Message: I have been unable to find this answer. I have been given a small (18"x18") batik from South Africa. While it may not be valuable, it has great sentimental value. I have been unable to find out the best way to preserve and display this piece. Any direction is most helpful.

A piece of great sentimental value certainly deserves to be treated at least as much respect as a piece that costs a great deal of money.

Protecting it from both light and oxygen will help to extend its life. When you display it, be sure to do so where sunlight never falls, as bright light will fade most dyes. Artificial lighting is almost invariably far less bright than sunlight, and thus less damaging.

Do not treat the fabric with a UV protectant spray, as such treatments may in some cases actually accelerate fading, depending on the specific dye that was used. Framing the piece behind glass, perhaps glass that has been treated to be even more opaque to UV light than ordinary glass, would be a good idea.

Many dyes react with oxygen in the presence of visible light to produce damaging oxygen radicals. Framing the piece with glass will help to prevent oxygen, including damaging ozone, from reaching the dyes and damaging them.

Some poorly-fixed dyes will run when wet, and all fabric is damaged slightly with every washing, so it would be best to protect the batik from anything that might need to be washed out.

How exactly to do the framing depends on your finances and your ingenuity. You can take it to a professional framer that has experience with archival care, or you could yourself use stitches in the edges of the fabric with undyed cotton thread to stretch it over a wooden frame or a piece of glass, then enclose it with glass, perhaps using silicone sealant at the edges of the glass to keep out changes of air. You may wish to avoid the use of glues that contact the fabric, and to avoid the use of any papers, mats, or other materials with a low (acid) pH.


(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)