Tapir taxidermy with broken ears from the Bolton Museum
01
Before treatment
The tapir taxidermy has always been on exhibition, however, the ears were broken due to physical force when it was moved around. Some parts of the right ear are missing.
02
Rehydrate the ears and gap-filling
I rehydrated the ears by using a wet brush, and brushed it directly onto the surface that needed to be rehydrated. I used a weak paper clip with plastazote to keep it in place.
After the ears have been rehydrated, I used Japanese tissue, Tengucho 8.75gsm, to bridge the broken parts of the ear and recreate the missing part of the right ear.
Adhesive: I picked neutral pH polyvinyl acetate (PVA) due to its strong adhesion, it stays flexible after drying and not brittle. The colour of the Japanese tissue with PVA is transparent with a little hint of white, so it blends in very well and can be easily cover by colouring it.
03
Colour matching
Acrylic paint was used to match the original colour of the ears. I used fairly dry acrylic paint to colour the fibres to keep the hair-like texture.
04
After treatment
Now the ears have been stabilised and the treatment has successfully supported the structure of the ear. After colour matching, the Japanese tissue blends in really well with the original material.
