Andy,
        Perhaps you could think of the holes and tears as additional historic
evidence? They reveal that the original owners, their families,
communities, and the receiving institution took pride in the Olympians
accomplishments over a long period of time. Successive showings of the
medals may also mean that new contexts for the medals were explored in each
exhibition. Your labels could suggest this interpretation. If you were able
to display a good photo of any of the recipients wearing a medal, this
would show the viewer how the ribbons looked in a pristine state.

        Using a rotating exhibition schedule, low light levels, and a
non-intrusive, conservation-correct mounting method will help preserve the
medals, the ribbons--and their object history.

Rebecca Trussell


> [Original Message]
> From: Andy Dickes <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 6/23/2004 9:42:01 PM
> Subject: Medal Ribbons...
>
> Hi there-
>
> I work at a sports museum, and we are opening a new museum soon.  We will
> have some Olympic medals on display, but the ribbons with them have some
> damage.  They were once displayed with pins through them, so now they have
> holes of varying sizes, like little vertical tears going with the grain of
> the fabric.  I want to make the ribbons look like new again, so I was
> wondering about the ethics involved with repairing artifacts.  Do I take
> them to a repair professional, or live with the bad display choice we made
> years ago?
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> Andy
>
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