Conservation of Banners with Double-Sided Oil Paintings: An Experiment on the Assembly of Separately Restored Pieces

Abstract

The conservation of banners with double-sided oil paintings has always faced the problem of integrating the textile part and the painting, which can no longer be solved. Either the conservation or the preservation method has to preserve the banner and the painting from further deterioration. There are very few publications on the conservation of church banners with oil paintings that highlight the main problems encountered in the conservation of these ecclesiastical objects. Most articles present the conservation of flags or painted flags, but there is no mention of the experimental aspect. There are even fewer articles on experiments with materials for the restoration of church banners. As museums deal with the problems of small storage and maintenance, the preservation of banners with oil paintings is at risk. This article presents an experiment carried out during my master’s studies at Vilnius Academy of Arts in the conservation of a church banner with the double-sided oil painting Assumption of Mary/Guardian Angel at the Lithuanian National Museum of Art. The experiment tested three different ways of displaying/preserving the banner with a double-sided oil painting.