The Customer – Zenzie Tinker Conservation

Zenzie Tinker Conservation undertakes a complete range of conservation treatments for historic and modern textiles, tapestry and costume for institutions and private individuals.

Established in Brighton in 2003, the company has a wealth of collective experience working in the conservation profession in museums, historic houses and private collections around the world. Projects such as the conservation of the Lady Macbeth beetle wing dress for the National Trust and the conservation of the Royal Funeral Effigies for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey have garnered international press attention for Zenzie Tinker Conservation.

Find out more directly at www.zenzietinker.co.uk

The Project

The BCP team were tasked with manufacturing four rigid lightweight support panels by using the best combination of lightweight honeycomb and thin facing sheets.

Three of the panels were required to be 1450 x 1450 x 33mm whilst the fourth a considerably larger size of 3020 x 2070 x 33mm. All four panels were built using 1mm thick aluminium facing sheets with 50 x 31 mm Red Grandis hardwood going all the way around the edge.

The Red Grandis hardwood, which is a eucalyptus wood, was used due to its superior engineering properties (ensuring the panels do not shrink).

The four panels have been used by Zenzie Tinker Conservation to create bespoke conservation mount boards edged with silk to store and display a set of metal and textile Kiswa embroideries originally used to cover the Holy Kaaba at Mecca in the late 19th century, for the Dubai Cultural Authority.

Feedback

“This is the third time we have used BCP for a conservation mounting project. They were very flexible and helpful in developing the ideal support structure that was both lightweight and extremely rigid for the transport and support of these very large, heavy textiles. BCP were able to offer a custom-made approach which was what we needed.”

Zenzie Tinker Conservation Ltd