Moro Shield
 

first of all, props to a great friend for finding this...

23" in diameter with rattan edge. what remains of the rattan strips are fragile. i don't even know where to start on how to preserve this. any suggestions and comments are welcome...

more pics...

Very nice. IN the earlier pictures you sent to me, I did not see the patterns in the front of the shield. I do notice that the back of the shield is not the usual Moro construction of up to the turn of the 20th c but seems to be of a later period.

Ballistol.

great shield. looks pretty old to me. ratten is pretty strong, do you think it is falling apart because it was stored in a hot attic (dry rot) or just careless storage over the years. let us know what you decide and how it comes out.

battara,

it's really odd that the patterns are more distinct on the picture than it is on the real life. also, the handles and shield are all carved from a single piece.



mross,

Ballistol ??? :confused:


bill,

yeah, you're right about rattan's resiliency. seen some pretty old kris with the original rattan binding still going strong. i guess this one wasn't taken care of :( .the rattan pieces that fall off are actually brittle. i want to leave it as it is, but would like to preserve it without scrubbing off the patina. any suggestions?

thanks for everyone's comments.

I don’t know what you should do. I think the first thing would be to identify why it is falling apart. Dry rot is a fungus disease caused by moisture with poor air circulation and periods of heat changes. From things I have read, you pretty much have what you have, it’s not going to get better; you can only stop it from getting worse. Deteriorating leather (red rot) usually recommends lanolin and neat's-foot oil. There is Renaissance Wax, I’m sure it would help but if a better solution came along it might be problematic once applied. Certainly would not be a bad thing for the wood. Here are a couple of links you might want to look at. http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/RenWax.html http://www.philobiblon.com/pressite.htm
There is a collection of essays "Caring for your collections" by Harry Abrams, but I have not read it. Maybe calling some conservators and seeing what they would do??

excellent links, bill! thank you very much. i'm thinking that it was just a bad case of neglect. at first i thought about rewrapping the bald spots, but then again, i'm just gonna leave it as it is, kinda give it a personality, so to speak. now if there's any a moro armor out there that i can find for cheap to match this, lol...

NICE SHIELD! YOU WOULD USE THE SAME PRESERVATION METHODS ON THE RATTAN ON THE SHIELD THAT YOU USE ON BASKETS. I USE MINERAL OIL ON MY HAND WOVEN HAT FROM HAWAII JUST DAMPEN A SMALL RAG WITH SOME AND RUB IT OVER THE SURFACE, DON'T SOAK IT BUT YOU CAN DO IT OFTEN FOR A WHILE ALOWING IT TO SOAK IN A LITTLE AT A TIME WITHOUT GETTING A LARGE BUILD UP THAT CAN CAUSE DIRT AND DUST TO GUM UP YOUR SHIELD. THE MINERAL OIL DOES NOT BECOME RANCID AND WILL KEEP THE FIBER FROM DRYING OUT AND BECOMING BRITTLE WHICH IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR A HAT. IT DOES DEEPEN THE COLOR OF THE FIBERS WHEN YOU PUT IT ON BECAUSE IT RESTORES THE FIBER WHICH HAS BECOME DRY AND BLEACHED OUT BUT WILL NOT REMOVE ANY PATINA. IT WILL MAKE IT SHINEY WHILE WET BUT WHEN DRY DOSEN'T SHINE, IF THE FIBER HAS BEEN COVERED WITH VARNISH OR SHELLAC IT MAY NOT PENETRATE BUT CAN BE EASILY REMOVED WITH A DRY SOFT RAG, OLD TEE SHIRTS WORK VERY WELL. GOOD LUCK

I WON'T BE ABLE TO USE THE SHIELD I GOT FROM YOU FOR TRAINING AS MY HANDS AND ARMS ARE TOO BIG TO GET THRU THE GRIPS ON THE BACK. I COULD REPLACE THEM WITH LARGER ONES BUT I GUESS I WILL WORK IT OVER AND SEE HOW PRETTY I CAN MAKE IT INSTEAD. :D

http://www.ballistol.com/

It is good for wood, I have used it on all sorts of old wood and metal. It might be able to stablize the rattan. I would try it on a small spot and see if you like the results. I never had a problem with it. Sorry about the confusion my bad for assuming everyone had knew about it. :o

thanks for the input, vandoo and mross.

a moro shield^^^

Wow! Nice shield!

I have had some luck with the Balistol already suggested. Hope that you can get it stabilized.