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Not much care is normally
required. Keep your pieces away from
excessive temperature and humidity
fluctuations and direct sunlight. When
forced hot air heating is used in winter,
humidifiers really help to reduce cracking
and warping. Wood boring insects, although
rarely a problem, can be controlled by
insecticide sprays or fumigation. Putting an
effected item in a freezer for 1-2 weeks is
often the safest and most effective way to
get rid of the wood damaging insects. Wood
borers produce small surface holes which
periodically discharge fine wooden dust
which accumulates in tiny mounds under the
effected object. Wood borer holes are much
smaller than holes produced by termites
which do not present problems for the indoor
collections.
Clean your art pieces often.
Soft brushes, dusters or canned compressed
air (i.e Dust-off® compressed-gas equipment
duster) are effective in removing dust and
dirt from the surfaces or crevices. Do
not use water or detergents to clean your
artifacts. Colored wood putty can be used to
fill the cracks if they really bother you.
Elmer's glue-all works well to glue back the
broken pieces. To hold the glued piece in
place use rubber bands or shrink wrap.
However, for best results consider taking
the item to a reputable professional antique
or art restoration business.
We do not recommend applying
any protective coatings to your wooden
Mbunda art. Leave natural oils, tars and
pigments used by Mbunda artists in their
original, unadulterated form. However, some
collectors, dealers and gallery owners apply
various protective or decorative coatings
onto their objects. In some cases these
coatings are meant to mimic the real patina,
creating a problem for inexperienced
collectors. If you are determined to add
some shine and pizzazz to your pieces do not
use anything harsher than wax-based
finishes. Wax will not damage most items and
can be removed. As all other coatings, wax
layer will often darken the color of you
piece, so try it first on a small hidden
area.
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