Flag preservation question/concern

[Matthew T S]

Hello guys,

I recently pulled this flag out of storage and had it displayed, after a few weeks I noticed these blackish gray stains became very pronounced. I know it isn't very obvious in these pictures but they are very prominent in person. They don't appear to be mildew or mold, and they aren't insect damage. Any idea what could cause this? Were the stains always there but just became more obvious due to the climate of the room in which the flag is kept? Any help is very much appreciated.

Edit: I believe the flag is made of silk.

<a href="http://s239.beta.photobucket.com/user/11naglfar/media/DSCN3087_zps11bfa887.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff265/11naglfar/DSCN3087_zps11bfa887.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a>

<a href="http://s239.beta.photobucket.com/user/11naglfar/media/DSCN3088_zpse4e9067c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff265/11naglfar/DSCN3088_zpse4e9067c.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/></a>

[Papa Nambu]

From the way the spots are shaped it looks like something has rubbed off onto the flag, or, the silk has been pressed against something that didn't agree with it. Maybe a humid/hot/cold surface.

It's all just guessing on my part. I've owned a lot of flags and have seen stains like this before, but they had always already been there before I got the flag so I can't be sure of the cause. Looking at it under high magnification might give you a clue.

[Matthew T S]

Thanks for the response. I've been studying this pretty carefully and I believe that the stains were already present but the temperature of the room caused them to become more visible. The flag is kept in a cool and mildly humid room, it was also near a window.

Not sure what the stains actually are, this is kind of weird but they do have an odd smell about them.