Chicago Historical Society-Blog: Conservation And Preparation

Chicago IL

27 April, 2021

4:23 PM

Description

Press release from the Chicago Historical Society-blog: 2021-04-27 In this blog post, learn about how a painted mantelpiece was prepared before it went on display in our exhibition American Medina: Stories of Muslim Chicago, from cleaning and repair in the conservation lab to being installed in the gallery. CHM conservator Holly Lundberg carefully cleans the mantelpiece. All photographs by CHM staff. Most objects require some level of preparation and conservation treatment such as cleaning, stabilization, and/or repair, and the creation of a custom mount before they can be displayed in a safe and appropriate way. Upon examination of this painted wood mantelpiece, which MarQ Shaheer loaned to the Museum for our exhibition American Medina: Stories of Muslim Chicago, CHM conservator Holly Lundberg noted that the paint and ground layers were cracked, lifting, and actively flaking from the wood substrate, and significant losses had occurred in spots overall. The piece was also covered with a layer of surface dust, dirt, and grime. A closeup view of paint that has lifted from the wood substrate of the mantelpiece. To stabilize areas of loose and actively flaking paint, Lundberg used a syringe to inject a conservation grade adhesive between cracked, loose, and lifting areas of paint and ground and the wood substrate to consolidate them. And, where necessary, she used a small heat-spatula and a barrier layer of double-sided silicone release film to soften and lay down lifting paint fragments. Consolidation of the unstable paint and ground layers took several weeks to complete, and in some spots more than one application of the consolidant was required. A closeup view of Lundberg using a soft-bristle brush to sweep dust toward a low-suction vacuum. At right, the mantelpiece on display in American Medina: Stories of Muslim Chicago, courtesy of MarQ Shaheer. The decoratively painted wood mantelpiece ornamented the Nation of Islam (NOI) mosque in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood in the early 1970s. Under Elijah Muhammad's leadership, the NOI bought the former Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church. After his father died, W. D. Mohammed renamed it the Elijah Muhammad Mosque, No. 2. Eventually, it became Mosque Maryam, named for Jesus Christ's mother, who is the only woman named in the Quran. The Arabic words, reading from right to left, are the shahādah, the Muslim profession of faith: "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his messenger." Listen to an excerpt of our oral history interview with MarQ Shaheer This press release was produced by the Chicago Historical Society-blog. The views expressed here are the author's own.