2023 - November and December - page 6
Image details
| Issue number | 395 |
|---|---|
| ISSN | 2632-7171 |
| Publication date | 1st November 2023 |
| Transcription |
magazine Opening Lines The Conservation department’s preparations started in 2019, with the creation of the fantastic facsimiles made in our studio by the conservator David Frank. These were made using the same materials as the original, one without the historic damage and one with. Then it was time for photography, to ensure that there was an up-to-date surrogate, showing all the information now available. Detailed photography was carried out, which revealed distinct red flecks of wax within most of the green seals, possibly indicating that the red seals may have been sealed first. Eva Moya helping to filter out light in creative photography shots. © National Records of Scotland Much of the modern conservation work was done in 2005 by myself, before the previous exhibition in the Scottish Parliament, but some consolidation was required before display this time too. All treatments used were as minimal as possible. The tags are of a very fragile nature, and repairs were made using remoistenable tissue, with isinglass adhesive. Detailed condition reporting recorded areas with damage, listing all tags and seals, totalling 62 pages in all! Conservation staff were directly involved in helping with media events, including doing a mock-up of the condition report for the BBC. Additional consolidation was carried out where required, like this fragile fragment secured with one drop of isinglass. © National Records of Scotland BBC media event, filming staff © National Records of Scotland Due to the fragility of the document a great deal of our concerns lay in the actual movement of the object, how would it travel, reducing vibration, who would take it, which road route used and even a walkthrough of the lifts and any floor issues within the museum. Our Exhibition Registrar, Saho Arakawa and Head of Conservation, Linda Ramsay were very busy with the paperwork relating to the exhibiting of the document and case move. The case moved the day before the document to enable it to be fully installed and conditioned inside. Eva Martinez Moya prepared the Prosorb Cassettes, a silica gel, used specifically to help stabilise the relative humidity (RH) inside the display case between 45-55 percent. Textual areas of damage. © National Records of Scotland 6 The Declaration could travel on its custom mount but it required a new box for transit. Conservator Peter Dickson demonstrated his skills by making a box just for this purpose, with a plastazote insert designed to hold the mount in place. After some problem solving, the introduction of magnets and even the use of a heat gun, the box was ready. |