Tiger claws

Cristina Puglisi <cristina.puglisi [at] aarome__org> writes

>What is the proper care of Indian and African tiger claws (set in
>gold and silver jewelry) from the 1880s and specifically how to keep
>them from drying?

Try to find an environmentally controlled case - this can be
expensive but possible and set to around 45% to 55% Relative
Humidity.  I have found that bowls of water are an easy short-term
solution but quickly evaporate and need replenishing; larger vessels
start to cloud or become alga-contaminated within a week or two.

Alternatively some suitable dressing agent to prevent protein
delamination works quite well: there are many such on the market and
the one that I have used is called Bollmann Ultra-soft which
partially-rehydrates animal skins for taxidermists, making the skins
more pliable, and should be available via taxidermy supplies.  In
Spain they use a fluid called Complucad but I have had no success in
trying to order from their website and subsequently have no
experience for this fluid. With all good wishes,

Simon Moore, MIScT, FLS, ACR
Senior Conservator of Natural Sciences
Hampshire County Council
Recreation and Heritage Department
Museums and Archives Service
Chilcomb House, Chilcomb Lane
Winchester SO23 8RD, UK
+44 1962 826737


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:56
                  Distributed: Tuesday, March 31, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-56-002
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