Preservation of Pendok, Mendak and Bone

A. G. Maisey · 26th December 2014, 09:49 PM

Pendok can be difficult, sometimes very difficult.

What you do varies with each one and depends upon too many factors to cover in any hypothetical way.

In short, each pendok is treated as new and individual problem.

Much the same can be said for mendak.

The usual treatment for a dirty, old, but still reasonably OK Javanese mendak is to give it a bath in vinegar, thoroughly rinse, brush with old soft toothbrush, thoroughly dry. Not much you can do apart from this.

Baby oil is mineral oil --- well, at least the type we use on ivory, bone, horn is, the other type is no longer politically or socially acceptable. I've mostly used Johnsons Baby Oil, I really don't know if it contains anything other than mineral oil and a fragrance. A couple of drops on the palms of your hands and massage it into the bone, ivory or whatever while you watch TV. For deeply carved pieces, maybe a soft old tooth brush is better.

For very old, cracked ivory, horn, bone, I have soaked the complete hilt in a jar of baby oil for extended periods of time, like 6 months or so, and then stood it on a plate and allowed the oil to drain off and dry, followed by gentle brushing. This has seemed to much improve the condition of the piece.

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26th December 2014, 09:49 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,048	Pendok can be difficult, sometimes very difficult. What you do varies with each one and depends upon too many factors to cover in any hypothetical way. In short, each pendok is treated as new and individual problem. Much the same can be said for mendak. The usual treatment for a dirty, old, but still reasonably OK Javanese mendak is to give it a bath in vinegar, thoroughly rinse, brush with old soft toothbrush, thoroughly dry. Not much you can do apart from this. Baby oil is mineral oil --- well, at least the type we use on ivory, bone, horn is, the other type is no longer politically or socially acceptable. I've mostly used Johnsons Baby Oil, I really don't know if it contains anything other than mineral oil and a fragrance. A couple of drops on the palms of your hands and massage it into the bone, ivory or whatever while you watch TV. For deeply carved pieces, maybe a soft old tooth brush is better. For very old, cracked ivory, horn, bone, I have soaked the complete hilt in a jar of baby oil for extended periods of time, like 6 months or so, and then stood it on a plate and allowed the oil to drain off and dry, followed by gentle brushing. This has seemed to much improve the condition of the piece.