Svenska föreningen för textilkonservering
26 Dec 2017
Pressure Mounting
Anna Stow
Dr Zaharia worked at the Metropolitan Museum in New York for 28 years, thirteen as
Conservator in Charge of the Department. She holds an MA with a specialization in tapestry and
textile structure and design, and a PhD in visual arts with a focus on textile materials and
technologies, from the Nicolae Grigorescu Institute of Fine Arts in Bucharest.
During her time at the MET she worked extensively with pressure mounting as a method for
mounting flat fabrics. During her presentation she reviewed the development of the technique,
the advantages and materials used.
The MET has used this technique for about 50 years but there is not much published about it.
Florica has presented at ICOM CC but that paper was never published, by coming to our annual
meeting she hoped to share knowledge.
Essentially flat fabrics are held between two rigid surfaces – originally glass but now plexiglass.
Plexiglass is less breakable than glass and slightly porous so does not trap and retain moisture –
a problem seen with earlier mounts that could be dismantled and examined during the redesign
of the Islamic Gallery at the MET. Plexiglass does have a tendency to bow and so needs skilled
staff to handle very large pieces.
Florica states that vertical display using pressure mounting is a good solution for preservation.
The comparison to stitched mounting was possible when a fragment from a private collection
returned to the museum; a pressure mounted piece from the same textile was judged to be in
better condition.
Using scale models of the different construction techniques Florica detailed the different
materials used, and different combinations of those materials depending on the textile to be
mounted.
Close up of model from underside
showing wooden frame, screws and
edges of plexiglass lid. Photo: Anna
Stow.
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