Experiments were performed in order to learn more about the mechanical behaviour of antique gilded and painted leather and to identify the best conditions for its tensioning. The resistance of leather-adhesive-fabric bonds was also evaluated for the applicatin of a strip lining to attach the artifact to the tensioning system. Based on the results obtained, an experimental, innovative tensioning structure was developed and applied to an 18th-century altar frontal of gilded and painted leather, used as a reference model. The structure's elastic tensioning system permits the artifact to expand and contract both horizontally and vertically, while remaining flat.