A Pair of Indian Arm Guards

This pair of Indian arm guards, or Dastana, are part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are from the 18th century and are highly decorative with gilt borders on the steel and copper alloy tacks that form a pattern on the green velvet textile. There are also woven textile tapes on the borders of the velvet, some of which are made up of metal wrapped threads. The arm guards were in poor condition and of particular concern was the textile tape, which had substantial losses to the metal and the degradation of the yarns had caused long, loose threads to hang off of the objects.

The goal of the treatment was to secure these threads back to the surface of the object. Prior to this internship, I had taken a course with Denyse Montegut on textile conservation, so was particularly interested for the chance apply my skills. However, I did still consult with textile conservation at the Met to determine the most appropriate treatment. We determined that the loose threads would be secured using a modified tabby stitch to secure them back to the surface. Not only would this ensure safer handling, but it would also aesthetically reintegrate the threads on the object.

The textile was quite fragile, so I gently wove Skala thread through the loose threads on the object to imitate a plain weave, then anchored each pass with the Skala to the chevron patterned tape that abuts the metal wrapped threads.

Additionally, I cleaned the metal, particularly the copper alloy tacks surrounding the steel plates which had developed copper soaps, and coated the steel in a paste wax. This treatment was extremely successful and became the focus of a Dispatch from the Field, the department’s bi-weekly newsletter that is sent out to donors and friends of the department (see Outreach)