Abstract
Excavated gold brocade, often shows signs of serious damage and contamination from environmental factors such as exposure to soil or human remains. Therefore, most of the conservation procedures are focused on the consolidation of the gold thread and on cleaning with water or organic solvents. Indiscreet cleaning using solvents could damage the gold leaf, which identifies the features of fabric. There is a need to develop cleaning protocols appropriate for relics through the careful analysis of the condition of the relics. This study finds the appropriate cleaning method for the excavated gold brocade. Four different cleaning methods, vacuum cleaning, kneaded rubber eraser cleaning, immersion wet cleaning, and absorption wet cleaning were applied to the excavated gold brocade. The degree of cleaning and damage were examined depending on the cleaning methods, changes to the physical condition (before and after cleaning) were also analyzed through the surface observation. Although immersion cleaning showed the best cleaning result, this method had a risk of damage to the gold thread. Absorption wet cleaning safely eliminated the various soluble contaminants and the rotten smell of relics. Kneaded rubber eraser was suitable for the excavated gold brocade fabric because it can be applied to selective parts, intentionally excluding some sensitive parts such as the gold thread. The vacuum cleaning method required special attention because of a possibility of suctioning off loosely attached gold leaf. Dual cleaning, the kneaded rubber eraser cleaning, followed by the absorption cleaning was the most effective method to preserve and clean excavated gold brocade.
