J.CAC VOLUME 47 (2023)
Tear Repair of an Angelique Merasty Birch Bark Biting
Birch bark biting has been a traditional practice amongst various North American Indigenous communities for generations. It involves delicately compressing marks with one’s teeth into thin, single-ply birch bark resulting in a symmetrical image. A birch bark biting by Cree artist Angelique Merasty (1924–1996) was brought to the artifact conservation laboratory at Queen’s University in 2021 due to a tear splitting the right third of the image. With no extant conservation literature on the structural repair of birch bark bitings, a treatment plan was created, informed by historical research on Merasty’s practice, general conservation studies of birch bark, imaging methods, microscopic analysis, and testing on fresh and aged birch bark samples. Drawing from techniques developed for tear repair in paintings, paper and textiles, tests of adhesives, carriers and application methods were performed to determine treatment options. Results were evaluated based on strength, workability, aesthetic impact, flexibility, potential risk and retreatability. The tear repair method chosen used hair silk threads coated in Lascaux 498 HV and applied with a heat set technique. These threads provided the necessary tensile strength to limit further tearing and loss, and minimal visibility to allow for potential display of both sides.
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