Passive Mats (Part 1) The Textile Museum has a large collection of very fragile, flat archaeological

Passive Mats (Part 1)

The Textile Museum has a large collection of very fragile, flat archaeological fragments, some of which live in drawers and cabinets without any storage supports. In order to transport these textiles safely, our conservation department has prioritized housing them in new passive mats.

Made of archival blue board, the passive mat is a storage-specific mount with independently hinging sides that holds small, flat textiles. The object is protected between two pieces of archival tissue and passively held in place by the sides of the mat—which keep the object from shifting in storage or during transit without putting pressure on it. Because the sides are thicker than the textiles, the mats can be stacked on top of each other without any risk of contact.  

Our passive mats are created in standard base sizes for three different box sizes (above), so they “puzzle piece” together inside a box—preventing the mats from sliding and shifting during transit. Some mats take up a whole layer, while others fill halves or quarters.

These mounts will not only keep objects safe for the move, they will ensure the pieces are easily accessible for staff and researchers in the future.

Stay tuned to find out how we construct these mounts!