[Nhcoll-l] Survey: Retouching of Faded Taxidermy Specimens Made of Fur in Natural History Collections

[Celina Klink]

Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Celina Klink, and I am a second-semester master’s student in the Department of Object Conservation at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, Germany. As part of my current project, I am working on the conservation and restoration of a bison taxidermy specimen from the permanent exhibition at the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart.
Due to exposure to sunlight and UV radiation over the past 20 years, the specimen has undergone significant color changes. To restore the object’s legibility and visual appeal, these changes will be corrected to its original condition through retouching. According to the literature, Orasol® pigments and dye solutions are particularly well-suited in terms of their color effect, reversibility, and lightfastness; however, in practical application at the Natural History Museum in Stuttgart, they proved only partially satisfactory (red hues in particular proved to be not lightfast, while yellow hues could not be completely removed). It is of great interest to me how other institutions deal with this issue.
I would therefore like to ask you to participate in the attached survey and share the experience in your institution with handling fur specimens that have changed color. It will take about 10-15 minutes to complete. All information provided will be used exclusively for the purposes of this project.
Thank you very much for your support!

Best regards,
Celina Klink

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