Care
It arrives framed and glazed. That is most of the care done.
The copper is not left open to the room. The finished panel is mounted, glazed and framed as the last stage of the making, so the worked surface and the paint are both already sealed away from air, dust and hands.
That means the piece needs far less attention than bare copper would. Indoors, out of direct sun and off a damp wall, it should look the same in twenty years as it does the day it arrives.
Do
- Clean the glass, not the artwork. A dry or barely damp cloth on the glass is the whole routine.
- Hang it out of direct sun. Sun fades the painted areas long before it touches the copper.
- Keep it off a damp exterior wall, and leave a little air behind the frame.
- If it hangs near an oil lamp, wipe soot off the glass the same week — soot holds moisture.
Do not
- Do not open the frame to polish the copper. Sealed behind glass it does not need it, and the painted areas will not survive the attempt.
- No tamarind, lemon, salt, vinegar or brass polish. Those are for bare metal, and there is no bare metal to reach here.
- No spray cleaner directly onto the glass — it runs down into the frame and gets behind the mount. Spray the cloth instead.
- Do not store it flat under other things. The relief stands proud of the sheet and will flatten under weight.
If something goes wrong
The two things that actually happen are moisture getting in behind the mount, which shows as clouding or dark marks creeping in from an edge, and a knock that cracks the glass or springs a corner of the frame.
Both are repairable and neither is urgent, but do not open the frame yourself to look. Send photographs of the front, the back and the affected area and we will tell you whether it needs to come back.