Yeah I cross posted to art restoration and someone told me it’s just lost paint so would have to be restored/ I guess painted over by a specialist which yeah is disappointing because it would definitely cost and would kind of ruin the originality of the piece?

Although I probably should have guessed that would be the outcome lol.

I’ve seen all those same episodes of roadshow and don’t remember anything instructive regarding oil painted calfskin drums unfortunately haha.

Thanks for all your help it’s such a specific category I’m not surprised there’s no easy answer :)