Red rot
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Description
An irreversible deterioration that occurs in vegetable tanned leathers. Red rot produces a powdery red surface accompanied by cracking, delamination and loss of strength. The deteriorated leather exhibits a low pH and low hydrothermal stability. It is thought to be due to nontannin plant residues. Red rot is accelerated by light, Ultraviolet radiation, an acidic environment, and Sulfur dioxide pollutants.
A post in the Conservation DISTLIST, on July 3, 2019, indicated that the Leather Conservation Centre (Northampton, UK) has developed a treatment for red rot. leatherconservation.org
Synonyms and Related Terms
leather degradation; pudrición roja (Esp.); úlcera vermelha (Port.); ulcera vermelha (Port.)
Resources and Citations
- C.Calnan, "Leather" The Dictionary of Art, Grove's Dictionaries, Inc. New York, vol.19, p.6, 1996.
- Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986
- Caring for your Collections, Arthur W Schulz (ed.), Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , New York, 1992
- Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982
- AMOL reCollections Glossary -http://amol.org.au/recollections/7/c/htm