Custom picture framing liners and mats create a slight visual pause between the detail of the art and the intricacy of the frame carving. They provide a smooth transition between the frame and the artwork and contribute toward the polished overall impression of the framed artwork.
100% COTTON RAG MAT BOARD | MUSEUM MAT BOARD
Josef Albers “Homage to the Square”
Albers prints are framed with 8 ply Museum Rag Mat Board, also known as double thick mat board.
Cotton rag mat board, or “museum board,” is used by museums, libraries, and professional framers to preserve and exhibit artwork, documents, and other treasured objects. Unlike wood pulp, cotton is free of contaminants. Wood pulp has damaging acid and lignin. Lignin causes paper fibers to breakdown, creating acidic byproducts.
Only museum-grade mat boards contain no lignin or acid. Lower-quality mat boards that claim to be acid-free may have been treated to neutralize acid, but lignin remains. Rag mat museum board has 100% cotton construction to ensure that artwork comes in contact with only non-damaging materials. In addition to being free of lignin and acid, cotton also has long, flat fibers that intertwine to create a strong, durable, and resilient mat board.
100% cotton rag mats have been tested and recommended by the United States Library of Congress. You can find more information HERE.
100% cotton rag mats are also recommended by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) , the Canadian Conservation Institute , Fine Art Trade Guild (United Kingdom) , and the PPFA (Professional Picture Framing Association) (Comparative Standards for Matboard – “Class 1 – Highest quality framing” quality level).
In addition to 100% rag mat options we also offer fabric wrap mat board or liners with gilded bevels. Liners and mats can be wrapped in any of five hundred and fifty choices of fabrics.
100% RAG MAT BOARDS | EXAMPLES
Henri Cartier-Bresson photograph of Henri Matisse, Vence, France 1944
float mount example | rag mat substrate
Dragan Grujic, Antelope Canyon
Two color photographs with 4 ply Rag Mat
Cotton Rag Mats provide the highest level of protection for artwork.
Ruth Bernhard photograph “In the Box – Horizontal”, 1962
Black and White Photograph with 8 Ply Rag Mat
Pastel drawing framed with 100% Rag Mat and an Art Nouveau frame
FABRIC LINERS AND FABRIC MAT BOARDS
550 fabric choices
Fabric mat with fillet
Fabric liner with gold leaf bevel
Fabric mat with fillet
French Matting
French matting is an ancient technique that uses watercolor wash panels and ink lines around the perimeter of a matted piece, combined with watercolor, ink, tempera, marbled papers, gesso and gold leaf. French matting offers endless customization possibilities. All materials used are archival, and all work is done by hand.
Norman Rockwell drawing framed with French mat (or French lines) and authentic Arts and Crafts reproduction frame in English wax finish
Portrait, restored and re-framed with French mat and
a gilded period frame
Leonardo Da Vinci, original drawing, restored and framed
Albrecht Dürer ,French mat example
Eglomise Mats
Eglomise mats, also known as ‘black glass gilding’ or ‘reverse glass mats’ are handcrafted by painting glass black on the reverse side. The glass mat is enhanced with gold leaf lines.
Gilded Liners
SPANDREL EXAMPLE
Fine Art Custom Nameplates
Custom gold leaf hardwood nameplates are available in different sizes. Nameplates come with rounded or square edges. All nameplates are museum quality and can be gilded in yellow 24k gold and white 12k gold.
For more information about custom framing or an in-home framing consultation
please call 617-536-2323 or e-mail [email protected]