The Framers Forum

Hi folks,

Does anyone have any experience of displaying Naxi paper? It is handmade paper from Yunnan province in South East China. The ink is also a local speciality and is made from the ash of a local tree. The paper is not translucent like papyrus.

Customer would like to have the 60cm wide by 40cm tall sheet displayed floating in a deep black box frame with the support as invisible as possible.

Can this paper be sandwiched between Tru-vue conservation clear glass? Or will the ink eventually bond with the glass? Is there anything I could put between the glass and the paper to protect the ink?

Welcome to the forum!

I have no experience of this paper/ink - unless I've framed some in ignorance; but if the paper is not "translucent, like papyrus" then unless it is very flimsy I don't see why it
cannot be float mounted with pass-through hinges and then spaced from the glass with spacers in the frame rebate like this (which is also raised from the mounting board, which you may not want/need to do).


It's not a good idea to sandwich between glass and there would be no point if only one side needs to be viewed and also no point in having UV filtering glass on the back anyway.

Mebmate wrote:with the support as invisible as possible.

I'm not sure what this means - the mounting method (pass through hinges would be invisible) or the mounting board having only tiny margins, or something else?


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Hi Roboframer,

Thanks for your response. My asking the forum about about Naxi Paper is partly based on the fact that I do not have the sheet yet. A valued (I.e. they keep coming back) customer will be bringing it in sometime before Christmas. The customer has had a bad experience (with a previous framer I hasten to add) when an antique silk picture was surface mounted using spots of PVA glue. He has told me that the paper is quite heavy and rough so it may not adhere to P90 tape. Also, I don't know the pH yet. Hence I am investigating other options to display it.

The piece is irreplaceable, as it was commissioned by a martial arts supreme Master and presented to the customer in recognition of his exceptionally high achievement in the particular martial art. This sort of back story has always made me twitchy and cautious.

Yes, pass through hinges with spacers behind the sheet was my first choice.

By the way, you probably would remember Dongba characters if you had come across them. Dongba is the only pictographic language in the world actively used, albeit only in a remote region in south east China.

best regards
Jeremy

I'm not sure why you need to now the Ph of the paper.

Float mounting is not the best method for something irreplaceable/of value because more adhesive contact points are required than would be if a window mount was used. If a window mount was used you could use methods that use no adhesive in contact or even no adhesive whatsoever .... or far less hinges, probably just two at the top.

Make sure the customer's choice is an informed one and if float mounting is insisted upon then self adhesive tape is not the best, conservation-wise or reliability-wise. Wet adhesive makes a better bond and I'd be looking at wheat starch paste and handmade wet-torn Japanese paper hinges - the worst I'd use would be Hayaku tape. https://www.lionpic.co.uk/search?q=haya ... Search+Now



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Alkalis (i.e. pH > 7, and especially when the pH approaches 9) will react with the silica in the glass to produce a liquid that will corrode the glass and will attack the ink. Similar to iron rusting, glass needs to be kept separated from alkilinic compounds as cloudiness will appear on the surface. No point in using expensive glass if the item is going to react with it.

Acrylic paint (which typically has a pH between 8 and 9) will bond with the glass.

On the other hand, acids (pH <7) tend not to react with glass (except for Phosphoric Acid and Hydroflouric Acid).

I've never heard of this reaction happening in a frame. Is it a concern if the glass is spaced away from it?

It shouldnt happen if the glass is not touching the acrylic paint (or similar) but it could if there is high moisture content inside the frame.

Not to mention mould growth etc.

Good luck with it anyway - post some photos when you get it/when it's finished.

.

Thanks Roboframer.
I have to say that you are one of the most positive, cam-do and supportive person I have ever come across. All that backed with encyclopedic framing knowledge and skill. Although this is my first posted question, I have often heeded your avice after searching this forum.

best regards

Mebmate wrote:Thanks Roboframer.
I have to say that you are one of the most positive, cam-do and supportive person I have ever come across. All that backed with encyclopedic framing knowledge and skill. Although this is my first posted question, I have often heeded your avice after searching this forum.

best regards

Well said Mebmate

HERE,HERE............

True story

Here is my ode don't let it go to your head

Aww shucks, thanks