Page - 278 - in The Vienna Genesis - Material analysis and conservation of a Late Antique illuminated manuscript on purple parchment

278 Conservation of the Vienna Genesis and the new storage system bertina Museum were consulted. The pros and cons of the different systems were intensely de- bated. The requirements for storage were discussed with Andreas Fingernagel, Director of the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books. Finally, we jointly decided upon the folder-sink mat model of storage. The mat provides access to the surface of both sides and excludes the use of an adhesive and pressure. The system was modified with valuable input from colleagues. First, two folders of Japanese tissue were prepared for each folio, measuring a few milli- metres larger than the parchment. The Association for Successors of Traditional Preserva- tion Techniques in Japan provided custom made papers of the highest quality. The inner folder (Fig. 33), which is in direct contact with the folio and opens along the right side, was made from Mitsumata paper with a very smooth surface (Mitsumata fibres, 6.5 g/ m2, cooked with soda ash, natural Neri tororo-aoi as a mucilage, dried on wood panel). The second folder, which opens at the left side, was made from Mino paper, which adds support to the parchment (Nasu Kozo fibres, 18 g/m2, cooked with Soda ash, natural Neri tororo-aoi as mucilage, dried on wood panel)58. Together with the Japanese tissue folders, the folio was then placed into a folder (Fig. 34) made from museum matboard (Canson, 1.8 mm). For this purpose, two matboards measur- ing 37.5 x 31 cm were fixed together with a strip of the Mino paper (see above) and a 1:1 v/v mixture of wheat starch paste 25 % and Methocel 4AM 2.5 %. On the inside of each mat- board, frames made of thinner matboard (Canson, 1.2 mm) were applied with double-sided adhesive tape (Deffner & Johann, 3M, Type 415, 12 mm). The frames function as spacers and 58 Both Japanese tissues were hand and custom made by Eikan Ebuchi in Kochi, a paper maker who is a member of the Association for Successors of Traditional Preservation Techniques in Japan. Fig. 33: Japanese paper folders. Open-Access-Publikation im Sinne der CC-Lizenz BY 4.0