The MGC Asian Traditional Textiles Museum in Siem Reap province may be the first museum in the Kingdom of Cambodia to display a wide range of items made from silk, cotton, linen, silk, bark, and wool, as well as contemporary clothing from six countries living along the Mekong and Ganges rivers, said the APSARA National Authority’s news release this morning.
According to the same source, the silk, cotton, and animal products on display include clothing, hats, gloves, socks, scarves, and many other materials, as well as weaving tools.
The museum's experts take care to use the right techniques to maintain and preserve those collections from being damaged, even though those collections are years old.
Mr. Sen Kimsun, acting director of the MGC Asian Traditional Textiles Museum, said that all the silk, cotton, and animal products on display in the museum are not for one or two years and should be discarded when damaged. Experts have the right technique to maintain them for as long as possible.
Mr. Sen Kimsun said that we have two principles to preserve those silk products to preserve them for a long time: they need to be carefully preserved before being damaged. In order not to affect the objects such as hanging and putting in the display cabinet, avoid those objects do not come into direct contact with metal or wood, which can lead to the insects eating and cause friction and so on.
“Every morning, we open the windows and doors for a short time so that there is no smell in each gallery, clean the floor and the pedestal regularly, and change the position of the pedestal to clean and avoid dust, insects or dust cling leading to problems with the collections. [We also] put pesticides in the corners and doors of the gallery and put up a rat-proof barrier. Another point of concern is that when a collection is damaged, it must be repaired immediately according to the techniques that museum experts have trained to know how to repair and save those products from risk,” he said.
Mr. Sen Kimsun said that in the exhibition hall, it is also necessary to control the lighting properly to avoid changing the product's colour. On the other hand, setting the temperature is even more important, as all galleries require regular temperature tools to monitor, setting the temperature to 30 degrees Celsius and the humidity to 65 percent.
He added that for the safety of the products for a long time, the museum also has a ban on food, and beverages, and no touch, which may bring various risks to the collections.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press