TSG Chapter V. Analysis and Testing Methods for Textiles - Section H. Identification and Characterization of Materials Associated with Textiles

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Textile Specialty Group Conservation Wiki

Contributors: Abby Cottier, Janet Lee, and Jackie Peterson-Grace

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Copyright: 2024. The Textile Wiki pages are a publication of the Textile Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. The Textile Wiki pages are published for the members of the Textile Specialty Group. Publication does not endorse or recommend any treatments, methods, or techniques described herein.

Introduction

This page is designed to provide references for identifying, determining the condition of, and considering treatment for materials that are often associated with textiles. These materials may be found in the form of closure mechanisms on garments like buttons or zippers, embellishments like beads, or they may comprise entire objects like contemporary garments.

Metal

Examples:

• Metal buttons, hook-and-eyes, zippers
• Metal wrapped threads, metal sequins
• Metal beads

Condition concerns to look for:

• Rust/corrosion
• Corrosion products damaging fabric substrate or other associated materials

Considerations for treatment:

Links for other Wiki pages that have relevant information:

• Metals (Objects Specialty Group)

Leather and skin

Examples:

• Clothing fully constructed from leather
• Fur coats made from pelts
• Leather binding on 18th century corsetry
• Gelatin sequins (made from collagen)

Condition concerns to look for:

• Stiffening and/or brittleness
• Mold
• Water damage (tidelines)
• Red rot

Considerations for treatment:

Links for other Wiki pages that have relevant information:

• Animal Skin and Leather (Book and Paper Group)
• Leather and Skin (Objects Specialty Group)

Keratin materials (hair, fur, feathers, horn, quills, baleen, etc.) and beetle wings (chitin)

Examples:

• Quill embroidery
• Hair jewelry
• Baleen boning
• Feathered hats

Condition concerns to look for:

• Insect damage
• Mold
• Fading and/or yellowing from light damage
• For fur and feathers, damage from pesticides and preservatives, including arsenic (also potentially toxic to people handling the object)
• For fur, loss of hairs

Considerations for treatment:
Links for other Wiki pages that have relevant information:

• Feathers (Objects Specialty Group)
• Horn (Objects Specialty Group)
• Baleen (Wooden Artifacts Group)

Wood

Examples:

• Wooden button molds
• Beads/other embellishments
• Reed boning

Condition concerns to look for:

• Warping from temperature and humidity fluctuations
• Mold
• Splintering

Considerations for treatment:
Links for other Wiki pages that have relevant information:

• Wooden Artifacts (Wooden Artifacts Group)
• Wood (Objects Specialty Group)

Shell, bone, pearls, ivory (calcium-based materials)

Examples:

• Buttons, button molds
• Eyelets in historical costume pieces
• Beads and other embellishments

Condition concerns to look for:

• Cracking
• Yellowing

Considerations for treatment:

• Osseous materials are very sensitive to temperature and humidity (they may crack similarly to wood), which may be a concern for both preventive and interventive conservation
• Minimizing handling with bare skin, as oils can speed up yellowing

Links for other Wiki pages that have relevant information:

• Skeletal Materials (Objects Specialty Group)
• Ivory (Objects Specialty Group)

Glass

Examples:

• Beads, buttons

Condition concerns to look for:

• Glass disease
• Cracking
• Dissociation from substrate due to broken threads

Considerations for treatment:
Links for other Wiki pages that have relevant information

• Glass (Objects Specialty Group)

Plastics

Examples:

• Sequins
• Buttons and other closures
• Coatings on synthetic and non-synthetic fabrics
• 20th century costume and accessories (faux leather shoes, PU leather, etc.)
• Vulcanized rubber (modified natural plastic)

Condition concerns to look for:

• Visible migration of plasticizers to the surface
• Tackiness
• Droplets of plasticizer “weeping”
• Cloudy appearance
• Brittleness
• Powdering of PU foam
• Delamination of coatings from fabric substrates
• Yellowing or darkening (esp. Bakelite/phenol formaldehyde)

Considerations for treatment:

• Off-gassing of deteriorating plastics in storage
• Cellulose acetate–vinegar syndrome, which is self-perpetuating
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) offgasses HCl, which can damage associated materials

Links for other Wiki pages that have relevant information

Further Reading

General

CAMEO Materials Database

Douglas, Janet G., Gwénaëlle Kavich, Chika Mori, Dawn Wallace, Richard Barden. 2018. "Materials characterization of the Ruby Slippers from the 1939 classic film, The Wizard of Oz." Heritage Science. Vol. 6, No. 49. (repository.si.edu)

Florian, Mary-Lou E. 2007. Protein Facts, Fibrous proteins in cultural and natural history artifacts. London: Archetype Publications.

Francis Jr., Peter. 1999. Beads of the World. 2nd ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

Hanano, June, Mary Wildman, and Philip Yurkiewicz. 1990. “Majorica Imitation Pearls.” Gems & Gemology. 26 (3): 178-188.

Mills, John S. and Raymond White. 2011. The Organic Chemistry of Museum Objects. London: Routledge.

Opper, Marie-José and Howard Opper. 1996. “Imitation Pearls in France.” Beads: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers.” 8 (6): 23-34.

Paulocik, Chris and R. Scott Williams. 2010. “The Chemical Composition and Conservation of Late 19th and Early 20th Century Sequins.” Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation. 35: 46-61.

Riedo, C., et al. 2010. "Advances in identification of plant gums in cultural heritage by thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation." Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. Vol. 396. pp. 1559-1569.

Tulloch, A.P.. 1970. "The composition of beeswax and other waxes secreted by insects." Lipids. Vol. 5 No. 2, pgs.247-258.

Metal

Ferrari, Martina, Kate Duffy, Sara Lynn Reiter, and Bernice Morris. 2017. "Philadelphia's Opulent Embroidery: The Study of Needlework Painted Picture of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Collection." In Embellished Fabrics: Conserving Surface Manipulation and Decoration, 11th North American Textile Conservation Conference Preprints. 210-224.

Guzman, Maria Olvido Moreno and Melanie Ruth Korn. 2017. “All That Glitters is Gold: Metallic Embellishments on the Plume of Ancient Mexico.” In Embellished Fabrics: Conserving Surface Manipulation and Decoration, 11th North American Textile Conservation Conference Preprints. 72-84. (Spanish).

Járó, Márta, Tamás Gál, Attila Tóth, Marta Jaro, Tamas Gal, and Attila Toth. 2000. “The Characterization and Deterioration of Modern Metallic Threads.” Studies in Conservation 45: 95-105.

Muros, Vanessa, Sebastian K.T.S. Wärmländer, David A. Scott, and Joanna Maria Theile. 2007. "Characterization of 17th-19th Century Metal Threads from the Colonial Andes." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation. Vol. 46, pgs. 229-244.

Ŝimić, Kristina, Ivana Zamboni, Stjepko Fazinić, Domagoj Mudronja, Lea Sović, Sabrina Gouasmia, Ivo Soljačić. 2018. "Comparative analysis of textile metal threads from liturgical vestments and folk costumes in Croatia." Nuclear Instruments and Methosd in Physics Research B. Vol 417, pgs. 115-120.

Toth, Márta. 2012. "Lessons learned from conserving metal thread embroidery in the Esterházy Collection, Budapest, Hungary." Contributions to the Vienna Congress, The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. pgs. S305-S312.

Werner, Ute, Lyndisie S. Selwyn, Tom Stone, W. Ross McKinnon, Anne MacKay, Tara Grant. 2012. The removal of metal soaps from brass beads on a leather belt." Studies in Conservation, Vol. 57, No. 1, pgs. 20-3.

Leather and Skin

Alaska Fur ID project.

Cameron, Esther, Ed. 1998. Leather and Fur, Aspects of Early Medieval Trade and Technology. London: Archetype Publications Ltd.

Carrlee, Ellen, and Lauren Horelick. 2011. "The Alaska Fur ID Project: A virtual resource for material identification." Objects Specialty Group Postprints Volume 18, American Institute for Conservation. Pages 149-171. (resources.culturalheritage.org)

European Commission, Ed. René Larsen. 1997. Environment Leather Project: Deterioration and Conservation of Vegetable Tanned Leather. Protection and Conservation of The European Cultural Heritage Research Report No 6. Denmark: L.P. Nielsen Offset Desktop Bogtryk.

Kite, Marion, and Roy Thomson, eds. Conservation of Leather and Related Materials. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006.

Wills, Barbara, Ed. 2001. Leather Wet and Dry: Current Treatments in the Conservation of Waterlogged and Desiccated Archaeological Leather. London: Archetype Publications Ltd.

Wright, Margot M., Ed. 2002. The Conservation of Fur, Feather and Skin. London: Archetype Publications Ltd.

Keratin Materials

Lauffenburger, Julie A. "Baleen in Museum Collections: Its Sources, Uses, and Identification." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 32, no. 3 (1993): 213-230.

Pearlstein, Ellen, M. Hughs, J. Mazurek, K. McGraw, C. Pesme, and M. Garcia-Garibay. 2014. "Correlations between Photomechanical Damage and UV Fluorescence of Feathers." Preprints: ICOM-CC 17th Triennial Conference, Melbourne, Australia, September 15-19th.

Pearlstein, Ellen, ed. The Conservation of Featherwork from Central and South America. London: Archetype Publications, 2017.

Renée, Riddler, Christel Pesme, James Druzik, Molly Gleeson, Ellen Pearlstein. 2014. "A Review of Color-Producing Mechanisms in Feathers and Their Influence on Preventive Conservation Strategies." Journal of American Institute for Art Conservation. Vol. 53, No. 1, pgs. 44-65.

Wood

Florian, Mary-Lou E., Dale Paul Konkright, and Ruth E. Norton. The Conservation of Artifacts Made from Plant Materials. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute, 1990.

Hoadley, R. Bruce. 2000. Understanding Wood, A Craftsman's Guide to Wood Technology. Newtown, CT: The Taunton Press.

Shell, Bone, Pearls and Ivory

Baker, Barry W., Rachel W. Jacobs, Mary-Jacque Mann, Edgar O. Espinoza, and Giavanna Grein. Identification Guide for Ivory and Ivory Substitutes. 4th ed. Edited by Crawford Allan. CITES Secretariat and World Wildlife Fund, 2020. (worldwildlife.org)

Hornbeck, Stephanie E. "Elephant Ivory: An Overview of Changes to Its Stringent Regulation and Considerations for Its Identification." In Objects Specialty Group Postprints Volume Twenty-Two, 2015. Washington, DC: American Institute for Conservation, 2016.

Matsuda, Yasunori. 1987. "Fluorescence from Pearls and Shells of Black Lip Oyster, Pinctada Margaritifera, and Its Contribution to the Distinction of Mother Oysters Used In Pearl Culture." Japanese Journal of Applied Physics. Vol 26, No. 7, pgs. 1069-1072. (researchgate.net)

Parrodi, Dra. Maria de Lourdes G. Gallardo. 2017. “Pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican Garments Made Out of Shell: A Proposal for Research and Conservation.” In Embellished Fabrics: Conserving Surface Manipulation and Decoration, 11th North American Textile Conservation Conference Preprints. 58-69. (Spanish).

Glass

Jargstorf, Sibylle. 1998. Hidden Artistry in Glass. 2nd ed. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

Saulesleja, Indra and Indra Tuna. 2017. “Ethnographic Crowns: Variety of Materials and the Importance of Storage Conditions”. In Embellished Fabrics: Conserving Surface Manipulation and Decoration, 11th North American Textile Conservation Conference Preprints. 355-358.

Strahan, Donna. 2001. "Uranium in Glass, Glazes and Enamels: History, Identification and Handling." Studies In Conservation. Vol. 46, no. 3, pgs. 181-195.

Plastics

Haldane, Elizabeth-Anne. 2017. "Shiny Surfaces: The Conservation of Cellophane and Related Materials." In Embellished Fabrics: Conserving Surface Manipulation and Decoration, 11th North American Textile Conservation Conference Preprints. 117-128.

Littlejohn, D., et al. "Investigation of the degradation of cellulose acetate museum artefacts." Polymer Degradation and Stability. 98 (2013) pp. 416-424.

POPART- Preservation Of Plastic ARTefacts in museum collections. http://popart-highlights.mnhn.fr

Quye, A. et al. "Investigation of inherent degradation in cellulose nitrate museum artefacts." Polymer Degradation and Stability. 96 (2011) pp. 1369-1376. sciencedirect.com

Shashoua, Y. 2008. Conservation of Plastics: Materials science, Degradation and Preservation. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Tonkin, Leanne and Adriana Rizzo. 2017. "Manipulation of Early Plastics and the Variable Fabrication of Cellulose Acetate: Assessing Opposite Ends of the Spectrum of Two Identical Belts Designed by Elsa Schiaparelli ca. 1938." In Embellished Fabrics: Conserving Surface Manipulation and Decoration, 11th North American Textile Conservation Conference Preprints. 129-141.

Amber, Jet and Other Stones

Gleason, Sterling. 1968. Ultraviolet Guide to Minerals. San Gabriel, CA: Ultra-violet Products, Inc.

Robbins, Manuel. 1994. Fluorescence: Gems and Minerals Under Ultraviolet Light. GeoScience.

Thickett, David, Pippa Cruickshank, and Clare Ward. "The Conservation of Amber." Studies in Conservation 40, no. 4 (November 1995): 217-226. DOI: 10.2307/1506496

Warren, Thomas S., Sterling Gleason, Richard C. Bostwick, e Verbeek. 1999. Fluorescent Minerals: Understanding, Collecting and Displaying Fluorescent Minerals. Gem Guide Book Company.