TSG Chapter VI. Treatment of Textiles - Section F. Stain Removal or Reduction

Conservation Specialties

Conservation Specialties Analysis and Imaging Preventive Care Education and Professional Development Workplace Practices About Conservation Lexicon

• Textiles

Group

• Textile Specialty Group

Section

• Treatment Techniques and Procedures

Contributors: Joanne Hackett

Gels

Further Reading

Arrighi, Chiari, Maria Francesca Quarato, and Luciana Rossi. ‘Treating Chromatic Alterations on Barkcloth with Agar Gel’. In Gels in the Conservation of Art, edited by Lora V. Angelova, Bronwyn Ormsby, Joyce Townsend, Richard Wolbers, International Academic Projects, and Tate Modern (Gallery), 110–12. London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2017.

Campani, Elisa, Antonella Casoli, Paolo Cremonesi, Ilaria Saccani, and Erminio Signorini. Use of agarose and agar for preparing ‘rigid gels’. Translated by Diane Kunzelman. Vol. 4. Quaderno CESMAR7. Saonara (Padova): Il prato, 2007.

Cook, Rosie H., Ioseba I. Soraluze, and Lu Chien-Hua. ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale: A Case Study in Treating Water-Damaged Textiles in Contemporary Art’.  AICCM Bulletin 40, no.2 (3 July 2019): 110-20.

Cremonesi, Paolo. ‘Rigid Gels and Enzyme Cleaning’. In New Insights into the Cleaning of Paintings: Proceedings from the Cleaning 2010 International Conference, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia and Museum Conservation Institute, edited by Marion F. Mecklenburg, A. Elena Charola, and Robert J. Koestler, 179–83. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institute Scholarly Press, 2013.

Cremonesi, Paolo ‘Surface Cleaning? Yes, Freshly Grated Agar Gel, Please.’ Studies in Conservation 61, no. 6 (1 November 2016): 362–67. Cremonesi, Paolo, and Antonella Casoli. ‘Thermo-Reversible Rigid Agar Hydrogels: Their Properties and Action in Cleaning’. In Gels in the Conservation of Art, edited by Lora V. Angelova, Bronwyn Ormsby, Joyce Townsend, and Richard Wolbers, 19–28. London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2017.

Duffus, Phillipa, Sophie Younger, and Sarah Benson. ‘Agar Paper: Trials and Tribulations with Agarose Gel’. In Joined Up Thinking: Textiles and the Historic Interior. Forum of the ICON Textile Group, March 2014. Birbeck College, London., edited by Alison Fairhurst, 36–44. London: ICON, 2014.

Dunlea, Erinn.  Spray application of agar gels: a preliminary assessment of viability for textile Conservation.  Unpublished MPhil Dissertation, University of Glasgow 2022.

Ellis, Shirley. ‘A Passage in the Life of a Palampore: Conservation’. Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation (J. CAC) 34 (2009): 21–31.

Giordano, Ambra, and Paolo Cremonesi. ‘New Methods of Applying Rigid Agar Gels: From Tiny to Large-Scale Surface Areas’. Studies in Conservation 66, no. 8 (17 November 2021): 437–48.

Glenn, Sarah, Joanne Hackett, Elizabeth-Anne Haldane, and Sung Im. ‘Borrowing from the Neighbours: Using the Technology of Other Disciplines to Treat Difficult Textile Conservation Problems’. In Learning Curve: Education, Experience, Reflection. Postprints of the Forum of the ICON Textile Group, 13 April 2015, Birbeck College, London., edited by Alison Fairhurst, 33–42. London: ICON, 2015.

Goodin, Dana. ‘Agarose Two Ways: Success and Challenges in Large-Scale Gel Applications’. In Textile Specialty Group Postprints 27. AIC 45th Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL. May 2017., 27:161–75. Textile Specialty Group of AIC, 2017.

Hunter, Michelle. ‘Conform to Perform: Gellan Gum for Use on Textiles (Lightning Talk)’. Canadian Association for Conservation of Cultural Property, 2018.

Hunter, Michelle. ‘Do We Have Contact? Investigating the Ability of the Rigid Gel Gellan Gum to Conform to Textile Surfaces (Poster)’. In Textile Specialty Group Postprints. 29. AIC 47th Annual Meeting, Uncasville, CT. May 2019. Textile Specialty Group of AIC, 2019.

Hunter, Michelle. ‘Highs and Lows: Evaluating Gellan Gum for Treatment of Textiles (Poster)’. In Lessons Learned: Textile Conservation - Then and Now. 12th North American Textile Conservation Conference, Ottawa-Gatineau Canada. September 23-27, 2019, 2019.

Khandekar, Narayan. ‘Gelled Systems: Theory and Early Application’. In Solvent Gels for the Cleaning of Works of Art: The Residue Question, edited by Valerie Dorge, 5–7. Research in Conservation. Los Angeles, California: Getty Publications, 2004.

Lemiski, Shawna. ‘An Investigation of Poultice Materials for Textile Conservation’. Textile Conservation Newsletter Supplement (1998): 1–15.

Létrange, Aline, Dominique Hourdet, Julie Guerrier, and Emmanuelle Pons. ‘Comparison of Three Hydrogels for Cleaning Tarnished Silver Threads Using Electrochemical Treatment’. In Gels in the Conservation of Art, edited by Lora V. Angelova, Bronwyn Ormsby, Joyce Townsend, Richard Wolbers, International Academic Projects, and Tate Modern (Gallery), 369–71. London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2017.

Mina, Laura. ‘Foxy Underpants: Or the Use of Chelators, Enzymes, and Surfactants to Remove Foxing Stains from Linen Underpants’. In The Textile Speciality Group Postprints, 26:141–56, 2016.

Naunton, Maya. ‘Use of Gel Poultices for Adhesive Removal’. In Textile Specialty Group Postprints 19. AIC 37th Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, California. May 2009, 184–86, 2009.

Nicastro, Viola, Maria Jordan, and Ian Gibb. ‘Adhesive Removal Using Gels for the Conservation Treatment of the Valances of a Queen Anne Throne Canopy’. In ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Preprints, Copenhagen, 4–8 September 2017, edited by Janet Bridgland, preprint 1805. Paris: International Council of Museums, 2017.

Paulocik, Chris, and Season Tse. ‘Save the skirt: a collaboration between conservators and conservation scientists’. In Lessons learned: textile conservation - then and now. 12th North American Textile Conservation Conference, Ottawa-Gatineau, Canada, September 23-27, 2019, edited by Howard Sutcliffe and Joel Thompson, 301–21. North American Textile Conservation Conference, 2019.

Peranteau, Anne. ‘Gellan Gum as a Material for Local Stain Reduction’. In Conserving Modernity. Preprints of the 9th North American Textile Conservation Conference. San Francisco, California. November 12th - 15th 2013., edited by S.C. Stevens, 72–85. NATCC, 2013.

Rapti, Stavroula, Stamatis Boyatzis, Shayne Rivers, Athanasios Velios, and Anastasia Pournou. ‘Removing Iron Stains from Wood and Textile Objects: Assessing Gelled Siderophores as Novel Green Chelators’. In Gels in the Conservation of Art, edited by Lora V. Angelova, Bronwyn Ormsby, Joyce Townsend, Richard Wolbers, International Academic Projects, and Tate Modern (Gallery), 343–48. London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2017.

Sahmel, Katherine, Laura Mina, Ken Sutherland, and Nobuko Shibayama. ‘Removing Dye Bleed from a Sampler: New Methods for an Old Problem’. In Textiles Specialty Group Postprints 22. AIC 40th Annual Meeting. Albuquerque, NM. May 2012., 22:78–90. Texttile Specialty Group of AIC, 2012.

Sawika, Alysia, Mia O’Toole, and Katherine Ara. ‘Challenges of a Virgin Water-Sensitive Surface: Designing a Cast Agar Gel Cleaning System for Patrick Heron’s Still-Life against the Sea: 1949’. In Gels in the Conservation of Art, edited by Lora V. Angelova, Bronwyn Ormsby, Joyce Townsend, and Richard Wolbers, 87–91. London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2017.

Schmitt, Emma. ‘An Examination of the Working Properties of Agarose Gels for Textile Conservation’. Unpublished MPhil Dissertation, University of Glasgow, 2014.

Schmitt, Emma. ‘Gelling Predictions: The Challenges of Taking Research into Practice’. In Gels in the Conservation of Art, edited by Lora V. Angelova, Bronwyn Ormsby, Joyce Townsend, Richard Wolbers, International Academic Projects, and Tate Modern (Gallery), 92–95. London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2017.

Schmitt, Emma, and Sarah Foskett. Gelling in theory and practice: An examination of Agarose gels in textile conservation. In Textile Speciality Group Postprints, Volume 26. AIC 43^rd Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada. May 11-18, 2016.

Shaeffer, Elizabeth, and Joy Gardiner. ‘New and Current Materials and Approaches for Localized Cleaning in Textile Conservation’. In Textile Specialty Group Postprints. Volume 23. AIC 41st Annual Meeting. Indianapolis, IL. May 2013., 109–24. Textile Specialty Group of AIC, 2013.

Smets, Anja, Kristel de Vis, and Natalie Ortega-Saez. ‘A Challenging Treatment of an 18th Century Embroidered Textile Using Gel Cleaning in Combination with Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5) Silicone Solvent Barriers’. Conservar Património 31 (30 April 2019): 41–52.

Sousa, Ana M. M., Cristina M. R. Rocha, and Maria P. Gonçalves. ‘Chapter 24 - Agar’. In Handbook of Hydrocolloids (Third Edition), edited by Glyn O. Phillips and Peter A. Williams, 3rd ed., 731–65. Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition. Duxford, United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing, 2020.

Warda, Jeffrey, Irene Brückle, Anikó Bezúr, and Dan Kushel. ‘Analysis of Agarose, Carbopol, and Laponite Gel Poultices in Paper Conservation’. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 46, no. 3 (1 January 2007): 263–79. Wolbers, Richard. Cleaning Painted Surfaces: Aqueous Methods. London: Archetype Publications, 2000.

Wolbers, Richard. ‘Terminology and Properties of Selected Gels’. In Gels in the Conservation of Art, edited by Lora V. Angelova, Bronwyn Ormsby, Joyce Townsend, International Academic Projects, and Tate Modern (Gallery), 381–94. London: Archetype Publications Ltd, 2017.