Connecting to Collections Care

Hello everyone,

We are trying to improve storage conditions for our Native American saddle collection, donated to the museum for the most part in the 1940s. I believe most consist of wood and rawhide, though some descriptions also indicate tanned deerskin/buckskin or bone is present, and some are more elaborately decorated with paint and beadwork. These are currently housed on shelves in standard metal museum cabinets, layered with ethafoam and unbuffered tissue. After reviewing recommendations I know we should create individual mounts to adequately support the saddles, but what issues do we need to consider when removing the saddles from these cabinets to create the mounts? For instance, I noticed that when we open the cabinets the saddles start making 'popping' sounds, I assume due to changes when exposed to outside air. Is there an ideal way to slowly transition the saddles from one environment to another so they don't crack or warp in the process? I am not sure how long it takes for these to be adversely affected or if there is some way to stabilize them before working on them. Our collections space is maintained at ~68+/- 2 F with RH averaging 30+/-10%. For the most part there is only a 5% fluctuation but we often hit issues when seasons change. The interior of the cabinets are more stable as they are usually closed and weather-stripped, though I have not measured fluctuations there yet. 

We have also discussed putting a saddle on display, so same questions would apply. Should these be staged to move them from one climate regime to another? Or do we need to somehow just keep the environment the same, though not sure that is possible given the new exposure to light and plexi or glass casing. 

Any advice is welcome!

Dear Amy,

I am curious how long the collection has been maintained in those cabinets and that climate? Is it since the 1940s donation? It might be good to measure the RH within a few cabinets. Comparing it with the ambient RH, you could access the saddles when there is the smallest RH discrepancy inside and outside the cabinets. I immediately thought that, if there are no source community objections, each saddle might be best placed in a closed polyethylene bag, which is another barrier against shifting RH. Of course, you will need to extract each saddle briefly to accomplish that, probably best done when that discrepancy is small. As you may know, rawhide is very sensitive to climate fluctuations, more so than skin that has been processed into leather.

Good luck with your collection.

Hello everyone,

We are trying to improve storage conditions for our Native American saddle collection, donated to the museum for the most part in the 1940s. I believe most consist of wood and rawhide, though some descriptions also indicate tanned deerskin/buckskin or bone is present, and some are more elaborately decorated with paint and beadwork. These are currently housed on shelves in standard metal museum cabinets, layered with ethafoam and unbuffered tissue. After reviewing recommendations I know we should create individual mounts to adequately support the saddles, but what issues do we need to consider when removing the saddles from these cabinets to create the mounts? For instance, I noticed that when we open the cabinets the saddles start making 'popping' sounds, I assume due to changes when exposed to outside air. Is there an ideal way to slowly transition the saddles from one environment to another so they don't crack or warp in the process? I am not sure how long it takes for these to be adversely affected or if there is some way to stabilize them before working on them. Our collections space is maintained at ~68+/- 2 F with RH averaging 30+/-10%. For the most part there is only a 5% fluctuation but we often hit issues when seasons change. The interior of the cabinets are more stable as they are usually closed and weather-stripped, though I have not measured fluctuations there yet. 

We have also discussed putting a saddle on display, so same questions would apply. Should these be staged to move them from one climate regime to another? Or do we need to somehow just keep the environment the same, though not sure that is possible given the new exposure to light and plexi or glass casing. 

Any advice is welcome!