Betel Box
This gilded betel box came to me through the hands of a private owner who had inherited the box from her mother. Composed of woven bamboo coated with traditional lacquer, the box had a major break in the lid that prevented it from fitting securely on its base. The treatment aimed to repair this break and blend the repair into its existing decoration.
Condition
The most obvious condition issue on this object is the break along the box lid. This also lead to losses both internally and externally to the lacquer and gilding.
There are other small losses to the lacquer surface on the outside edge of the lid, the inside edge of the lid, the outside and inside of the base, as well as along the bottom edge of the box where it makes contact with external surfaces. Losses to the lacquer mean that the object is vulnerable to water damage.
In accordance with losses and cracks in the lacquered surface, there are also significant abrasions and losses to the gilded decoration. This is perhaps most apparent on the lid of the box that was probably significantly decorated upon original manufacture.
Also visible by observing the lid is the loss of glossiness in the lacquer which is still intact on most other surfaces, particularly the inside and bottom of the box. This dulling is likely due to light damage which also suggests the reason that the damage is limited to the most visible surface areas.
Finally, the lid has an aged adhesive, probably from a sticker of some kind, embedded into its surface.
The degradation, losses, and cracking to the lacquer surface, loss of gilding, and sticker residue reduce the object’s sensory significance. Importantly, the crack to the lid also limits its function use as it no longer fits safely onto the base of the box.
Cleaning
Dry cleaning was conducted using Smoke Sponge (vulcanised natural rubber) and Groomstick (modified natural rubber) on a bamboo skewer.
The surface was then wet cleaned with white spirit on cotton swabs. This was especially effective for removal of the old adhesive on the lid.
Stabilisation
Consolidation of cracks and flakes in the lacquer was conducted with 10% w/v Paraloid B-72 (ethylmethacrylate copolymer) in xylene. For application to finer cracks, the area was sometimes pre-wet with a drop of xylene on a size #4 synthetic brush and Paraloid B-72 added with a size #1 synthetic brush using small dots. In larger losses, the larger #4 synthetic brush was then used to add the consolidant because more was needed to achieve adhesion. Excess adhesive was then dabbed using Kim-tech Laboratory Wipes (100% pure fibre with low-lint absorbency) or quickly wiped up with a bit of xylene on cotton swabs.
As some of the lacquer was lifting from the basketry substrate, clamps were padded with Melinex (polyester film) and Plastazote (polyethylene foam) and used to apply pressure after the consolidant became tacky to encourage flattening. Particularly loose
Particularly loose flakes around the break in the lid were consolidated mindfully to avoid loss while keeping the area flexible enough to rejoin later.
Reconstruction and Repair
First, 15% w/v Paraloid B-72 in xylene was used to relay loose threads of the woven substrate and allowed to cure overnight.
Japanese tissue was lightly pigmented with Winsor and Newton watercolour paints and deionised water and allowed to dry.
Then strips were gently torn and placed on silicone release paper (paper coated with silicone polymer, usually polydimethyl siloxane) so they could be impregnated with 15% w/v Paraloid B72 in xylene pigmented with lamp black and Van Dyke brown dry pigments.
The first strip was about 1.5 cm wide and 6 cm long and was placed along the stable lacquer surface to the right of the break and reactivated with a bit of xylene on a #4 synthetic brush.
After it cured, the tissue was drawn snugly across the join and adhered on the other side of the break.
Step 8 was repeated 6 more times until the join was fully patched.
At this point, the outer edge of the lip was wrapped with cohesive bandages (latex-free, flexible compression bandages) while the adhesive cured to encourage the edges of the break to meet.
The next day, the bandages were removed and reconfigured so that they wrapped around the lid in an “X” shape to allow more airflow through the break (from both the inside and the outside).
Once fully cured, the bandages were removed and the patch held up on its own.
Loss Compensation
Large areas of loss to the lacquer surface were surrounded by FrogTape® Delicate Surface Painter’s Tape (saturated paper with proprietary acrylic adhesive) and then filled with Flügger (butyl methacrylate and calcium carbonate) using a stainless-steel dental spatula.
Once dried, they were carefully abraded using 1800–6000 grade micromesh (micron graded silicon carbide crystals suspended in an ultra-flexible resin bond).
Losses to the lacquer surface were then recreated using lamp black and Van Dyke brown in 15% w/v Paraloid B-72 in xylene painted on with a 00 sable brush. In order to achieve the right level of gloss, this process was repeated as many times as necessary.
The lower part of the join on the box lid, though secure, dis separate slightly, creating a gap. To address this, Flügger was added and allowed to cure though, because of the flexibility of the patch and the substrate, the Flügger cracked and was instead replaced with a scrap of the pigmented Japanese tissue impregnated with 15% w/v Paraloid B-72 in xylene. This allowed some flexibility but was still solid enough that a bit of Flügger could be added to the top to achieve a smoother finish.
Variation in gloss was achieved through multiple applications of the Paraloid B-72, but where the lacquer was particularly matte, the texture was matched my mixing in significantly more dry pigments to reduce the shine.
The colour-matched fill in the lid was then decorated using bronze powder with a bit of cadmium orange in 15% Paraloid B-72 in xylene, applied with a paint brush to recreate the gilded decoration, ultimately creating a harmonious finish.
