]

Interesting indeed! I like the idea of a distance between the overmat and the picture...and I have seen some pictures (non-archival) that were mounted this way. However I also found that they probably need some very specific lighting because if the light comes from say above, then there is a shadow created over the top part of the picture. As for the diagonal strips...can you explain further...sounds like they looked some kind of a twin hook or?

[robc]

the 4 strips were from each corner of the drawing to the corner of the inner cutout and looked to be stuck to the back of both. They were translucent. in the example I made them lighter so they are easier to see.

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[Patrik Roseen]

Nice picture... I assume there was some glass around it too, or?
I guess the shadowing is avoided by making the 'picture' much smaller than the overmat. As for archival I have understood that chemical reaction from the mats and back material in direct contact is one issue, then there is chemical reactions from material producing 'gas'. Do you think this mounting was for archival reasons or pure estethics? Thanks!

[robc]

Hmmmmm...

these are original Leonardo da Vinci drawings. What do you think....

[Patrik Roseen]

Well If they are Originals then it should be archival ofcourse...Sometimes they are unique reproductions being exposed to a wider audience. Anyway, Thanks for sharing it with us.