Venice in pieces: Preservation and display of a pieced and folded woodcut

Abstract

Preserving an oversized paper artefact or work of art is always problematic, if one considers how much space is required for flat storage, handling and display of these items. Problems of scale are even more challenging when the object in question is a large folding plate bound within a book which cannot be stored flat and unfolded. When folded inside the book, the plate is under constant pressure from the text-block which may lead to folds being compressed and split. Once opened, the illustration is often at risk because of the lack of a safe support for it while it is being consulted, especially when the primary support is already brittle and creased. Finally, whenever the plate is unfolded, it is very hard to refold correctly following earlier fold lines, whether or not this is desirable. This paper describes an effective solution to this difficult problem with reference to a fifteenth-century panoramic view of Venice. A method of temporary mounting and partial encapsulation for display and examination was devised Fig. i Peregrinationes iti Terram Sotictam, 1486, Bibfioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice (Inc, 382), central portion of the panoramic woodcut of Venice.