Page - 274 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment

274 Conservation of the Vienna Genesis and the new storage system Conservation Before the scientific analyses of the Vienna Genesis, the acrylic sheets were opened, as described above. An initial mending of the most endangered areas of the parchment had to be carried out in order to prevent further damage during the investigations. The larger gaps, tears and the most fragile areas, where the parchment could curl up or where fur- ther losses might occur, were secured with small bridges of remoistenable tissue. Berlin tissue was coloured with watercolours and coated with Klucel G 5 %, dissolved in water. The pieces were cut with a scalpel on a small cutting mat to a size of approx. 5 x 2 mm. For handling the small tissue bridges, a pair of curved tweezers was used (Fig. 29). For reactivation, a system of sponge cloth and blotting paper, soaked with 37 ml of a 3:1 v/v mixture of ethanol and water, was used. The methods of colouring, coating and reactivation are explained above. After the scientific analyses were concluded, the folios were carefully examined a second time. In addition to the first stabilisation, fur- Fig. 29: a) Toned and coated Berlin tissue approx. 10 x 10 cm, b) application with tweezers, approx. 5 x 2 mm. Fig. 30: Mended areas, a) before and b) after treatment. Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0