[Madžida]

Hi

I am Madžida, end I am working at Gazi Husrev bey’s Library, conservator of paper and textile. In the library there are two globes from the 18th century, handmade from plaster and hand-written.
Plaster is cracked, they have come to the library like that. Please if anyone could help me. I have not so far met with this problem and I do not know exactly what to do.

Best regards.

Madžida.

[Madžida]

pictures

[Susan-1]

Madzida,

Try posting your images one by one in separate messages or make them a smaller size and re-post them as a group. The maximum file size allowed is 1024 KB. Images would be helpful.

Susan

[Madžida]

Thanks

[Madžida]

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[Rachel Lapkin]

Merhaba Madzida,

Although I have not treated a globe before, I have seen articles and attended presentations on their conservation work. I have put together a list of links below, to some of these sources published online:
http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v31/bp31-06.pdf
https://www.si.edu/mci/downloads/RELACT/globes.pdf
http://193.175.110.9/hornemann/english/course_globes.php
http://canada.pch.gc.ca/eng/1454530026196
http://iada-home.org/ta91_201.pdf

I hope you can find leads in some of these resources, or more specific people to contact with your questions. Best of luck, Rachel Lapkin

[panderson32]

Posted on behalf of our colleague, Christopher Sokolowski:

Hi Madžida,

Looking over the images you posted, these globes remind me of ancient, hand-painted pots that are mostly intact, but still have cracks and loose bits to address.

One responsible approach would be to secure loose or semi-attached pieces to the globe with small dots (1-2mm) of a reversible, non-aqueous adhesive such as acryloid B-72 in acetone that has a gel toothpaste consistency. The goal here is to arrest the damage in its present state and keep it from getting worse. Next, I would turn my effort to making protective, drop-front storage boxes for theses globes. Double-thick acid-free corrugated cardboard would be a good choice. Inside each box the globe must rest on a deep ring of inert foam such as Etha-foam wrapped with a smooth textile such as pre-washed Tyvek. At this point you have done much good for these objects, as their information remains almost entirely legible.

To repair these globes to a state where the cracks are patched and the dents are pulled out to match the curvature of the sphere will be difficult to achieve, even by an experienced conservator of globes. Most globes have a paper skin that can be removed as needed so that the plaster underneath can be repaired. In your case, the design is painted directly onto the plaster and this puts the design bordering the damage at risk. If your institution can accept these globes and their history of damage, leave them alone. If it cannot, then I might consult with an objects conservator who has experience with assembling ancient pots from sherds as they will be well practiced at fitting such fragments without altering the rest of the object to do it.

Good luck and sincerely,

Christopher Sokolowski
Paper Conservator for Special Collections
Weissman Preservation Center
Harvard University

[Madžida]

Thank to all of you for interest and good advices. I found an conservator near to me, in Dubrovnik, Croatia, it has Center of conservation of paper, and the the person which has experience of conserving and restoring of globes.

Wish the best all of you

[Author]

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