Sunny windows are the enemy of antiques. Textiles and wood will fade; glass sometimes breaks from the heat.
1 comment:
Anonymous
said...
Sunlight is a very real menace to antiques. Bright colors like red & blue fade rapidly, with printed items showing a change after only a few hours exposure. Some avoidance tips include: 1. Never expose antiques to reflected sunlight either. The sun can reflect off another piece of furniture and when it hits the antique it can do just as much damage over time. And remember, just because the sun isn't reflecting light at the painting on the wall in winter, it should be checked again in the summer as the sun's path of travel varies by season! 2. Check to see if you have what's known in the building materials trade as "Low-E" glass in your home. Low-E glass will really help to lessen the damages from ambient or reflected light. If you don't have low-E glass, you can contact a glass shop about putting a protective coating on your windows, much like they do on cars (but not as dark). The best bet is to have new low-E windows installed. 3. Take your artwork to a local framer and have special low-E type glass cut & installed in the frame, but don't do this on original oil paintings. For oils you can have an "overlay" frame with low-e glass created to hang in front of the painting. This will still allow needed air circulation to the canvas & oils. This will also help keep the painting cleaner. 4. If you have artwork with electrical display lights, get rid of the lights! Or you can also talk with a lighting specialist about light bulbs designed for artwork. Hope this helps, Bill
1 comment:
Sunlight is a very real menace to antiques. Bright colors like red & blue fade rapidly, with printed items showing a change after only a few hours exposure. Some avoidance tips include:
1. Never expose antiques to reflected sunlight either. The sun can reflect off another piece of furniture and when it hits the antique it can do just as much damage over time. And remember, just because the sun isn't reflecting light at the painting on the wall in winter, it should be checked again in the summer as the sun's path of travel varies by season!
2. Check to see if you have what's known in the building materials trade as "Low-E" glass in your home. Low-E glass will really help to lessen the damages from ambient or reflected light. If you don't have low-E glass, you can contact a glass shop about putting a protective coating on your windows, much like they do on cars (but not as dark). The best bet is to have new low-E windows installed.
3. Take your artwork to a local framer and have special low-E type glass cut & installed in the frame, but don't do this on original oil paintings. For oils you can have an "overlay" frame with low-e glass created to hang in front of the painting. This will still allow needed air circulation to the canvas & oils. This will also help keep the painting cleaner.
4. If you have artwork with electrical display lights, get rid of the lights! Or you can also talk with a lighting specialist about light bulbs designed for artwork.
Hope this helps, Bill
Post a Comment