Asian Art Gallery Forum

[georgi]

I have a wall scroll w/ roller bars that was purchased by my sister when she lived in China in the late 1960's and it was very old then...it has one small tear in the lower right side...I want to hang it but need it to be protected from the cat and elements etc...would it be "proper" to make a shadow box type of frame and hang it in the box w/ it's roller bars still in place? And would plain glass be best? Where it will hang gets indirect light but no sun...if I photogragh it, is there a site I can send the pictures to in order to tell me more about the scroll...??? thanks!! Georgi Samuelson

[Gary]

When you travel around China, and visit art museums with historical pieces, they are often encased in large "shadow boxes".

I imagine that getting such a box constructed at your local framing shop could be quite expensive, but it's probably the best way to simultaneously display and preserve the wall scroll.

The best way to preserve it is to roll it up, wrap it in archival paper, and place it somewhere with stable temperature and humidity. But this means nobody gets to see it very often - not a great solution if you want people to actually see it.

If you can afford the shadow box option, glass should be fine. Acrylic does give a weight advantage (if you need to move this thing around a lot). Acrylic is also virtually shatter-proof. I don't think these issues will affect your project. Glass is cheaper by the way.

One thing to consider is a low-glare (also known as non-reflective) glass. Your framer can show you the difference and consult with you on that. The most expensive glass is usually called "museum glass". This is crystal clear glass that does not reflect. It's probably the most expensive glass on earth.

Cheers,
-Gary.

Moved to framing forum by Gary