Luristan iron sword need advice for preservation.

stekemest · 10th May 2015, 12:08 PM

I would propose the following procedure:

1. Bath the object in a large enough container with Aceton for a few weeks. Change the Aceton from time to time. This will wash out corrosive salts. The object should be completely covered with Aceton and should not lie directly on the ground. Alternatively you can take distilled water.
2. Heat the object in an oven so that it is absolutely dry.
3. Remove loose particles carefully (!) with sandpaper. They will drop off anyway.
4. Clean the object with a Dremel and steel brush. This will not affect the patina, but will remove the rust. Put on a face mask and be careful to not step into the bristles that will fall on the ground.
5. Brush the object with heated paraffin wax.
6. Keep it in dry environment below an air humidity of 50%, for example by putting it in a container (or showcase) with silica gel (the orange ones, not the blue).

That's what I have done with iron objects, but in the end, the corrosion is unpredictable. Some objects stay rust-free for decades, others will fall apart in a few years, no matter how you treat them.

Kubur · 10th May 2015, 12:15 PM

Our German colleague is so right.
It's the best to do, then at the end, I will add a thin layer of parallloid.
Kubur

Cerjak · 10th May 2015, 02:09 PM

Hello VANDOO,stekemest,ward and Kubur

I would like to thank you for your wise advice in the way to preserve this sword.
Best

Cerjak

stekemest · 10th May 2015, 06:27 PM

Be careful when handling a Dremel though. Some objects are so fragile that it is better to just conserve them as they are, without removing the surface rust. Hard to judge by pictures, would have to see it in person.

Rick · 10th May 2015, 06:30 PM

This sword appears to have some kind of coating already applied to it .
Couldn't this be problematic when trying any conservation process ?

stekemest · 10th May 2015, 06:50 PM

It seems indeed to have been cleaned halfheartedly, with a lot of the surface rust still on it. The problem is that we don't know if it was desalinated. Most of the corrosion is produced by the reaction of interior salts with the surrounding humidity. Cerjak, I would probably just put it in a dry und stable environment with a lot of silicagel and watch it over the course of a few months. If there is a lot of corrosion, you could follow the procedure as mentioned. The coating will be removed when bathed in Aceton.

BTW, I'm pretty sure that it's no fake. It looks perfectly like an excavated, some hundreds to thousands years old piece of iron.

Cerjak · 3rd January 2022, 01:58 PM

After sending photos of this sword to Professor Helmut Föll, he informed me that it was a luristan sword type II in his reckoning but still rather close to type I. ( mask sword) also he wrote me that he was not aware of similar ones in museums because Type II hasn’t been found very often anyway.
Professor Fool is co-author of “Absolute Dating of Early Iron Objects from the Ancient Orient: Radiocarbon Dating of Luristan Iron Mask Swords”
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 April 2019
to follow the work of Helmut Föll see this link :
https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/am...tr/sb_1_2.html

a must-see research on the subject

10th May 2015, 02:09 PM	#3
Cerjak Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: FRANCE Posts: 1,065	thank you for your wise advice Hello VANDOO,stekemest,ward and Kubur I would like to thank you for your wise advice in the way to preserve this sword. Best Cerjak

3rd January 2022, 01:58 PM	#7
Cerjak Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: FRANCE Posts: 1,065	Professor Helmut Föll publication After sending photos of this sword to Professor Helmut Föll, he informed me that it was a luristan sword type II in his reckoning but still rather close to type I. ( mask sword) also he wrote me that he was not aware of similar ones in museums because Type II hasn’t been found very often anyway. Professor Fool is co-author of “Absolute Dating of Early Iron Objects from the Ancient Orient: Radiocarbon Dating of Luristan Iron Mask Swords” Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 April 2019 to follow the work of Helmut Föll see this link : https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/am...tr/sb_1_2.html a must-see research on the subject

10th May 2015, 12:08 PM	#1
stekemest Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Posts: 183	I would propose the following procedure: 1. Bath the object in a large enough container with Aceton for a few weeks. Change the Aceton from time to time. This will wash out corrosive salts. The object should be completely covered with Aceton and should not lie directly on the ground. Alternatively you can take distilled water. 2. Heat the object in an oven so that it is absolutely dry. 3. Remove loose particles carefully (!) with sandpaper. They will drop off anyway. 4. Clean the object with a Dremel and steel brush. This will not affect the patina, but will remove the rust. Put on a face mask and be careful to not step into the bristles that will fall on the ground. 5. Brush the object with heated paraffin wax. 6. Keep it in dry environment below an air humidity of 50%, for example by putting it in a container (or showcase) with silica gel (the orange ones, not the blue). That's what I have done with iron objects, but in the end, the corrosion is unpredictable. Some objects stay rust-free for decades, others will fall apart in a few years, no matter how you treat them.

10th May 2015, 12:15 PM	#2
Kubur Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 2,145	Our German colleague is so right. It's the best to do, then at the end, I will add a thin layer of parallloid. Kubur

10th May 2015, 06:27 PM	#4
stekemest Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Posts: 183	Be careful when handling a Dremel though. Some objects are so fragile that it is better to just conserve them as they are, without removing the surface rust. Hard to judge by pictures, would have to see it in person.

10th May 2015, 06:30 PM	#5
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,365	This sword appears to have some kind of coating already applied to it . Couldn't this be problematic when trying any conservation process ?

10th May 2015, 06:50 PM	#6
stekemest Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Heidelberg, Germany Posts: 183	It seems indeed to have been cleaned halfheartedly, with a lot of the surface rust still on it. The problem is that we don't know if it was desalinated. Most of the corrosion is produced by the reaction of interior salts with the surrounding humidity. Cerjak, I would probably just put it in a dry und stable environment with a lot of silicagel and watch it over the course of a few months. If there is a lot of corrosion, you could follow the procedure as mentioned. The coating will be removed when bathed in Aceton. BTW, I'm pretty sure that it's no fake. It looks perfectly like an excavated, some hundreds to thousands years old piece of iron.