Advice on prospective cel

Wow congratulations!!

Congratulations on a great first buy. Even minor Nausicaa cels are very avidly collected, and as the movie is a masterpiece this piece will be something you'll want for the long haul.

If you do frame it, do be sure to hang a curtain over it, as trace lines will fade visibly even behind UV-resistant glass in a dark place of your house. Also, the cel paint will want to stick to any mat you put behind it.

Sometimes you need to go with your heart in taking a chance on a purchase. I got a \\Tree of Palme\\ oversized cel + background last summer that looked to be in ruinous shape: background (and possibly the cel) badly dinged in the middle with paint loss, plus nasty creases running all across the bg.

When I got it (I was the only bidder, not surprisingly), it was in perfect condition. What looked like paint loss was an odd reflection of light off the cel or its bag, and the creases were incredible trompe l'oil effects by the bg artist to make the wall behind the characters look realistically weathered.