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A customer bought in a pair of 200 year old oriental fans today asking for them to be framed. I am looking to use a moulding which has a deep rebate 35mm to accommodate the spine of the fan. I was considering mounting the fans separately in an extended position using invisible thread onto a cotton mountboard. My concern is that both fans are delicate and would need to be held under tension to stay open.
Does anyone have any experience of mounting this type of product in this condition?
Subjecting anything which is this old and fragile to any kind or tension, or stress in order to be able to mount it, is always a matter which should be cause for concern. Ideally, these fans whould be best referred to an conservator with experience of old fans to see if the tension can be relieved / relaxed before framing is attempted.
Assuming that relieving the the tension was successful, it would be wise to assume that there is no certainty that the tension might not return during the course of time. Therefore, I would suggest that it would be prudent to ensure that any fastenings employed to restrain the fan in position, should be weak enough to fail before the tension can cause any stress induced failure(s) to the fan.
I would suggest that the customer should be advised in writting about the risks and possible outcomes over time, with a view to the customer being asked to sign a waiver stating that the customer has understood the risks, that no risks can be ever be 100% fully mitigated and therefore that the framing will be carried out fully at the customers own risk and without any liability being inferred upon the framer.
Mark Lacey
“Life is short. Art long. Opportunity is fleeting. Experience treacherous. Judgement difficult.”
― Geoffrey Chaucer
Well there's a few ways to lose yourself a nice job!
The things were designed to function open, and then be vigorously waved about FHS, OK they're older and more fragile now and maybe if you attempted to actually use them as they were intended, they'd disintegrate, or maybe not.
All you have to do is mount them in a manner that supports them to create no tension and/or, even relieve it.
I'd say the biggest problem would be fading, they were not intended for long-term display and are in whatever condition they are in now because they have not been subjected to light and all the other stuff that open display will subject them to, so choice of materials and hanging location are important, probably more important than a good method of mounting.
If they are pleated, then, using the fan as a template, you can make your own 'fan' - slightly smaller, from scored cotton barrier board or maybe even better, artcare barrier board. It's not difficult, I've done it. The fan sits in your own 'fan' which is fixed to the mounting board, that's the tension sorted, and then you secure it, gently, not with thread but with thin melinex straps, and not very many; they are not tensioning anything at all.
You may not even need to make a complete 'fan' mount, maybe just every other 'V' or 'W' could be supported with 'V's or 'W's of barrier board fixed to the mounting board or maybe just one each end and one central.
If it's sectional and not pleated then there are other ways and there are also if it is pleated, this is just one idea, but I'm assuming pleated.
